Arizona republican., 1914-04-09
'H|LLES MAKES
 PLANS PUBLIC
Chairman of Republican National Committee Tells of Efforts to Decrease the Percentage of Southern Representation
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPATCHl


 Hilles, chairman of the republican national committed, tonight made public the proposed plan to decrease the percentage of the southern and territorial representation in the re- publican national convention in 1916, and thereafter from approximately 8 per cent of the total voting strength to less than 16 per cent, as provided in resolutions adopted by the committee at it's meetings last December.
 The plan is addressed to the re- publican conventions of the several states, which are asked to ratify the action of the national body before January l, 1915. A special com mittee composed of Charles B. War Ten of Michigan, Senator William E. BOrah of Idaho, and former governor Henry D. Hatfield of West Virginia, drafted the report of the action talk en in December which embodies other resolutions adopted by the na- tional committee. These guarantee:
 Recognition, in the call to be is sued for the next national conven- tion, of the right of any states to provide for the election of delegates in direct primaries.
 The right of any state to elect all delegates from the state at large, or part from the state at large, and part from congressional districts.
 These provisions were adopted with view to eliminating contests before the national body such as in the past have produced discord and dissen- sion.
 Some members of the national committee, spurred on by the inss- tent demands of a large body of vot- CTS, sought to have the committee call a special convention for the purpose of adopting a new basis of representation, but the opinion pre- vailed of those who maintained that inasmuch as no methods were pro- vided by the existing laws of the various states for the election of . delegates to such a convention in di- rect primary elections, the special convention might not represent the sentiments and desires of a majority of the party.
 | It was resolved that the national committee consider the question. 1 formulate it's conclusions and sub init the result of it's deliberations for ratification by state conventions. In reciting the views that actuated the national body the special committee of three says:
 i The committee believed that should conventions of delegated rep resentatives of the party, convened in the number of states entitled to cast majority of the votes in national convention, ratify the action taken by the national committee in this respect, its action should be as sumed to fairly express the senti- ment of the great majority of the party, for obviously such state con- ventions when taken together would consist of more representatives of the party than would be assembled in a national convention.
 "The plan adopted and recom- mended for ratification provides that the republican voters in each state shall hereafter be represented in a national convention of the party by four delegates at large; two dele gates for each representative at large in congress; one delegate from each congressional district, and an addi- tlonal delegate from each congress slonal district in which the vote of 1908 for any republican elector or | far gress in 1914 shall not have been less than seven thousand five hun- dred C7.500).
 ."Alaska and the District of Colum- bia under the plan presented vii z each be entitled to two voting dele gates, while Hawaii, Porto Rico ant
 the Philippine Islands will each b, entitled to two delegates without tn,
 right to vote"
 The result of this change in tn, basis of representation, if ratified by
 the requisite number of state con
 ventions, will be a decrease of S. votes as follows: Alabama will los,
 s, Arkansas 3. Florida f, Georgia II l. Louisiana 8. Mississippi 8, New Yorl
 2. North Carolina 3, South Carolin;
 '. Tennessee 3, Texas 16, Virginia s = 1 Hawaii 4, Porto Rico 2 and Philip pine Islands 2.
 Under the plan presented a con . gressional district not entitled to tw delegates on the vote cast in tn presidential election in 1908 wi
 qualify for two if 7,500 or more vote . are cast for the republican nomine Il in the congressional election thi
 fall.
 Anticipating criticism from thos '. who believed that still greater de cearse should have been provided i | south representation, the specis
 committee in it's recital says it
 within the province of a majority (
 the convention of 1915; if it so de
 sires. to establish another new basi , for future conventions
 f The plan can be ratified by an
 republican convention for the pun . pose of nominating candidates fc . adopting a party platform, or b a any convention called by the reput lican state committee and held be
 fore January 1. 1915. The state
 ment of the special committee thf
 drafted the plan for presentation {
 the several republican state conver
 tions concludes with the following: IT "The committee appointed to pr, IS sent the proposed plan to the sta ,f conventions believes that it is d, r, sirable from every point of view tn;