The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-24
EVERYBODY HAPPY OVER THE RESULT IN NORTH DAKOTA All Shades of Republicans Get Immense Consolation
 From the Returns
LAFOLLETTE PROVES
 RATHER LIVE CORPSE
Roosevelt Partisans Delighted That Taft Was Showed Under-Taft People Pleased by Roose-
 welt Discontinue
By WALTER HARPER

Washington. March 23-tSpeciaL 1.-The big feature Of the week in politics was the presidential preference primary in North Dakota. And 1t was a feature. It furnished dope for everybody. The results were beauti- fully impartial. It afforded consolation for everybody. Everybody is drawing all sorts of conclusions on the result. The net result in cold figures is 10 dele gates for Senator LaFollette, who died sudden and inglorious political death in Philadelphia about o'clock on a Friday morning about six weeks ago. The corpse, however, seems to have some activity.
 Roosevelt, the llvest candidate in the republican ranks and the official under taker at the LaFollette funeral has only l5 delegates. He hasn't got much on the corpse.
 But let us return to some of the con clusions that are being drawn from the North Dakota primary. First let us get the fact fastened in our minds that North Dakota is in the United States and is in- habited by private citizens, most of them producers and consumers About g9 per cent of them may be classed as com
 
 or physical difference in the democrats and republicans that hibernate in North Dakota.
 Roosevelt had been bowling for a pref erence primary. A popular call from the people had forced him into the fight and he wanted that popular call registered in such a way that it could be framed and hung up on the wall He was just dead certain that he had the people with him if they could be allowed to say 80. LaFollette was for a preference pri- mary if he could get it, but was willing to take anything not riveted to the sand stone. He was dead anyway, so what did it matter what he wanted? Taft seemed to be afraid of the pri- mary. If the truth must be known, Taft is suspicious of anything but ,ure shot and that must be already scored before he can feel perfectly calm over it.
 Well. they held preference primary in North Dakota.
 Next morning everybody looked over the figures. Everybody smiled and seemed to get some satisfaction out of them.
 LaF'ollette was the happiest man of the bunch, naturally. He at once resur- rected. He pinched his old corpse and commanded 1t to get up to breakfast
 MT. Roosevelt and his manager, Senator Dixon, were delighted. The country would now be convinced that the people do not want the renomination of William H. Taft. "Oh, we can get the North Dakota delegates in the long run. They will come to Roosevelt when they find out that LaFollette Is a dead one. They are not for Taft and we are perfectly satisfied. Indeed, we are miserably happy
 
 What does MT. Taft and his mana gers get out of the result? Oh, they get plenty to keep up their courage. Aye, they are almost overcome with jog. Though Mir. Taft gets only 3000 votes out of total of something like 600o0, about one out of forty, that does not count anything, be- cause the democrats voted in the primary for the purpose of embarrassny the President" Perhaps it was a scheme on the part of the North Dakota demo- crats ito put the President in a hole" Then the primary Is not the thing to have anyway" the President and his friends argue. We have contended ali along that the primary does not register the will of the people. What we want is the expression of the postmasters, deputy collectors and beat chairmen who 'have dutiful regard fo the wisdom of admin lstration rather than the babble of he rabble." Above the smoke and dust of the battle in North Dakota a mirage of fleet winged questions approaches
 Is, LaFollette really dead?
 Was 1t the voice of the people that called Roosevelt?
 Can Taft win if he Is nominated?
 Has North Dakota any sisters that favor her?
 Did the democrats vote for Roosevelt or LaFollette?
 What were the Taft republicans doing?
 But if everybody is satisfied why com plain?
 Let the dance go merrily on."
 Good night, Irene"