The Washington times., 1912-06-15

be perfect. So long as the national
committee has been In session no dele
gate whose support the Taft people
have expected has dared declare him
scores Of them, scattered ali over the
country, and especially the South, whom
Taft claims, but who want to be guided
by sense, sanity, and the party's best
mined that Taft ought not to be nom
mated. They know II In their hearts;
they know that patriotism and personal
interest alike demand that they should
not submit to the plan of naming a
candidate who Is sure to be defeated.
But thus far they have not dared raise
their voices In protest; II they did, II
they attempted to make their convic-
uons known, their protest heard, the
next trip and roll them outside the con-
Vention. They must wait, keep their
peace, and hope that In the forty -eight-
hour period between the conclusion of
the committees work and the organiza-
tion OF the convention they might at
least be able to declare their indepehd-
ence and assume the role of self-respect
and manhood.
Delegates Are Now Free.
with the temporary roll made up,
with the national committee no longer
potent to harm, these men will be free
10 follow their convictions end desires.
And Just at the moment when this now
sense of freedom and security comes to
them, 1T. r." will arrive with his over
powering appeal to them to Iise to their
opportunity and their duty, to throw
on the shackles, and to take the part
OF men in the big affair of saving the
party.
That is just what Roosevelt will do.
On Monday night he is to address a
mass meeting at the Auditorium. He
VIII handle the situation without gloves.
Everybody knows that. He will do and
cay some hard things and some unex-
peoted. It will he a fighting speech
from first to last. an ultimatum and
defiance.
That It will be tremendously effective,
nobody doubts. The Taft organization,
after after conferences today. foiling to
hope to counteract the Roosevelt mag
netism, actually determined on the
cheap and pitiful plan of begging and
urging and ca1oling delegates, in the
Roosevelt meeting. They dare not trust
their own people to the Influence that
they know Roosevelt's statement of hts
own case will bring to bear on them
All Want To Hear T. r.
1t Is a childish effort, for It betrays
the weakness Of the opposition and at
the same time has redoubled the in
aistence OF the delegates upon attending
the meeting. BY Monday night every
delegate and alternate entitled to sit
in the gathering next dag will be here
Hotels have been receiving word today
from many of them demanding that
their reservations be ready Ter them
Monday instead of Tuesday. because
they wanted to be in town for the real
big show: The Roosevelt Meeting.
Tickets will be in a demand that already
is said to have relieved pressure on the
unfortuEates who are hourly besieged
for admittances to the convention itself!
Today's indications are that Roosevelt
will be nominated: that nothing can
stem the tide which has been running
toward him for three days. and whose
Hood will be reached with the great
meeting of Monday night. Neither side
paign managers put out roseate state
ment. but on the Inside neither knows
yet whether he will win, so far as the
actual census Of delegates Is concerned.
. The Taft people announced last night
that the national committees concluding
session today would be short: that
means only one thing: That the Roose-
Welt delegates In Texas and Washington
are to be stolen. What Of It? The in
quarters still show that there will be a
painful hiatus between the number ne
can count. even after the consumma-
ton of that Anal outrage, and the num-
Der necessary to nominate.
The discussions today turned on the
problem of electing a temporary chair
man. Second only to the coming Of
Roosevelt; this was the absorbing
purpose to present Root. Senator Dixon
said, for the Roosevelters, that no de-
cision as to their candidate would be
made until after the arrival of the
colonel himself.