The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-07
Republicans Gather for the State Convention To-
 day at Noon
TWO LETTERS SHOW
 FEELING IN PARTY
Long Writes Thompson to Submit His Proposition for Primary to the Convention It.
 self Today

Birmingham is a Mecca for republic ans. They began to arrive yesterday when the vanguard. composed of the sub committee of the state committee and many prominent leaders, met in the city hall and heard the various contesting delegations which hope to participate in the state convention to- day.
 l In addition to the subcommittee meeting, which was purely routine, in- terest was injected into the situation by communication of Joseph o. Thompson, challenging the Taft forces to a primary selection of the delegate along the lines of the challenge thrown at the Taft national mana gers by Sen ator Dixon, In charge of the Roosevelt national campaign, ind Chairman Longs reply inviting Mir. Thompson to make his proposition to the convention itself today.
 The letter of MT. Thompson, the rer- ogniSed leader for Roosevelt, was ad- dressed to MT. Long as chairman ol the state committee. MT. Thompson re- quested Chairman Long to issue with him a call to the republicans of the state to vote their choice between President Taft and Colonel Roosevelt. Is MT. Long made his reply last night and charges MT. Thompson with eleventh hour activity" Both letters make interesting reading and shed much light on the feeling between the republican factions of the state.
 Thompson's Challenge
 The letter of MT. Thompson. bearing the challenge, is as follows;
 Birmingham, Ala, March 6, 1912 Hon Pope NJ. Long, Birmingham, Ala: Dear Sir: A state convention was held in the city of Birmingham in August of last year, at which six delegates at large and six alternates were elected to at tend the meeting of the national repub- lican convention to be held at Chicago, and instructed to vote for President Taft. 1 participated in that convention and stated that | would not be a candidate for chairman of the republican state execu-' tive committee, and, in order to dis abuse your mind of any inference that may be drawn from this letter that l am still a candidate, I state to you now that
 
 lscept the position of state chairman. This | letter is written to you for a broader | purpose than that of merely the local supremacy of either you or me. Since | the action of that convention the natIon- | al republican committee, the supreme au- | thority in our party, has held its usual preconvention meeting and adopted the | following proviso in setting forth the off, cial call for the republican national con- vention to be held at Chicago on June l IS. It is in words as follows: Provided that the delegates or their alternates shall be deemed ineligible to participate in state district or territorial conven- tions who were elected prior to the date of the adoption of this call
 You have so far recognized the pro- priety and justice of the provlso referred to above, by calling another convention to be held in this state on March T. to select delegates from the state at large thereby admitting the ilegality of the delegates elected at the convention.
 Not Now Chairman
 "There has been submitted to me by eminent legal authority, and I have also been advised and urged by many repub- licans in this state ard nation to the effect that this proviso which declares that delegates or their alternates were ineligible to participate in that conven- tion renders void everything done by the conyention; hence, if this construction is correct, you are not now, of course the chairman of the republican state execu- tive committee.
 Realizing that other constructions may possibly be placed upon this edict of the national committee which might engender an unseemly contest before the national convention at Chicago, and being de- sirous as much as within my power lies. n desire to submit to you the following proposition: When your convention meets on the 7th day of March, that you and your friends who control the personnel of this convention instead of selecting delegates to the national convention adopt a. resolution providing for primary cleo ton in the state of Alabama for the se- lection of these delegates; then in order to do away with any semblance of irreg- ularity you join with me in issuing call to the republicans of Alabama to enter this primary and take direct vote as between Colonel Roosevelt and Pres ident Taft, both of us to sign this call You are aware, of course. ths4 4 the time of the meeting of the convention in August last there was but one candi- date for the presidential nomination be- fore the public. You are further aware that under your later call all the coun- ties in this state held their conventions and selected their delegates before Colo nel Roosevelt's announcement of his can- didacy. I submit to you that it is but fair to the republican voters in Alabama. especially in view of the widespread charge that the officeholders in this state are taking an unseemly interest in polit- ical matters, that the republican elector- ate should have an opportunity by direct vote to express their choice between President Taft and Colonel Roosevelt. since all that Colonel Roosevelt's friends desire in this contest is that a full and free expression of the popular will shall be recorded as between him and MT. Taft If the above suggestion is adopted by your convention I feel sure that 1t will 1 he cnnc11rred in and ratified by the friends