Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-17
DELEGATE GRABBING ON
Both Candidates, With Arms Full,
Reach Out for More.
EVENTS OF DAY WORRY TAFT
Loss of More Than Dozen Colored
Votes Does Not Help Feeling
Between Factions.
BY GEORGE FITCH.

Copyright 1912. by the Associated Newspapers.
CHICAGO. Ill. June 17.-Sunday was
theoretically and constructiveiy a quiet
day around the political crater Of the
United States. located at present in the
Congress Hotel. 1t was the lull before
the storm. The brass bands died away
almost completely. No features were
denied in the corridors during the dis
cussions. There were informal speeches In
the moose pen, formerly the Florentine
room, where the Roosevelt delegates
gather, but they were mild In type-al-
most disappointing. in fact. Any man
who spoke could have eaten his words
without burning out his digestive organs.
Viewed with the practical eve of war
correspondent. the situation on the eve
OF the greatest political convention we
as follows:
The preliminaries are over. The
delegates have been opportuned or grab
bed. depending on the way YOU look
at 1t. and each candidate. with his arms
fun Of said delegates, Is glazing some
what breathlessly at the others pile. Try
to hold $40 eggs in your arms with some
other fellow jogging your elbow, and you
will be able to appreciate the full intrl-
cacies Of the job.
Taft Has Longer Reach.
President Taft, who has a longer reach
anyway. and has had some one to help
him pile, has go delegates in his arms
that is, he had the last time he counted
them. They reached up over his chin
and he is using every finger and both
elbows to retain them. He has been
picking them off Col. RooseveltS pile
until he can't see over the top OF the
bunch and 1t wabbles like thunder. Now
and then this fellow Roosevelt makes an
ill-bred grab and picks one of from under
his arm. Now and then one slips down
between his wrist and his waistband.
Now and then he shifts the whole load
cautiously over into one arm and reaches
over into Roosevelt,s pile, where he picks
up a handful.
1t is promoting a lot of hard feeling on
both sides. Roosevelt has threatened to
kick Taft's whole pile into the air II there
are any more grabbings, and every one
knows that he will do it, for when 1t
comes to politics he is no lady. 1t is very
distressing to every one but Senator
Cummins of Iowa. who has been standing
under the two rivals for the past three
days with an apron and exhortins them
in loud tones to fight on.
Sunday developed one great source OF
worry to President Taft. His brunette
eggs began to fall over his forearms
with alarming rapidity. While he was
making an transformations and tenta-
tive reach for a few Illinois votes on
the preliminary skirmiShes an entire
black Minorca setting from Georgia
and Mississippi slid overheard with
great crash. and the colonel deftly
gathered them up
Woodruff Is Heard From.
The loss has not been tabulated, but
it was close to fifteen. The dark eggs
are awfully hard to hold. Make noise
like a majority in the distance. and
they will roll off in spite of every
thing. A speckled egg fell off yester-
day, too. when Timothy Woodruff OF
New York pushed his historic polka
dotted vest into the Roosevelt camp
and declared in no uncertain tones
that the appropriation of Texas by the
Taftites has made the recording angel
yell for a barrel of tar and a marking
brush
All of these events have made the
situation very critical Mr.. Taft's sup
porters are talking of putting up unit
rule side boards in order to save the
rest of his dark eggs. and Mr.. Roose-
Welt, who keeps most of his eggs safe
in his pocket any way. is preparing to
grab more seriously than ever tomor-
row. IT is messing up the convention
frightfully. and there is a distinct
smell of hydrogen disulphide in the
air.