Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-16
Mckinley Asserts President
Needs Only 13 Delegates.
SCOUTS ROOSEVELT CLAIM
Manager Dixon Says Colonel Under
estimates His Strength.
TELLS OF RECENT ADvICES
Counts on Twenty-Four Votes From
New York and Numerous
Changes in South.

In statements given out today the man.
ayers Of the Taft and Roosevelt nationa
bureaus discuss the announcement of Col
Roosevelt at Dayton yesterday that he is
confident of receiving enough votes or
the first ballot at Chicago to insure hi:
nomination.
Manager Mckinley of the Taft head.
quarters says:
Theodore Roosevelt's claim that h,
will be nominated at the republican ma
tional convention at Chicago is shown
on the face of the returns from conven-
tiOns thus far held to be false and in
tended to mislead. 1t is significant that
Mr.. Roosevelt made no claim whatever
until he was certain that within twenty
four hours William H. Taft will actually
be in control of the republican nationa
structed for and pledged to his suppor
to secure the nomination. That Mr.
Roosevelt realized that something des.
perate must be done to stem the tide
against him at this particular point in
the contest is evident by his anxiety tc
break into print on this subject.
To-day President Taft already has 52i
delegates instructed for or pledged to his
denomination. Mr.. Roosevelt has 800
President Taft needs only thirteen more
votes to control the Chicago convention
Mr.. Roosevelt needs 231. 1t is therefore
evident on the face of Mr.. Roosevelt
claim that he has included in his lis,
every contested delegate from the south
ern states to which, in accordance with
precedents already set by the republican
national committee, he has no more rea
claim than William ]. Bryan or Eugene
v. Debs.
Contests for Southern Delegates.
'In no single instance in the south was
a Roosevelt contest brought on the day
of the regular convention. and the entire
series of contests brought in his behalf
were instigated in Washington. financed
from his own headquarters in Washing
ton, and therefore are the most irregular
Of all contests ever presented to the
national committee.
They do not even. in most instances,
rise to the dignity OF .rump' conventions.
that practically every contest to be heard
by the national committee is a Roosevelt
contest, brought after thoroughgoing
defeat, or brought weeks after the con-
ventions were actually held, while the
Taft contests are confined to not more
than five congressional districts, involv-
ing ten delegates. In other words. 1t is
physically Impossible at this time for Me.
Roosevelt to have any more delegates
than he now has actually-3O9- without
adding thereto every delegate he claims
to be contesting in this campaign.
"On the other hand, 1t can be stated
that within a week confidential informa-
ton came to these headquarters showing
that Mr.. Roosevelt himself was not claim
ing more than 318 delegates to the Chi
cago convention, SO that for his imme-
date purposes Mr.. Roosevelt has sud-
denly added 200 delegates to his table,
thereby outclaiming Senator Joseph NJ
Dixon and all his other satellites by a
large majority.
Says Roosevelt Is Desperate.
"The desperate situation in which Mr..
Roosevelt now finds himself has led him
to take from his secretary. on his own
admission, figures furnished him by bis
political managers for the purpose of dis
tracting attention from the actual facts
namely, that Mr.. Roosevelt is already a
badly defeated candidate. and that If he
elected every remaining delegate to the
Chicago convention he could not possibly
secure the nomination for himself
Throughout this entire campaign, when
ever it has been absolutely necessary for
Mr. Roosevelt to make a showing to off,
set tremendous gains by President Taft
Mr.. Roosevelt's managers have rushed
to him in panic demanding that he take
ra1x nh Sy~,I
claim to befog the situation. If possible
Not jnfrequently Mr.. Roosevelt's mana
gers, unable to get some absurd state
ment into the newspapers, have forward
ed their material to Mr.. Roosevelt, with
a request that he secure the required pub
licity himself. and this Mr.. Roosevelt has
unblushingly undertaken to do.
"At one period of the campaign, wher
the chief cry Of the Roosevelt managers
was fraud and contest Mr.. Roosevelt
his managers with reference to such al
legged frauds He repeated on the
stump the exact statements Of Senator
Dixon with reference to the Kentucky
primaries, although his own Kentucky
managers took the platform in the Ken.
lucky convention and repudiated every
statement made by both Mr.. Roosevelt
and Senator Dixon. Likewise, in New
York the Roosevelt managers failed tG
take their cry of alleged frauds to the
courts, as they had perfect right to do
In Indiana Mr.. Roosevelt's campaign
managers refused to bolt the convention
although some forty Of their followers die
so. In Vermont they repudiated abso
lutely the cry Of fraud raised by Sen.
ator Dixon and repeated by Mr.. Roose
welt.
Alleged Procedure in the South.
1T was at this stage of the proceedings
when the Roosevelt column of instructed
| and pledged delegates was meager, in
deed, that the Roosevelt managers hit
on the plan of 'contesting' every county
congressional district and state conven-
ton they could not carry. They placed
the whole south In their contested col
| umn before they gave physical evidence
| Of a single contesting convention any.
where, and they hired men to work uI
these contests in the south. some OF
| which are now being set up through the
medium Of alleged mass conventions.
although the regular conventions were
held weeks and even months ago and the
delegates therefrom duly and regularly
instructed for President Taft.
LAS evidence of the fact that even thi
desperate plan of wholesale contest,
| brought about by influences concerning
which the less said the better. was &
| failure. the Roosevelt managers a month
ago began an attempt to influence south