Colonel Says Again Fraud Defeated Him.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 5, 1912:
"A Stolen Nomination," Is the Title of His Reply to President Taft's Defense.
CITES FACTS TO PROVE IT
Pamphlet Put Out by Progressive Committee Analyzes the Contested Cases Thrown Out at Chicago.
    "A Stolen Nomination for the Presidency; or, The Facts of the Chicago Convention of 1912" is the title of a seventy-six page pamphlet issued yesterday by the Provisional National Committee of the National Progressive Party. In other words, Col. Roosevelt yesterday made his reply to President Taft's defense regarding the charges that the President profited by a stolen nomination at Chicago. President Taft's defense, published a few days ago, declared that Col. Roosevelt was not entitled to any of the votes of the delegates whose seats were contested. The Colonel's reply is that the President was not entitled to any of the contested votes, either. This is a summary of the Colonel's argument:
    Starting with the premise that President Taft needed 540 votes to nominate; that he did not have this number at the outset, and that he set out to find them, the statement says that the contested delegates of California, Arizona, Washington, and Texas, carrying thirty votes, are enough to decide the issue, as the change of these thirty votes would have change of these thirty votes would have reversed all the important actions of the convention. Considering California first, the statement says:

The Case of California.
    Under a Statewide primary twenty-six delegates were elected, pledged to Mr. Roosevelt, who carried the State by a majority of 77,000 over Taft. The prominent Presidential candidates had each made their appeal to the people of California, and had agreed to be bound by the verdict recorded under the Statewide primary law.
    In the Fourth California District it happened that three of the candidates for election as delegates pledged to Mr. Taft resided there, and also three Roosevelt delegates, who had been elected. The Taft managers claimed that in the Fourth District the Taft ticket had polled some 200 votes more than the Roosevelt ticket. As a matter of fact, the election officers of California certified to the National Committee that it was impossible to compute the exact vote in the Fourth District, there being fourteen precincts, whose boundaries extended into the Fifth District' that there was no intention to compute or record the votes by districts, and that it was a practical impossibility.
    Notwithstanding these facts the National Committee seated two Taft delegates, whom it arbitrarily picked from the three who happened to reside in that district. It was a clear invasion of a popular primary, and was done under the sanction of a precedent derived from the 1880 convention, when there were no primary elections and no conflict between the method of organizing the convention and the terms of the State law.
    This case affords a curious commentary upon Mr. Taft's declared attitude in favor of popular primaries.
    Taking up the Texas cases, the statement says that the delegates at large from that State were unquestionably entitled to be seated. It continues:
    They were chosen at the regular convention by a vote of 162 to 13. Only 27 of the 249 Texas counties had instructed for Taft and of these 27 counties, 13 participated in the regular convention.
    It was claimed on behalf of the Taft delegates that the Terrell election law which fixed the basis of representation was unfair, and the bolting minority from the regular convention fixed a basis of representation to suit themselves.
    The Taft delegates were admittedly elected by a bolting minority of the regular convention.

Texas Men Thrown Out.
    The various Texas district contests are then considered. As to the Fourth District, it is set forth that at the Congressional Committee meeting on May 17, 1912, contesting delegations from two precincts which had been denied admission to the county conventions of Collin and Grayson Counties applied for admission as delegates to the Congressional Convention, claiming to be duly accredited delegates from those counties. Their claims were denied by the Congressional Committee. The convention then being organized, four out of five counties took part, and delegates favorable to Roosevelt were elected. Some time later the fifth county, which was not represented in the regular convention, held a separate convention. There was no bolt from the regular convention, it is stated, and every delegate to every county convention in the district testified that in no county convention in the district was there any bolt, split, or secession at the time the conventions were held which elected delegates to the Congressional Convention.
    Of the Fifth District it is stated that there were five counties, and the Congressional Committee consisted of five members, three of whom were Taft men. When this committee seated Roosevelt delegates from three counties the unseated delegates from two counties bolted and organized a rump convention. The delegates from Ellis County, instructed for Taft, it is asserted, participated in the regular convention. In the Seventh District, six of the eight counties, it is set forth, went for Roosevelt. When the Congressional Executive Committee was called, the Congressional Chairman refused to recognize four Roosevelt members of the Executive Committee, although they had been elected to office or appointed to fill vacancies as appointed by law, and thereupon delegates from six out of the eight counties convened in a convention and elected Roosevelt delegates. Regarding the Eighth District, it is said that six of the nine counties were for Roosevelt, and two of the counties bolted the convention and held a separate convention, their only excuse being that they couldn't control the regular convention.
    In the Ninth District, it is said that a County Chairman endeavored to call a Congressional Convention, although a regularly called convention, summoned by the Congressional Chairman, was held. This regular convention, it is set forth, was participated in by the majority of the county delegates in the district, and a majority of the Congressional Executive Committee recognized the convention as regular. In the Tenth District, containing eight counties, it is asserted that the delegates from two and a half counties bolted from the Congressional Convention, under the leadership of the Internal Revenue Collector and the Postmaster of Austin, and that this rump convention elected as one delegate a man who had refused to bolt and was the regular Congressional Chairman of the district. Even the member of the State Committee, a Taft man it is said, did not bolt from the regular convention.

