Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-08-02
PRoGREsSlvEs WIN TEMPORARY
VICTORY IN CONTEST FROM
KANSAS.
SUPREME JUSTICES REFER
QUESTION TO FULL BENCH
Final Hearing Will Not Be Had Until
October and Primary Will Have 'sssn
Held in Observation-Disclosures Did Not
Consider Question Of Alleged Fraud
In Selection Of Electors.

X, &.
Kansas state courts in refusing to or
der the names of eight Roosevelt can
didates for presidential electors strick-
en- from the primary ballot was partly
| reversed last night by Justices Van
! Devanrer and Pitney Of the United
States supreme court. While these
! justices granted the application OF the
; Taft men for a writ OF error directed
| to the Kansas supreme court. their de-
cision does not constitute f1nal VIC
/ tody for the regular republican organl-
/. zation. Under its terms the right oil
! the Roosevelt candidates to have had
places on the primary ticket will be
| decided by the full bench of the su-
preme court when that tribunal holds
its regular session in October. Mean
while the names of the Roosevelt men
| will appear on the ballots at the Nan
sas primaries next Tuesday.
OF National Importance.
| The effec, of the decision is to leave
the whole Kansas controversy sus-
pended until October. when it is ex-
pected the highest court will settle 1t
before the national election.
l
tees Van Devauter and Pitney as
| stunned national Importance in view OF
| the question involved. This went out
side state political issues and involved
/ federal and states rights. Speaking
| broadly. this question was whether the
/ choice OF presidential. electors was
! purely a state matter or could be su-
pervised by the federal courts. in other
! Gle state
! ficers or federal officers.
| The original action was brought by
r. A. Marks and twelve other Kansas
! citizens to prevent the names Of eight
candidates for presidential electors,
who had said that if elected they would
vote in the electoral college for Theo-
dore Roosevelt, from being printed on
the republican primary ballot. Marks
and his associates declared they signed
| the petition for the designation OF these
eight candidates under the impression
! that II chosen they would stand by the
decision of the republican national
convention.
When the eight publicly declared
themselves for Colonel Roosevelt, the
regular republican organization set
about having them debarred from
places on the republican primary ballot
on the ground that they had obtained
their places by fraud and rnisrepresen-
! tation.
! Withou. Jurisdiction.
| The Kansas courts decided that they
| had no jurisdiction in this case since
the dispute was purely political one
and MADE no attempt to pass on the
merits OF the allegations of fraud.
| Neither were these charges CONSIDERED
/, BY the two supreme court justices in
! their decision. II making their appH-
! cation for a writ OF error the Taft
men declared that the federal courts
had Jurisdiction TO prevent the state
OF Kansas from depriving any Of lis
citizens OF the free right TO express
! their choice at the polls. They con-
| tended that in case the eight Roose-
/ velr candidates were chosen the TAFT
men who had signed their petition lost
| their right to vote for their choice for
president.
While this convention formed the
basis of the argument the success OF
the eight Roosevelt candidates at the
prim aries would put the regular repup-
licans, they say, in an embarrassing
| situation and endanger the chances OIL
| their candidates for state offices by
1 dividing the republican votes between
the columns headed respectively by the
! Roosevelt and the Taft electors.
In deciding not to interfere with the
state primaries Justices Van Devantel
and Pitney declared that the only wa!
rot to injure either party was TO let the
primaries proceed with the Roosevelt
| candidates on the ticket and await the
action OF the full court. 1t is understood
the court will decide the case in time to
keep the Roosevelt electors off the bal
lots in the November election in case
the latter are defeated in the litiga-
i ton.
| One Possible Change.
! The only possibility that the court
will not have to decide the case is that
! none of the eight Roosevelt candidates
win in the primaries Aug. s. In al!
there are twenty candidates for cleo
tors and ten will be chosen. Twelve
are declared Taft men. In their mem
/ orandum accompanying their decision
last night Justices Van Devanter and
| Pitney said:
Whether the rights asserted have
a real basis in the constitution and
laws Of the United States Is the
| criterion by which we must determine
whether the writ Of error shall be al
lowed. Under the settled practice. If
the justices to whom the application
is made believe that the existence or
nonexistence Of the rights asserted is
involved in serious doubt, the writ OF
error should be allowed We think that
is the situation here.
The questions raised do not seem
TO be determined or settled by any pre-
vious decision of the United States su
preme court. Some of the opinions OF
the court contain expressions which
tend to sustain the contentious OF the
plaintiffs. Whether, in view of the
facts in the cases in which these ex-
pressions occur. they should be re-
earded as deliberate and controlling
ought not to be determined otherwise
than by the court itself. 1t is conceded
that the questions are important and
of large public concern, and we have
concluded that those who present them
are fairly entitled to the judgment OF
the court which by the constitution is
made the final arbiter Of all contro-
versies arising under that instrument
In thi. situation we think the writ OF
error should be allowed.
Assorted Rights Doubtful.
but az courts are reluctant 20 In