Evening journal., 1912-05-17
HOT OVER The
ROOSEVELT CLAIM
Taft Manager Shows He Can
Go the Colonel a Few
Better

WASHINGTON. May 1.-THE an
nouncement Of Colonel Roosevelt in
Ohio that he is confident of a comfort
able majority on the first ballot at the
Chicago convention provoked much
comment in the Roosevelt and Taft
bureaus here
Director Mckinley gave out state
ment in which he characterized the
Colonel as hypocrite of whom the
people have become weary" To re-
fute the claim of the Colonel. he offer
ed a new summing up of delegates to
the Chicago convention. This shows
Taft to lack only 13 votes of the ma
jority. In his calculations Mr.. Nc
Kinley ignores States that have re-
Gently gone for the Colonel by large
maiorities. but which have not yet
gone through the formality Of holding
State conventions. He refuses TO adj
nit that any Southern delegates have
deserted the President. emphatically
declares that all but seven Of New
and makes the claim that Mr. Taft
may yet secure certain delegates in
Cailforna
just Puts Roosevelt Out Of II.
Declaring that Roosevelts claim is
false and intended to mislead, Mr.. Nc
Kinley continues.
1T is significant that Mr.. Roosevelt
made no claim whatever until he was
fnt
II. Taft will actually be in control OF
the Republican National Convention,
with enough delegates instructed for
and pledged to his support TO secure
the nomination. Today President Taft
already has 527 delegates. instructed
for or pledged to his denomination,
Mr.. Roosevelt has 309. President Taft
needs only 13 votes. Mr.. Roosevelt
needs 231. He has no more real claim
than William j. Bryan or Eugene V.
Debs."
Dixon Goes Even Further.
Senator Dixon goes further than the
former President actually under esti-
mates his real strength
with assurances from three more
New York delegates which I received
this morning" Mr.. Dixon asserted Il
can now say truthfully that Colonel
Roosevelt has secured "a delegates Of
the Empire State who have announced
their intention of voting for the Col
.onel on the first ballot. II a second
ballot should become necessary the
Colonel will pool considerably over a
third of the New York delegation"
When asked concerning the report
ed desertiou of Southern delegates
from the Taft to the Roosevelt wagon,
the Colonel's manager said:
1.-TWO delegates from Alabama. both
white men of excellent standing, who
were instructed for Taft, have conf
ldentially written me that they have
taken a poll of the entire Alabama
delegation 20 Chicago and also of the
State convention delegates who Sc
'lected the national delegates.
Accordingly. with one or two ex-
,ceptions. know that the Alabama
delegation although instructed for
Taft originally. has left the President
and will vote for the Colonel on the
first ballot. ] have letters from two
of them TO that effect. The Taft cam
paign is actually on the verge of col
Lapse. His unfitness for the high Of
flee to which he aspires has been ex-
posed hv Colonel Roosevelt"
Claim Makes Mckinley Hot.
When told Of Mr. Dixon's statements
Manager Mckinley replied with some
heat:
I'm making his claim that he will
be nominated Colonel Roosevelt Is
guilty of giving utterance TO a pre-
meditated falsehood. inspired by an
impulse 20 miselead the public. mis-
representinr fact in the hope that he
personally may profit by such misrep-
resentation. His Southern contests,
the Alabama ones in particular that
his managers refer to, are being f.
nanced literally and unscrupulously
from Roosevelt's Washington head
quarters. That the Colonel is now
outclaiming Manager Dixon and al
The other lesser satellites is simply an
Indication of his desire to fool the
public"