Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-10-19
JOHN LEE WEBSTER's ARGUMENT
Logical Array of Facts and Its
- Inevitable Conclusion.
LAW SUPPORTS TAFTs CLAIMS
Voters Must Have Chance to Show
Their Preference.
RECREANTs HAVE NO RIGHTS
Claiming to he Bull Moosers
Entitled to No COnsidera--
tiOn from Court.
(From a Staff Correspondentl

(From a Staff Correspondent
LINCOLN, Neb., Oct. 1S--(Special Tele
gram )-The hearing in the district cour
of Lancaster county on an application
for writ of mandamus to compel tn,
secretary Of state to place on the election
ballot the names of the Taft republican
electors, came on late this Afternoon
before District Judges Cosgrave, Cornisl
and Stewart.
John Lee Webster, appeared as chic
counsel for the republican state com
mittee, assisted by A w. Jeffries O.
Omaha and F. NJ. Hall of Lincoln. Will,
Deputy Attorney General Ayers looket
after the interests Of the secretary o.
state, assisted by c. c. Flansburg O
Lincoln, in the capacity of a friend
of the court.
Mr.. Webster presented affidavits show
ing that the six republican electors haG
been certified to the secretary Of state a.
the regular nominees of the republican
party, and that the three days having ex
pired, required by law for the filing of .
protest that there was nothing else undel
the law for the secretary of state to dt
but to put the names on the ballot a.
the nominees of the republican party. Ts
show that vacancy existed on the ballo
and that the committee had a right tt
fill that vacancy, Mr.. Webster read tht
Ia (which, substantially, is that the cleo
tors, If elected to represent one party. Il
they supported the candidates Of another
party which had a platform opposed tt
the other, that that act vacated the Of
flee. To subsantiate this Mr. Webster
cited court decisions from a dozen diff
ferent states covering the Identical poin
in controversy.
Webster's Argument.
In presenting the case to the court Mr.
Webster said: '.'t. r
.,..".;At the time when the primaries wegs
held which nominated presidential elec.
tors there were but two, prominent. po.
litical parties, the republican party and
the democratic party There may have
been individual preferences as to who
should be the nominees of the national
republican convention, but these individ.
ual preferences were subordinate to the
combined will Of the convention, both as
to the principles which should be en-
bodied In its national platform and as to
the persons who should be selected as its
standard bearers. This was as true of
the republican party as 1t then was OF
the democratic party. There was not a
voter in the state of Nebraska who at
that time would have dared to have made
the suggestion that republican presi-
dental elector would vote for the demo.
cratic nominees for president and vice
president, nor that the presidential cleo
tors on the democratic ticket should vote
for the republican nominees for president
and vice president.
The progressive party, commonly
called the bull moose party, was not then
in existence. 1t is not possible in the
nature of things that it at that time
could have been in the mind of any one
of the presidential electors that the pro-
gressive convention would be held, or
that such a convention would nominate
candidates for president and vice presi-
dent, or that such presidential electors
would ever have the opportunity of vot-
ing for Roosevelt ana Johnson for presi-
dent and vice president.
Again, the men who were nominated
as republican presidential electors caused
to be filed certificates of nomination
with the secretary of state in which 1t
was recited:
We, the undersigned, qualified electors
of - county, in the state of Nebraska,
affiliating with the republican party,
hereby request that the name OF -
be placed upon the official ballot, etc.
THE different candidates for presiden-
tial electors on the republican ticket
thereupon filed with the secretary of
state an acceptance which recited:
l hereby accept the nomination for the
the republican ticket In accordance with
the petition filed in your office.
They did not accept as electors on the
democratic ticket. nor at that time ac-
cept as electors on the progressive ticket.
They accepted as presidential electors
on the republican ticket. The republican
voters of the state of Nebraska voted
for them, and because they had accepted
of the trust on the republican ticket.
Oath of Party Nominee.
I'VE have in Nebraska a statute which
provides that if the nomination shall be
made by electors other than the candl-
date, the nominee shall within five days
after the date said certificate shall be
filed with officer file q statement IN
writing duly verified under oath, stating
that he affiliates with the party named
In said certificate and that he will abide
by the results of said primary
The different statutes Of nominations
under the primary ballot law make 1t
clear that persons are to be nominated
by a political party, and that they shall
accept the nomination for political
party, and in case the petition is not pre-
sented by the candidate himself he shall
make an affidavit that he affiliates with
the political party named in the certlfi-
cate, and that he will abide by the re-
suits of the primary. and IL elected will
qualify and serve as such officer. The
context is clear to the point that when
men are nominated by the republican
party to perform trust for the repub-
ican political organization. that they
CONTINUED on Fifth Pa,ge.l