Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 August 1910 — PRESIDENT TAFT DEFINES POSITION [ARTICLE]

PRESIDENT TAFT DEFINES POSITION

Had No Hand In Turning Down Go! Roosevelt Taft had no hand in the trickery at the meeting of the Republican state committee whereby W. L. Ward, National committeeman; Ex-Lleutenant-Governor and State Chairman Timothy L. Woodruff, William Barnes, Jr., the Albany leader, and Speaker James Wadsworth succeeded in having a motion adopted naming Vice President Sherman as the temporary chairman of the Republican convention in place of Col. Roosevelt, but in a letter received by Chairman Griscom, of the Republican County committee, it was made plain that Mr. Taft insisted that before any choice was made by the committee, Mr. Roosevelt should be consulted. Mr. Tart, over the long distance telephone and by means of telegraph messages,, had expressly toid the leaders of the regulars, as the WoodruffBarnes combination like to call themselves, that if there was any disaffection likely to arise at the meeting, his name was not to be used and that on the contrary, in the interest of harmony, he wished that the members of the state committee would consult before the meeting with Mr. Griscom and Mr. Roosevelt. The letter from President Taft to Mr. Griscom does away altogether with the wild stories which have been floating around for more than a week past to the effect that there is a break between Mr. Taft and Mr. Roosevelt. As the letter shows, the president had nothing to do with the turning down of Mr. Roosevelt by the state committee. It was ; in fact, his hope that harmony would prevail at the meeting. If the regulars persist in their determination to endeavor to have Mr. Sherman elected as temporary chairman of the state convention, they will have a bigger fight on their hands than they expect. It was said by Mr. Griscom that in many of the up-state counties, the primaries will show, that the vote of the leaders who sided with the Sherman resolution does not indicate the feelings of the majority of , the voters of those districts. Although Mr. Roosevelt had not made up his mind following the vote ! at the state comniittee meeting, it can be asserted that in view of Mr. Taft’s explanation of his attitude, Mr. Roosevc’t will not only fight for the progressives platform, but will allow himself to be named as a candidate against Mr. Sherman for temporary chairman of the convention. Mr. Roosevelt's friends are confident that he will be elected. In a statement from Oyster Bay which Col. Roosevelt issued upon hearing of the letter which President Taft sent to Lloyd C. Griscom, repudiating Vice President Sherman, Mr. Roosevelt said that his position In regard to the state situation is definite, and that he has nothing to change in it He will not attend the state convention.