The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977 Page: 56

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

resolve all the issues that this single episode in the Taft-Roosevelt quarrel
raises. While it illuminates some aspects of the larger problem of the
Republican split in 1912, it also indicates how much remains to be in-
vestigated. Before there can be firm conclusions about the outcome of the
National Convention, there will have to be examinations of other con-
tested states, especially California, Arizona, and Washington. The example
of Texas suggests that Taft fought with some effect outside the primary
states and it may be useful to explore how well the president functioned as
a party politician in 1912. More important, historians should go beneath
the rhetorical battle of the two principal adversaries and study how the
Republicans divided in individual states. They might also view with some
detachment the moralistic assertions often associated with this crucial year.
Neither side had a monopoly on villainy or virtue. What is significant is
how the disintegration of Republican unity came about and how it shaped
the party's future. The Texas delegation in i912, selected under tawdry
and embittered circumstances, was a significant element in the process of
division and defeat.
Record, May 15, 91 2. John C. O'Laughlin, a close associate of Roosevelt, put the
Texas delegates in his column in the Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1912.