Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-05-28
CONTESTSPER|L
UNITY Of c. D. P.
Balance Of Power in Conven-
ton to Rest With Unin-
struCted Delegates.
By JAMES J. MONTAGUE.

WASHINGTON MAY 2S.-Unless
every sign fails, all the bitterness of the
bitter Republican campaign, boiled
down and doubly distilled will enter
into the fight that will be made for del
egates before the national committee al
Chicago
Roosevelt. through his most trusted
lieutenants, is already making a furious
onslaught on the committee, despite his
claim that he can win hands down with
out any help from that body
Mckinley, talking for Taft. virtually
admits that the strong arm" will be
used on the Roosevelt contestants. To
prove il he quotes the set of rules that
obtained at the committee meeting
when the allies were thrown out for
Taft.
A single application of those rules,
which provide that all contests shall be
settled in star chamber and by viva
yoce vote. would hurl every Roosevelt
contestant into Wabash avenue if Taft
can still keep control of the conven-
ton
The Uninstructed Delegates.
What Roosevelt doesn't know and
TAFT doesn't know. and nobody can find
out till the convention assemblies, is
what the hundred uninstructed dele
gates are going to do. The balance of
power virtually rests with these dele
gates.
Roosevelt has been irving for some
time past to hook the committee on ar
engagements which selects the tempo
rary officers and Is therefore of vast
Importance
But just at present almost every man
jack of that committee is against
Roosevelt with enthusiasm There are
two suspected of weakness for the Colo
mel
The chairman Harry S New OF In
diana. hates Roosevelt harder than
anyone else in politics except Murray
Crane Victor Rosewater, of Nebraska,
the acting chairman of The whole com
mittee. is undecided. He comes from
Roosevelt zone and has to be careful.
Prospects for Split Bright.
Ralph Williams, of Oregon, used TO
be a Roosevelt man. but was converted,
and has all the enthusiasm of an apos
tate. Arthur l. Vorys is Taft's per-
Sonal committeeman from Ohio and Is
largely responsible for keeping the
presidents nerve up when Roosevelt
broke into the game
The other two-Duncan of North
Carolina, and Mulvane of Kansas-are
men who like to fight. and care little
for Colonel Vox Populi expressed in
party matters.
1t looks. therefore. as if T. r would
have to stand by and see the prelim-
inaries stacked against him. What he
is counting on Is his ability to get the
votes away from the Taft people be-
fore the committee meets and if he
can not do that he will try the recall.
In any event, the prospects that the
party will split horizontally from one
end to the other were never brighter
than they are at this particular minute
Small Shift Will Do Trick.
Roosevelt says he expects to have 400
delegates when he goes into the con-
vention including thirty which William
L. Ward has promised to pry loose
from the Taft urge" of the New York
state convention. Taft figures he can
break in with about 500. These are
not the figures that are put out in type
written claims; they are the figures
that the leaders talk over among them
selves
Necessary to a choice. 539. A small
shift either way will do the trick The
national committee will nave 1856 con-
tests before it. Naturally II it gets
very rough about Roosevelt the Colonel
will have to start something"