For two bitter days last week, the political eyes of the U.S. were upon Texas, where the G.O.P. was trying to decide whether the state's 38 delegates to the Republican National Convention in Chicago would be for Taft or Eisenhower.
To settle things, 12,000 Republicans squeezed into Mineral Wells (pop. 7,763) for the state convention. The resort town's motto, "Rest & Relax," mocked the tense and tussling delegates. Thirty-one of the state's 254 counties, including most of the populous cities (e.g., Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth), had sent two rival delegations apiece. In all, 519 of the 1,060 seats in the convention were in dispute.
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. Although every Ikeman had signed a Zweifel-designed Republican pledge, the Old Guard charged they were Democrats and Independents in disguise, just "one-night Republicans."
"The Right & Just Thing." Now, both sides were to tell their stories to the Republican State Executive Committee in the sunlit ballroom atop Mineral Wells' Baker Hotel. The Ikemen had their guard up, for the committee was known to be strongly pro-Taft.
Malcolm McCorquodale, an earnest lawyer from Houston, set the pattern of the Ikemen's plea. Said he: "For 20 years we Republicans have extended a welcome to all Democrats to join the Republican Party and make Texas a two-party state. On May 6, history was made. We had more people attending our conventions than the Democrats had, and you all know that we should be glad to get them. The struggle to exclude these newcomers is led by a few leaders who don't want them . . . The issue is simple honesty . . ."
Orville Bullington, executive committee chairman, was full of assurances. Said he: "This committee will give the most careful consideration to both sides, and it intends to do the right and just thing." With that, the committee went to work.