Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1912 — TAFT AND SHERMAN CHOSEN BY REPUBLICAN CONVENTION [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TAFT AND SHERMAN CHOSEN BY REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Greatest Battle in History of American Politics Results in c Victory for President-Wins on First Ballot with 561 Votes-Roosevelt Men Refuse to Vote.

For President. WILLIAM H. TAFT. For Vice-President. JAMES S. SHERMAN. Chicago, June 24. —These are the standard-bearers selected by the Republican national, convention to lead the presidential campaign of 1912. After five days and nights of the bitterest fighting in the history of American politics, in which the greatest masters of political strategy in the ranks of the party were pitted against each other and every trick and maneuver known to the game were resorted to in an endeavor to wrest a victory from their opponents, it all ended in the choice of the men who led the party in the last national campaign and who are now occupying the highest offices in the land as the choice of a majority of the American people, to go before the public as candidates for a second term. Taft's Name Presented. President Taft’s name was presented to the convention by Harding of Ohio, and the nomination was seconded by John Wanamaker of Philadelphia and Nicholas Murray Butler of New York. LaFollette was the only other candidate presented to the convention, Colonel Roosevel. early in the afternoon expressing the desire that his name be not presented in the convention, and asking his friends to refrain from voting in the convention. The convention sat in comparative quiet through the nominating speeches. The vigorous efforts of enthusiasts to start demonstrations for their favorites met with only moderate success. The galleries were shouted out and the delegates were tired and wanted to get home. The result was foregone. Cheering Is Btarted. When the roll call started with Alabama and it threw Rs strength to Taft a burst of cheering started. It was settled that the Taft forces would stand firm, just as they had stood from the time they selected Senator Root as temporary chairman through the bitter days of the convention under the assaults of the Roosevelt forces. The Taft forces had all their old strength and a few band wagon climbers made it even larger. Pandemonium broke loose when the result was announced. The galleries rocked back and forth as if they would swell over and engulf the delegates on the floor. The band went through the motions of playing, but HO one could he • it Finally it subsided and the thousands started to crowd out of the building. The calling c’ the roll was filled vtth exciting Incidents. Vice-President Next. Aftr the tumult that followed the Bhotuttion of Taft had worn Itself ML-flwnPgß, Jjloot JBLOogaogfl

nomirifltions Tor vice-president were in order. J. v. Olcott of New York was recognized and In a short speech presented the name of James 8. Sherman to suoceed himself. The nomination was seoonded by representatives from several states. Roles Penrose' name was next presented by a delegate from Pennsylvania, but received no second, nor did Penrose receive any votes. Other candidates presented to the convention in brief speeches were Senator Borah, C. E. Merriam, Gil lette, Senator Beveridge and Governor Hadley. Sherman Is Winner. The roll call was rushed through with the greatest expedition, Sherman winning on the first ballot. The vote: Sherman ...... 597 Borah 21 Merriam 2ft Gillette .......y.yyi 1 Beveridge .. 2 Hadley 14 Absent 71 Not voting .352 Thus ended a convention that will go down in history as the most remarkable in history. lr The weary delegates, lexhausted with long hours of strain and excitement, thankful that at last It was all over, broke Into

wild cheers and the convention wound up amid scenes of great excitement and confusion. Quelled by Police. Roosevelt delegates rioted for nearly a half hour In the Republican national convention as the temporary organization controlled by the Taft machine was made' the permanent organlzaton. Their riotous demonstrations, quelled by the police, but served to delay the prepared action of the

flsteam roller. The reports, majority and minority, of the rules committee were tabled and the convention proceeded under the old rules. / Henry J. Allen, Kansas progressive, read Colonel Roosevelt’s two condemnatory statements of the day, eliciting some by play 1 and a few cheers from the floor. —Then Charles Warren Fairbanks began the reading of the report of the resolutions committee, the platform, a Taft platform. Argument at considerable length on the platform followed. Wisconsin and North Dakota members of the resolutions committee, representing Senator Da Follette, offered a minority report, almost as long as the one read by Mr. Fairbanks, which incorporated the views of the Wisconsin senator on public Questions. At 5:30 the platform was declared

adopted by Chairman Elihu Root. The vote stood: Not voting ....843 Against 53 Absent it; For . 666 The La Follette platform had previously been tabled*. There was an outburst of cheering when the “total Roosevelt strength was announced as 343, the number of delegates not voting, but a greater outburst followed the announcement of 666 votes yea. The nays were 63, and 16 were absent. ; No Nomination for Cummins. Immediately Chairman Root announced a call of the roll of the states for nominations. Alabama was passed Arizona was silent. Down the list silence followed the calling of each state until Ohio was reached. A cheer greeted the state and Warren G. Harding arose to place President Taft in nomination. Then it was discovered lowa had forgotten to nominate Cummins, and Root ordered. \hat the state he called again. Silence greeted the second call, for the lowans had decided not to nominate Cummins, but to vote for him. Then Ohio was called again, and Harding took the platform, g reeted by scattered cheers, to nominate Taft. Day of Battle. :•» Friday was a day of excitement and constant fighting between ahe Taft and Roosevelt forces on the floor of the Republican convention: A partial report from the committee on credentials was the cause of the sanguinary conflict. During the day four roll calls were taken which furnished some little gleam of hope for both sides. On one ballot the Taft men polled the highest vote yet recorded for them, 605, A little later whatever significance might have been attached to that vote was somewhat discounted when the Roosevelt adherents mustered a strength of 529, which was the high mark so far for the colonel’s side.

The Roll Calls. The roll calls were occasioned by majority and minority reports from the credentials committee pn the seating of contested delegates in the Ninth Alabama district. The roll call was on a motion to table Governor Hadley’s resolution that contested delegates be not allowed to vote oq the reports. This carried by a vote of 569 to-499—10 not voting. A motion made at once following, to substitute the minority report seating the Roosevelt men. as against the majority’s steam roller candidates was lost by a vote of 464 to 605. In the second vote eight Idaho and twentyfive Wisconsin votes went with the Taft men. These states explained that as members of their delegations were on the credentials committee they desired to support that committee. They denied they had bolted to the Taft side on any other issue. The third ballot, was on the Arizona contest case. The result was 564 to 497. The fourth vote was on the California case. This resulted 542 to 529, the highest vote yet mustered by the Roosevelt, men Governor Her«ert S. Hadley of Missouri swept the Republican con-

vention off- its" feet -Wednesday afternoon and, without having uttered a word, became the hero of a demonstration which will hold a permanent place among the spectacular events in the history of the nation. This and a test vote which showed that the Taft following is holding its own were the two great features of the Eecond day’s session. When Governor Hadley appeared on the floor to close the debate on his resolution to seat the Roosevelt delegates who had been unseated by the national committee the demonstration unexpectedly broke loose. It was nearly an hour from the time the demonstration started before the tumult had sufficiently subsided to enable the convention to resume business. Root Named Chairman. Senator Elihu Root of New York was elected temporary chairman of the Republican convention Tuesday afternoon amid scenes of great disorder, thus scoring an important victory for the Taft forces. The Roosevelt men voted for Gov. Francis E. McGovern of Wisconsin. M ith the completion of the long roll call, practically every minute of which had been strenuously contested by the Roosevelt people, led by Governor Hadley, Senator Flinn and Mr. Heney, Senator Root was given an ovation in which the Roosevelt delegates took no part. At 6:30 he begafa the delivery of his speech, and continued until seven o’clock.

James S. Sherman.