The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977 Page: 52
492 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
gests that Taft's following was of some size. It is impossible now to deter-
mine whether the credentials for delegates from western counties were
properly drawn, though it is unlikely that Lyon was careless on this point.
Probably Lyon and his friends knew that the Terrell Law favored their
position, anticipated a contest at Chicago, and used their advantages within
the framework of state law to choose a slate of eight men for Roosevelt.
Just as the Republican National Committee did two and a half weeks later,
the Lyon men in Texas wielded their power to maximum effect on the
basis of expediency. In the process they underrepresented Taft's following
in the state as badly as the decision of the national committee underrepre-
sented Roosevelt's strength in Texas. Taft had carried four districts, split
two, and had legitimate claims to three others. He had run well among
urban Republicans, such as they were. He had not established a majority
position, but he did not merit total exclusion from the at-large slate in the
Fort Worth convention any more than Roosevelt deserved the same fate
at Chicago. A fair result would have been a divided delegation with an
edge to Roosevelt, perhaps five to three.44
On the basis of this analysis, a reasonable case can be made that Roose-
velt should have received between twelve and fifteen more delegates than
he did get. If all the eight at-large delegates are put in his column, the
division is Roosevelt twenty-four to sixteen for Taft. Splitting the at-large
seats five to three produces an alignment of twenty-one to nineteen. After
reviewing the delegate challenges in 1912, Gilbert Roe concluded that
there were forty-nine "which could on the evidence have been given to
Colonel Roosevelt." Twenty-two of these were from Texas, and at least a
dozen, and as many as fifteen, belonged rightfully to Roosevelt. While dis-
puting whether Roosevelt ever had a majority in the convention, or how
many votes he required to win the key procedural ballots, scholars have
agreed that he had 466 solid votes. On the record of Texas that total
should have been between 478 and 481. At the same time Taft's majority
is reduced to only half a dozen votes more than the 540 needed for nomina-
tion. The Texas case supports the assertion of LaFollette and his allies
that neither Taft nor Roosevelt had a clear majority in the convention."45
Does this record also demonstrate that the national committee was guilty
44Lyon to Dixon, May 9, 1912, National Roosevelt Committee Press Release, May Io,
1912, Garfield Papers, Box 158; Dallas Morning News, May 8, 9, 1912; San Antonio
Express, May 9, 1912.
45Roe, "The Truth About the Contests," August 3, 1912, p. 15 (quotation); Robert
M. LaFollette, LaFollette's Autobiography: A Personal Narrative of Political Experiences
(Madison, 1913), 644-647, 658-670.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977, periodical, 1976/1977; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101204/m1/70/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.