The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-08-02
ROOSEVELT MEN
TO HAVE PLACES
ON BALLOT
At the Kansas Primary to Be
Held on Tuesday
SUPREME COURT DECISION
Not Complete Victory For Progress
sives AS Full Bench Ruling viii
Be Made Later

New York, Aug. 2.-The action OF
the Kansas state courts in refusing to
order the names of eight Roosevelt
candidates for presidential electors
stricken from the primary ballot was
partly reversed last night by Justices
Van Devanter and Pitney OF the
United States Supreme court. While
these justices granted the application
of the Taft men for writ OF error
directed TO the Kansas courts, their
decision does not constitute final
victory for the regular Republican
organization. Under its terms the
question of the right of the Roosevelt
candidates to place on the primary
ticket will be decided by the full
bench of the Supreme court at its
next regular session in October
Meanwhile the Roosevelt men will
have their names on the ballots at
the Kansas primaries Tuesday. The
effect of yesterdays decision is 10
leave the whole Kansas controversy
suspended until October.
The proceedings before Justices
Van Devanter and Pitney assumed
national importance in view of the
broad question involved. This went
outside the state political issues and
state rights. Speaking broadly, this
question was whether the choice OF
presidential electors was purely a
state matter or whether it could be
supervised ny the federal courts; in
other words whether electors were
stat officials or federal officers.
The original action was taken by
r. A. Marks and II other Kansas
citizens TO prevent the names OF
eight candidates for presidential ell.
ectors who had said that If elected
they would vote in the electoral col
lege for Theodore Roosevelt from be
ing printed on the Republican pri
mary ticket Marks and his associa.
ties declared that they signed the pc
tition for the designation OF these
eight candidates under the impression
that if chosen they would stand by
the decision of the Republican ma
tional convention. When the eight
publicly declared themselves for Col
Roosevelt the regular Republican or
ganization set about having them
debarred from places on the Republic
can primary ticket on the ground
that they had obtained their places
by fraud and misrepresentation.
The Kansas courts decided that
they had no jurisdiction in this case,
since the dispute was purely political,
and made no attempt TO pass on the
merits of the allegations of fraud
Neither were these charges consider.
ed by the two Supreme court Justices
in their decision yesterday In max
ing their application for writ of er-
ror, the Taft men declared that the
federal court had jurisdiction to
prevent the state of Kansas from de
priving any of it's citizens of the free
right to express their choice at the
polls. They contended that in case
the eight Roosevelt candidates were
chosen the Taft men who had signed
their petition lost their right to vote
for their choice for president.
While this contention formed the
basis of the argument, the success of
the eight Roosevelt candidates at the
primaries would put the regular Re
publcans, they say, in an embarras-
sing situation and endanger the
chances of their candidates for state
offices by dividing the Republican
votes between the columns headed
respectively by the Roosevelt and
Taft electors. In deciding not to in
terfere with the state primaries, JUS
tees Van Devanter and Pitney de-
clared that the only way not to in
jure either party was to let the pri-
maries proceed with the Roosevelt
candidates on the ticket and await
the action of the full court
II is understood that the court vii,
decide the case before the general ell
ection in November, and in time TO
keep the Roosevelt electors OF the
ballots in case the latter are defeated
in the litigation. The only POSSIBLE
ity that the court will not have to de
eide the case is that none of the eight
Roosevelt candidates will be success
ful at the primaries Tuesday. In all
there are 20 candidates for electors
and 10 will be chosen. Twelve are
declared Taft men.