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Show ROOSEVELT FIRST; .AFTER HIM TAfT Straw Votes TaKen in Legislatures Leg-islatures of Middle Western West-ern States Show a Third-Term Third-Term Preference. WASHINGTON, March S. Dispatches from the middle West telling of the polls taken of Republican members of legislative legis-lative bodies have caused an unusual amount of speculation today. Everybody haa known that the Republicans In the Southwest are demanding the nomination nomina-tion of Roosevelt, "but It has been alleged that the Roosevelt strength could be diverted di-verted to Secretary Taft. The dispatches allege that the poll taken tak-en of the South Dakota Legislature, eliminating elimi-nating Roosevelt from the calculation, showed a larger vote for Taft than for all the other Republican candidates combined, com-bined, and La Follette ran an easy second sec-ond to Taft. The straw vote showed Taft 48,. La Follette 17, Hughes 10, Root 7. Shaw 7, Fairbanks 3, Dolllver 3, and Moody 4. In Nebraska Taft received 38 votes. Root 8, Beveridge 7, Fairbanks 6, Cannon Can-non 3, La Follettte 3, Cummins 2, Dolllver Dol-llver 2, Hughes 2. In both Legislatures the Republicans declared by practically a unanimous vote in favor of giving the nomination to Roosevelt providing he would accept It. The Democrats In both legislative bodies declared for Bryan. -' . It Is apparent that the great body of the Republican voters have never yet abandoned the idea that the President cannot be Induced to accept a renomina-tion. renomina-tion. Letters to th Kansas delegation Indicate that the people of that State at the present time are determined to send a Roosevelt delegation to the national convention. con-vention. Other delegations from Western West-ern States report the same political condition. con-dition. . - It has also become apparent that with Mr. Roosevelt nominated. La Follette will receive scattering votes in a dozen different differ-ent States. Supporters of Mr. Taft here are convinced that Just as soon as the Republic becomea convinced Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt cannot be induced to accept the nomination nom-ination the Roosevelt strength will quickly shift to the Secretary of War. The test vote taken in the Western Legislatures haa gone far to confirm Mr. Tart's supporters in this belief. |