Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-05-24
The CAMPAIGN to Date.

The contest over Mr.. Taft's renomi-
nation has divided the country on
geographical lines. He has carried the
lower south and the Rocky Mountain
west. Elsewhere has had only scat
tel ed and reluctant support. The OPP
position - chiefly Mr. Roosevelt - has
carried the Pacific Coast States, and all
that great Republican interior'from the
foothills of the Rockies, and north of
the Ohio to the banks of the Delaware.
Certain facts stand out distinctly in a
study of the situation.
Roosevelt has proved far stronger in
the Republican States. He has shown
up to best advantage in the popular
primary States. He has done better in
the States that have gone latest to the
bat. His supporters are firmly riveted
to his candidacy. These are in his
favor.
Many of the delegates nominally
counted for Taft are actually unin-
structed. This is the case alike in New
York and in Utah. Here is an element
of latent weakness.
Mr.. Taft's support is not compli-
mentary to him, however undeserved
this may be. 1t does Republican can
didate little good to be strong in the
South, since it can give him no votes on
election day. The six States of the
Rocky Mountains, which have gone
for Taft, possess but handful of
electors. The Rocky Mountain alliance
with the administration is largely trace
able to special tariff favors, and Incl
dentally to the influence of the Norman
church.
In that great body of commonwealth
which pull the laboring oar of the
Republican boat, Mr.. Taft has made a
regrettably small showing. In the
North Dakota primaries only one in
twenty Republicans voted for him, the
other nineteen dividing between La
Toilette and Roosevelt. In Minnesota
only one-eighth of the delegates to the
State convention were instructed for
Taft. Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma,
most of Missouri, Illinois, much of
Indiana, practically all of West Virginia
and Pennsylvania and now most of
Ohio have instructed their delegates for
Roosevelt. incidentally, he also has
votes in Texas aod North Carolina,
although these are as little compliment
tary as the much larger block of similar
delegates whom Taft has won.
The duty of an independent news
paper, in interpreting political develop
ment, is to avoid letting the wish be-
come father to the thought. The Herald
has long been unable to see how the
Republican party could nominate Mr..
Taft, conspicuously as it was the party S
duty to do so. Of course it may still be
assumed that the national committee
men have the power to construct such a
temporary roll of delegates as would
make possible, by insistence on every
technical right, the nomination of Taft.
But to what advantage Who is
going to elect him? Committeeman
are ostensibly chosen to devise ways
and means for the party success, not to
select implements of party suicide. The
Solid South and the Rocky Mountains,
Delaware, Rhode Island and New
Hampshire would prove small support
for presidential candidate. And yet,
in the present temper of the public, it is
doubtful if Roosevelt could now be de-
prived of the nomination and many of
that great block of Mississippi valley
States saved to the Republican party in
November. They were close enough
before this controversy began. They
would be nearly hopeless now.
1t might be possible to nominate a
third candidate if the southern delegates
were transportable. But they cannot
be taken from Taft without fiocking to
Roosevelt.
The campaign is not over yet. Each
side should hold its ground up to and
through the Chicago convention. But
it is well for on-lookers to face facts as
they are, and to acknowledge their
significance. 1t will require an ex-
traordinary exercise of star chamber
power to prevent the nomination of
Roosevelt, and such an exercise would
almost inevitably break the party in
twain. Perhaps that would be the
lesser of the two evils but for the
national committee to invite it would
be contrary to all precedent. Boston
Herald.