The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1913-12-11
REPUBLICANS ASK
FOR LEGAL OPINION
POWERS OF NATIONAL COMMIT
TEE ARE CLEARLY IN
TERPRETED.
c. y. WARREN MAKES REPORT"
Changes Should Be Left 70 Conven.-
ton, He Says-Election Of Mem.
bers Not Provided by
Federal Law.

Detroit, Mich, Dec. 6.-TAe Repub--
lican National Committee has no au--
thority to change the basis Of repre-
sentation and voting in national con.
ventions.
Authority Over Selection.
The National Committee has au--
thority to change the manner and
method of choosing delegates to fu-
ture national conventions 30 as TO-
provide that delegates be chosen In
such manner as the laws Of the sew
eral states from time to time may
provide. Delegates shall be chosen
according to the discretion Of the
committee itself.
! The National Committee has the
authority to call special national
| convention of the party, the legal
form Of which call is provided by the
legal committee.
| These conclusions are reached in.
an opinion made public here by
Charles B. Warren of Detroit, chair
man Of the legal committee appoint
ed by the executive committee Of the
Republican National Committee.
National Committee Meeting.
The executive committee in Wash
ington, May "a last, adopted reso-
luton requesting the chairman to call
meeting of the national committee,
to be held within 60 days after the
expiration of the special session Of
congress, convened in March, 1913.
The national committee will consider
among other things proposed plans for
party reorganization. The legal COM
mittee was named to make detailed
examination Of the questions that
would arise.
Who Warren ls.
Mr. Warren, who wrote the opinion
now submitted is new member of
the national committee. He was one
Of the lawyers for the United States
In the arbitration with Great Britain
before the Hague Tribunal of the
North Atlantic fisheries controversy.
The opinion is concurred in by the
other members of the legal committee,
who are United States Senator Yves.
ley L. Jones of Washington; Repre-.
sentative James R. Mann, Illinois:
James A. Fowles of Tennessee, former
assistant attorneygeneral; VIM. Mar
shall Bullitt of New York, former SO
licitor-general; Roy o. West Of Illi-
nois and Sherman Granger of Ohio.
In reaching his conclusion Mr.. War
rem quotes extensively from national
conventions of the party from that Of
1856 to 1912.
Committee Without Authority.
''The national committee is then the
creature of the national convention.
It possesses no authority derived from
any other source whatever It obtains
all it's powers from the national con-
vention, and derives no authority
whatever from any federal or state
law"
After examining the proceedings Of
past national conventions, this con-
clusion is announced:
1T is the opinion of your commit
tee, therefore, that the national con-
ventions of 1908 and 1912, as did for
mer conventions, beginning with that
Of 1860, prescribe the present basis
of representation and voting in nation
al conventions of the party, that is,
that the number of delegates from
each state should be double the num-
Der of senators and representatives In
congress from the states, each entitled
to one vote; and that any change
therein must be made by a national
convention or with the authority of a
national convention"