Bolted Roosevelt Convention.
    In the Fourteenth District, containing fourteen counties, it is set forth, there was only one contest, in Bear County. Both Roosevelt and Taft delegates were seated and given one-half a vote each, whereupon the Taft delegation and two other counties out of the fourteen bolted and elected contesting delegations. "With practically unvarying vote," says the statement. "the steam-rolling majority of the National Committee decided all of these contests in favor of the Taft delegates. The result, after the National Committee finished its work, was that Taft had twenty-eight of the Texas delegates and Roosevelt twelve."
    Taking up the Washington cases, the Roosevelt statement sets forth that the number of delegates to the State Convention was 668, of which 263 uncontested delegates favorable to Roosevelt and 97 favorable to Taft were chosen, with 304 delegates contested. To get a majority the Taft men had to obtain not less than 238 of the contested delegates. Kings County alone had 121 contested delegates. At the primary election in that county the vote had been eight to one in favor of Roosevelt. Nevertheless, it is charged, the pro-Taft State Committee unseated the 121 delegates and substituted 121 delegates arbitrarily selected by a sub-committee of the Kings County Central Committee. When the delegates assembled at Aberdeen tickets for admission were distributed only to Taft delegates. Roosevelt delegates whose credentials had been approved by the pro-Taft State Committee were denied admission. The Roosevelt delegates, "being in a majority of those in attendance at Aberdeen," then held a convention and elected delegates to the National Convention, headed by Senator Miles Poindexter. These Roosevelt delegates were unseated at Chicago.

The Arizona Contests.
    "The Arizona case." says the statement, "was an exact parallel to the Chicago Convention, in that the State Committee made up a fraudulent temporary call by seating Taft delegates from two counties where Roosevelt delegates had been clearly elected, and thus controlling the convention. The Roosevelt delegates refused to recognize the right of the State Committee to make up the temporary roll, and the result was that two conflicting conventions were held simultaneously in the same hall, and each convention selected six delegates at large to the National Convention.
    "The control of the convention turned on the right of the contesting delegations from two counties, Cochise and Maricopa. The seating of the Taft delegates by the State Committee was contrary to the practice of the party. In all the history of the party the State Committee had never before presumed to make up a roll or decide contests.
    "On the merits also the Roosevelt delegates were clearly elected. Under the call of the State Committee, the precinct committeemen of the party in each county, elected last year under the State law were required to meet on May 15 and decide whether delegates to the State Convention should be elected at primaries to be held on May 25, or selected by the committeemen without primaries at a special meeting on May 25. In Cochise County the committeemen met on May 15, and the Chairman, Secretary, and seven Taft committeemen, with fourteen proxies, left the room. No one knows where they went or what they did. They were a clear minority in any event. The remaining committeemen, thirty-three in number, with thirteen proxies, a clear majority of the eighty members, voted to meet on May 25 and select the delegates. At that meeting a clear majority of all the committeemen was present in person or by proxy, and selected the delegates to the State Convention. The legality of this proceeding could not be questioned, and was not disputed before the National Committee. The Taft men never pretended that their delegates from this county were really elected.
    "On May 25 the primaries were held all over the county, conducted by representative citizens of the highest standing. At this primary 955 votes were cast for the Roosevelt candidates and 11 were cast for the Taft candidates. The largest vote that had ever been polled at any primary for all the Republican candidates together was 1,200. No claim was made before the National Committee that this primary was not honestly conducted and did not afford a complete opportunity for the expression of the party will. It appears, however, that on May 25, the day of the primary, 19 of the County Committeemen met and selected delegates to the State Convention. The total number of Precinct Committeemen was 52. The Roosevelt delegates presented to the National Committee statements, signed by 30 of the 52 Precinct Committeemen, stating that they were not present at the alleged meeting of the County Committee on May 25 either in person or by proxy, and that they were in favor of electing the delegates by primaries.
    "No attempt was made to offset this proof before the National Committee. In face of these plain facts, showing the unquestioned legality and regularity of the election of the delegates from these two counties, the State Committee, in violation of its own practice, usurped the power of making up a preliminary roll, and threw out the Roosevelt delegates who had been regularly chosen from these two counties, and substituted therefor Taft delegates, who had not a shadow of title to their seats. In this way a Roosevelt majority of the State convention, 54 out of 96, was fraudulently transposed into a Taft majority, and the six delegates to the National Convention selected by this fraudulent State convention were placed upon the preliminary roll by the National Committee, and afterward permanently seated in the convention by the votes of delegates from other States whose title was equally fraudulent."