Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1912-08-02
DOES THE EXPLANATION EXPLAIN?

II. d. Hilles, private secretary to
President Taft, and chairman Of the
republican national committee. is out
with All explanation Of the contests
decided by the national committee,
and states that they were all decided
upon their merits; that the Roosevelt
contests were inaugura:ed in bad
faith.
MIR. l1illes must not overlook the
fact that wherever preferential
primary was held Roosevelt carried
the day. This should convince him
that the people did not want Taft.
Wherever the old convention system
the bosses won, as they have done for
ell time and as they always will.
The explanation OF the throwing out
of two delegates from California
honestly elected by all the voters OF
the state, is weak one and is not
satisfactory. The throwing ont OF the
primary vote of Seattle, Tacoma and
Spokane, primaries regularly called
by the republican county committees,
is net dwelt upon at length by Mr..
lilies; suffice it to say that the peo-
pie who voted at these primaries eight
to one for Roosevelt, were voting H.
legally for the reason that the local
committees had no right to call for All
eNpressionof the people. The case Of
Texas, he says, was one of Cecil Lyon
trying to wreck the republican party
in the state by not allowing negroes
to participate i'll republican conven-
tons, hence the state had no right to
go so overwhelmingly for Roosevelt.
The brief as prepared and given to
the public by the chairman of the
national committee is supposed to
clear the skirts OF the nominee for
president OH the republican ticket
from any faint OF collision with the
national committee which replaced
honestly elected delegates with about
IS hand picked ones. and thus carry
ing the convention. Nobody believes
that President Taft was party to
this theft. Far from it, lie is sim
ply a creature OF circumstances.
The bosses were afraid to swing to
any other candidate for fear that the
convention would get away from them
and go to Roosevelt. 1t was any
thing to beat Roosevelt. the foe Of po-
litical bosses, and the manipulators
of that convention would rather meet
with defeat at the polls in November
than allow Roosevelt to win
Mr.. Hilles should rember that the
convention as constituted in Chicago
was not the selection of the republi-
can voters OF the several states. We,
here in Montana, know that the peo-
pie were not given chance untram-
meled to express their wishes as to
the selection OF delegates. Here in
Meagher county, and III many Of the
counties likewise, the delegates were
selected by one boss. This method
of selecting delegates in the past was
tolerated by the people, because the
great fight then was to defeat
the democrats. and the peo-
pie were content to allow the bosses
to select a candidate for president
without murmur Of protest. That
was before The primary law: before
the bosses turned the party over to
the big interests to be luted. Great
issues have arisen in the past few
years that must be squarely met by
the people, the common people. the
people who pay state and county tax.
e. and who supply soldiers to the
army when the country is endangered
hya foreign enemy or by trouble with.
in. These common people-the back.
bone of the government-are sup.
posed to rule, because this is pre-.