Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-06-27
Presidents Forces
Firm All Through.
CONVENTION RESUME.
Colonel Personally Nominated
BY Own Delegates.
PLATFORM IS CONSERVATIVE.
Aarding's Nomination Speech
LaudS the President.

Chicago, June 23.-The split has
come. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
withheld his name from the fifteenth
Republican national convention. He oil
rected his delegates to remain in the
convention but not vote. He was i'll
dorsed by his followers to lead a third
party.
1t was bolt, yet not a bolt. Claim.
ing the convention roll had not been
purged of alleged illegally seated Taft
delegates, the colonel would have moth.
ing to do with it.
President Taft was renominated,
with Vice President Sherman.
Roosevelt's action in tossing his hat
into the ring" against his former
friend, the president, made the pri
mary campaign remarkable. His with
drawa of his delegates from voting,
when his last hope was gone, and his
announcement of leading third party
Of progressives was still more remark.
able in the annals Of Republican con.
ventions.
Nothing Like II Before.
Nothing like this had ever happened
since the time Fremont was chosen for
president in the first convention of the
Republican party, in 1856, in Philadel-
phia. After years of easy going sue
cess, broken by the Cleveland terms,
the G.. o. p. now faces the critical pc
riOd in its history. What will Roose
velt's progressive bolt amount to:
What will the Democrats now do at
Baltimore? These are now the ques-
tons of the hour.
The Taft forces controlled the con
vention from the start through favor
able decisions by the national commit.
tee and later by the credentials com
mittee. At no time did the Roosevelt
forces muster a majority of the LOTS
delegates.
The Rooseveltians shouted "Steam
roller!" throughout.
The presidents forces shouted little,
but they elected their man. Their ma.
chine worked smoothly
The convention was not uninterest-
ing. Far from it. Everybody looked
for the bolt, the stampede, the strong
arm work at any moment. Roosevelt
was in the limelight until the last day.
All the "hurrah" settled around him.
1t was a fight to beat him more than
to nominate Taft.
Taft Controlled All Through.
Several test votes were taken durin"
the five days the convention was in
session, the first over the temporary
craftsmanship and the others over the
contested delegates. In all Taft main
tanned a small majority. The first test
stood: Taft, sos; Roosevelt SOP. The
necessary majority of the convention
for choice was $40. The highest test
vote for Taft was COS.
Barring Roosevelt no Republican as
pirant for the presidency since Lincoln
has elected such enthusiasm from his
supporters as James G.. Blaine. He
secured the nomination in 1894. only
to be defeated at the polls. He refused
to be considered as a candidate in 1888
but in 1892 tried for the nomination
But the crowds in the galleries could
not vote, and the delegates on the flooi
when the storm Of cheering had passed
named Harrison for the presidency.
Since 1892 the Republican conven
tons have not been memorable fol
hard fought contests. Mckinley at st
Louis in 1896 overcame all opposition
on the first ballot He was renominat
ed without contest at the Philadel
phia convention in 1900, when Roose
welt was chosen to I'll second place or
the ticket The latter's nomination In
1904 was foregone conclusion, AND
the perfectly oiled machinery of tn,
1908 convention accomplished the nom
ination of Taft without jar.
II will be recalled that Roosevelt
then the sponsor for Taft, had a BIZ
to do with the machinery.