The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-07-29

AS the One Who Really Did
Try to Commit Dele
gate Frauds.

|
the Chicago convention. has been
made public at the White House. Ii
reviews every contest before the Re.
publican national committee and the
credentials committee OF the conven.
ton and asserts that each. contest was
settled logically. upon its merits. The
statement was submitted TO the cab
met at a recent meeting and received
the approval OF the presidents off,
cial family.
The statement. which Is lengthy
document, Of la printed pages. is a
dstailed denial of the charge that the
denomination Of President Taft was
accomplished by the seating OF fraud
nlently elected delegates to the con-
ventlon. 1t takes up individually the
2as contests instituted by the Roose-
welt forces against Taft delegates.
who were seated, and presents evil
dence In each of these cases to show
that the Taft delegates were regular
ly elected.
"A resume Of the statement. pre-
pared by Charles d. HIlles, formerly
President Faft's secretary and now
chairman of the Republican National
Committee, takes up each contest
briefly.
This resume opens with the declar-
alton that the Roosevelt contests, as
originally filed before the national
committee. were not Instituted in
good faith.
The total number of delegates
summoned to the convention" says
the resume, was 1913, with $40
necessary to a choice. M. Taft had
Sol votes on the first and only ballot
and was declared the nominee. There
were Instituted against 23s of the
delegates regularly elected for Taft,
contests on behalf of Roosevelt
These contests were aVowedly insti-
gated not for the purpose OF really Sc
curing seats In the convention, not for
the purpose of adduclng evidence
which would lead any respectable
court to entertain the contests, but for
the purpose of deceiving the public
Into the belief that Mr.. Roosevelt
had more votes than he really had,
as the conventions and primaries were
In progress for the selection of del
egates. The two hundred and thfrty-
eight contests were reduced by aban-
donment, formal or in substance, TO
seventy-four. The very fact of these
1914 frivolous contests itself reflects
upon the genuineness and validity Of
the remainder"
The resume then enumerates the
contests, and reviews the arguments
In each case. The review of the EVIL
dence in the contests embraced in the
White House statement is certified TO
by Victor Rosewater, chairman of the
national committee. and Thomas H
Devlne, chairman of the credentials
committee. As an appendix, the state
ment carries In detail the vote in the
national committee on each Of lhe
contests, and statement Of the dates
of the Taft and Roosevelt conventions
in contested states. The object Of the
latter is to shsw that the Roosevelt
delegates were chosen after the reg
ular conventions had nmned TAFT
representatives.
Another appendix is the report Of
the credentials committee to the con-
vention, in which the statement Is
sued by the Roosevelt committeeman
attacking the majority OF the commits
tee was answered. In discussing the
charge the report said:
THE statement as whole in Its
insInuauons of combination of un-
worthy motive. In Its recital of al
legged facts,js grossly and malIcfously
untrue. It was Intended to convey the
impression that the time for hearing
cases was so limited as to prevent
their being properly presented to the
committee, The untruthfuIness of,
this statement is clearly shown by the
records of the committee and the
newspaper reports of its deliberations.
Not only did the rules make liberal
provision for time in presenting the
cases, but in every instance where the
parties presenting the cases, or any
member of the committee, asked for
an extension of time, 1t was granted.
The statement OF the Roosevelt
members of the committee asserted
that the speed with which the ere
dentials committee brought in re-
ports made 1t evident that the re-
ports had been prepared beforehand"
In reply to this statement the a.p-
pendix to the white House statement
said:
In regard to the assertion that re-
ports were prepared in advance OF the
action of the committee on credentials
no one of the gentlemen who makes
this statement will state of his own
personal knowledge that any reports
were thus made"
In concluding, the majority of the
credentials committee. defending It's
decisions. said:
"As TO the merits of these contest