The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07
Whole Party Believed to Be
 Greatly Divided
LEADERS DIsGUSTED
Defeat of Presidential Primary Has Caused Some Wide Breaches to Open Up-Taft Leaders
 Discount Reports
By SIDNEY EsPEY

Predictions are lnlck anu lasA hoRo that the "deluge" in the republican po- litical camp has begun. The republi- can programme has been put through the national committee and what is in store for republican adherents looks like complete cataclysm.
 The chairman of the Indiana republi- can state committee, Edwin M. Lee. in statement expressing regret that the national committee refused to permit primar ries in states that want them, foreshadowed disaster due to getting presidential politics mixed up with state affairs at the state conventions.
 The national committeeman from New York, William l.. Ward. after re- fusing to attend the Presidents dinner. predicted an uninstructed delegation from that state, and the prediction is held here to mean a generally anti Taft one
 Lucius N. Littauer former congress ,, man and one of the big wigs in New York state republicanism, is quoted as saying that about 90 of the New York delegates would likely be opposed to Taft.
 Tom Thorsorm, national committee,
 man from South Dakota, declared his state would select a LaFollette dele gation and that as Tafts strength had
 reached it's high tide in the commit
 tee meeting, it would be on the ebt
 from now on.
 | Walter l.. Houser, chairman of ths I.aFollette campaign committee, de- clared the national committees action in authorizing state committees in states that have presidential primary l laws, to ignore those laws is a serious affront to the progressiyes everywhere | Then he made this remarkable declar- alton.
 SIX states have presidential prefer ence primary laws-Oregon, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Jersey and Wisconsin. In just one of those states is the state committee in sympathy with the law-Wisconsin. In the other five, rne state committees are entirely opposed to the law. II is altogether possible that these hostile committees will bllndly follow their 1 preiudices revoke the state law and by so doing arouse a popular resentment for the
 Eattv and administration.
 "Bu. that is not all. Several other
 states, 1t is practically certain will pass | presidential preference primary acts al
 their legislative sessions this year BA 1 next summer there may be twice a g many states in tlis class a. now. The prospeci
 is thus imminent of a half score of reac- ticnary state committees refusing, witt
 the sanction of the national committee ! to follow the law of their states. Wait til l you hear from the results at the polls after the people think over what that | means"
 The hottest line of political converse ton handed out following the meeting of | the committee, came from Chairman Lee of Indiana He represents a Beveridge wing of the party out there and there was no uncertain sound about his pronounce ment. He said:
 MT. Taft cannot carry Indiana. If he
 is the republican nominee our fight is lost lofore a single gun is fired. As one of his original friends who labored for him night and day. l have been driven to this knowl- edge with extreme reluctance. l had hoped he would be the man who would lead us next year and personally have de- clared for him three separate times. l bave spent the last eight months travelling over Indiana have viisted each county in the state and some counties many times.
 For a time it looked as if we might pull Mir Taft through. and l have fos- tered favorable sentiment for him wherever I could. because I am his per sonal friend, and it seemed logical and Sbbu pdiiA putty i0dl Ht SlplllO succeed himself. From the first, however, found no earnest enthusiastic sentiment for him. The feeling of the precinct
 workers and the rank and file seemed to be one of sufferance-that he had the solid south and would be nominated, and we
 might as well make the best of it. In the last two months sentiment has changed to pronounced dissatisfaction with MT. Taft as our leader. A few days I a n c.,, mitteemen--there are more than 3000-ask- ing for a statement of political condi- tions in their precincts. l have received already hundreds of replies. Four out of five of these letters state that there is dissatisfaction with MT. Taft among the voters, although in my letter l did not ask for opinions on this point, but only for general conditions. This proves to me what my personal contact with our voters-and have interviewed thousands of them-has led me to fear-that is. that | there is not the slightest chance to carry ! Indiana for Mir. Taft"
 l Walter Brown, the Ohio chairman whc | had led the fight for the right of pri- | maiies was a most disgusted man after | the republican committee closed it's meet l ing. For publication he gave out formal
 and guarded statements. Privately. how l ever he gave his friends to understand | he considered the committees course had | just about dispelled all hope of carrying | Ohio unless the President is defeated foI renomination.
 | "Ohio republicans are concerned about
 the success of the party at the elections. | he said, and they will regret the refusa | tc let them select their delegates at largC | by primaries. You see we have AS dele I gates and have one congressman at large
 six of them are delegates al large. undei ou. present primary law the other 42 vii
 be chosen by primaries in the districts. ",
 want to haze fhe six at large selected als. | py primaries, so as to keep that fight ou
 of the state convention that will name tn.
 state ticke, That would have made i possible to hold the state convention ant | to keep the presidential issue out of it.' | The Taft representatives, of course. lib
 erally discount these significant criticisms They charge Brown and Lee are disgrun l tied because they have not been allowed l their way in federal patronage matters AS to a primary for delegates at large ir 1 Ohio, Arthur l. Vorys, national commit teeman, said il was impossible because tiis law does not provide for it. and if heid 1 It would be outside any legal safeguarods
 
 Girls Fight
 Hankow. January C.-tSpecial Some O.
 the Chinese girls organized an Amazo.