Norwich bulletin., 1912-08-02
PROBLEM FOR SUPERIOR COURT.
To Determine if Roosevelt Electors
 Gan Go on Kansas Ballot.

New Ork, August l.-IQ6 acton or Kansas state courts in refusing to or der the names Of eight Roosevelt can didates for presidential electors strick- en from the primary ballot was par tially reversed tonight by Justices De- Vanter and Pitney of the United States supreme court. While these justices granted the application of the Taft men for writ of error directed to the Kansas courts, their decision does not constitute a final victory for the reg ular republican organization. Under It's terms the question of the right of the Roosevelt candidates to places on the primary ticket will be decided by the full bench of the supreme court at its next regular session in October Meanwhile the Roosevelt men WiH have their names on the ballots at the Kansas primaries next Tuesday.
 The effect of t0day's decision is to leave the whole Kansas controversy suspended until October. The proceed iRgs before Justices Van DeVantsr and Pitney assumes national importance in view of the broad qustion involved. This went outside the state political issue and took up the matter of fed- era1 and state rights Speaking broad lV, this question was whether the choice of presidential electors was purely & state matter or whether it could be supervised \ by the federal courts; in other words, whether cleo tors were state officers or federal off, ceTs.
 The original action was brought by R. A. Marks and twelve other Kansas citizens to prevent the names of eight candidates for presidential electors, who had said that If elected they f-1 Ina ak 1, oII for Theodore Roosevelt, from being print ed on the republican primary ballot Marks and his associates declared that they signed the petition for the desig- nation of these eight candidates un- der the impression that if chosen they would abide by the decision of the re- publican national convention. When the eight publicly declared themselves for Colonel Roosevelt, the regular re- publican organization set about having them debarred from places on the re- publican primary ticket on the ground that they had obtained their places by fraud and misrepresentation.
 The Kansas courts decided that they had no jurisdiction in the case, since the dispute was purely political and no attempt to pass on the merits of the allegations of fraud was made. In
 
 error, the Taft men declared that the federal courts had jurisdiction to pre- vent the state of Kansas from depriv- ing any of it's citizens of their free right to express their choice at the polls, They eontended that in case tho | eight Roosevelt candidates were chos- en, ths Taft men who sad signed thsfr petition lost their right to vots for their choice for president.
 While this contention formed tha basis Of ths argument. the success of the eight Roosevelt candidates at the primaries would put the regular re- pubIieans. they say, in an emharras- sing situation and endanger the chanc- es of their candidates for state offices by dividing the republican votes be- tween the columns headed respectively by the Roosevelt and Taft electors. In deciding not to interfere with the state primaries. Justice Van Devanter and Justice Pitney declared that the only way not to inJure either party was to let the primaries proceed with the Roosevelt candidates on the ticket and await the action of the full court It is understood that the court will decide the case before the general election in November and in time to keep the Roosevelt electors off the bal lots in case the latter are defeated in the litigation The only possibility that the court will not have to decide the caR is the remote one that none l of the eight Roosevelt candidates will be successful at the primaries on Au- gust 6, In all there are twenty can didates for electors and ten will be chO@A0 TWaIva arc daclarAd Taft mAr