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Show my THE CALIFORNIA STEAL. Hj The one argument to which the Standpatters reverted in their Hj attempt to justify the steal oC the two delegates from the Fourth H district of California, in the Republican national convention, was M the horror of the situation, if New York City, in a state-wide pri- W mary similar to that in California, were to dominate in the nam- ft ing of delegates from New York state. "What do you think of brainy men concealing their thoughts with sophistry so shallow?' "Would it not be an awful disaster, if, as a result of popular primaries in New York state, instead of the delegates being selected in the back room of some low and cunning politician such as fj Barnes, three or four hundred thousand American citizens in the I city of New York were to dictate in the naming of delegates. "Wouldn't that be a calamity! To elect delegates to a national convention by a state-wide popular primary would be a subverting o the rights of congressional districts, so sacredly regarded by the Republican national committee, com-mittee, but to name those same delegates by rascality and chicanery and in a manner to prevent any popular expression of choice is the Very acme of representative government and a highly commend- ; able course to pursue, according to the defenders and apologists I j of those now in control of the Republican convention in Chicago 1 Could men credited with common honesty be more dishonest IV in their arguments than those who have thus condoned the stealing jj of two of the seats c the Roosevelt delegates from California? I New York state allows New York City to vote for the presi- I , dential electors accredited to that state and their election is by a I ' state-wide vote. If to allow state-wide primaries to determine who shall represent a state in a national convention is a reviving of the B question of state rights and an appalling thrust at local self-gov- Wt eminent, then how much more offensive and inexcusable is our M I system of electing all our presidential electors by state-wide vote? H I California held populpr primaries. Taft, as well as Roosevelt, ' sanctioned the state-wide contest before the election, so that the H I election had the force of law and personal approval. The state law K offered a fairer, better method of selectiug delegates than, did the Wk call of the national committee and, as a matter of honesty in poli- B ties, should have been approved by the national committee. IVhen Hf j the votes were counted, there was no way of determining who Te rn ceived a majority or plurality of the votes in the Fourth district, BH ! "because the polling districts were .not coincident with the congres- 9M j sional district Ten voting districts overlapped the old Fourth con- K gressional district and made even a guess at the vote by districts HI l a wild attempt at hit or miss. |