Word: taftmen
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Rout & Rump. The convention was the climax of a struggle between enthusiastic Eisenhower supporters and the pro-Taft Old Guard. The Ikemen, rallied by Houston Oilman Jack Porter, had turned out in record-breaking numbers for the precinct caucuses and county conventions. They had routed the Taftmen and carried the day for Ike. But the Old Guard, behind National Committeeman Harry Zweifel, had bolted, held its own rump sessions, and named slates of pro-Taft delegates in the 31 counties. Zweifel & Co. desperately wanted to keep their grip on their "private-club" Republican organization, which they had controlled for years...
...doubts whether the points are that strong in Taft's favor. To seat their Texas delegation in Chicago, the Taft forces will have to drag a spectacle ^of machine control and backroom politics right down before the glare of television cameras and the eyes of 1,800 reporters. Taftmen control the Republican National Committee and probably will have a majority of the Credentials Committee (see box), but when the credentials fight gets to the convention floor, Taft will need a cast-iron grip on his delegates to keep some from repudiating the Texas steal...
This vote might be very close indeed. The contested delegations will be voted on in alphabetical order. Assuming that the Credentials Committee has seated Taft delegates from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the latter two, with a total of 43 votes, can cast them to confirm the seating of the Taftmen from Louisiana. Then Louisiana (with 15) and Texas can help to vote in the Taft delegations from Mississippi. But when it comes to Texas, the vote may be much tighter for two reasons: i) the Taft machine's tactics in Texas were so flagrantly unfair that some independent Taftmen...
...floated. The court decided to reconsider. When all the complexities of the Taft and Ratliff bids were taken into account, it looked as if the Enquirer employees were actually offering $7,600,000 v. $7,586,000 by the Taft group. Said Reporter Ratliff happily: "Most of us are Taftmen, but we don't want to work for the Times-Star...
Taft supporters were hard pressed for a way to deny that serious was just the word for it. Taft had admitted in advance that the primary would be a fair test. But Taftmen found an explanation of sorts in the fact that Eisenhower supporters had urged independents and Democrats to vote for Ike. Cried David Ingalls, Taft campaign manager: an "immoral alliance." Taft himself let drive: "This development in Massachusetts and other states threatens the complete destruction of the two-party system . . ." Eisenhower Manager Lodge had a quick answer: "There just are not enough Republicans in the U.S. to elect...