St. Paul daily globe., 1893-02-16
TROOPS CALLED OUT,
Kansas Republicans Break
Down the Doors Of Rep
resentative Hall.
For Two Minutes It Looked
Like Blood Would
Flow.
Militia Now Guarding the
Capitol Building in
Topeka.
Republican Volunteers Hur-
rying to Topeka From
Over the State.

TOPEKA, Kan, Feb. 15.-Bleeding
Kansas nearly bled again today. Moth
leaders of the opposing parties to the
struggle for the control of the lower
house of the legislature prevented a
serious conflict and the shedding of
blood.
The members of the Republican
house, each one carrying revolver in a
convenient pocket, forced way through
Populist guard stationed in the corri-
dor and stairway leading to representa-
tive hall; fought their way inch by inch
up the stairs in hand-tO-hand contest
with the Populists; battered down the
doors of the hall with sledge hammers; {;
took possession of the hall, barricaded
themselves within, and are now with
standing siege by which the Populist
government, supported by the entire
military furce of the state,
W Z hCHA
into unconditional surrender. Not since
the time when the ntislavery and pro-
slavery forces forces were arrayed in
hostile attitude against one another has
political excitement run so high as 1T
ran today, and not since those perilous
times has political situation come so
near developing into battle with arms.
The trouble arose out of the bitterness
of last faIl's campaign for the political
control of the state, and when the Re-
publicans elected siXty-three members,
the legislature. The Populists claimed
that three of these siXty-three members
had been given certificates by mistake,
and that their Popuist opponents had
in fact been elected. This being the
case, they decided not to permit the Re-
publieans to organize the house, and
thus array an opposition branch of the
government against the Populist senate
and the Populist governor, enabling
them to kill the proposed
POpulist Legislation.
The result of this decision on the part
of the Popullsts was the organization of
two distinct houses-one by the Repub-
licans and one by the Populists. All
agreed that the question of which was
the legal house should be left to the
courts, but the Populists refused until
late yesterday afternoon to take any
action upon which the Republicans
could base an action in law and have
failed to take any legal steps to test the
Republican position. Yesterday the
Republicans decided to bring the
issue to crisis and ordered
the arrest of Popullst Clerk
Rich for illegally interrupting the pro-
ceedings of the house. The events of
yesterday, the failure of the Republic
ans to effect Rich's arrest, the appoint
ment of a guard to prevent his capture,
the decision of Gov. Lewe Hing to ex-
clude the Republicans from the hall
and the counter decision of the Repub-
Iicans not to be excluded, are fresh in
the public mind.
The Republican members, anticipat-
ing opposition to their entrance, gath
cred in body at the Copeland hotel
early this morning and
Marched to the Capitol.
There they found the corridor and the
stairway leading to the hall in the pos
session of a PopuliSt guard of twenty
men. In hand-to-hand fight, in which
several WincheSterS and reVOlverS made
their appearance, but were not put to
use, fought their way to the doors of the
hall, which they found had been locked
and barred. Two sledge hammers had
been provided for that emergency, and
their vigorous use by Speaker Douglass
and Speaker Pro TEN. Noch soon gave
the Republicans entrance. Having
gained entrance, they barricaded the
doors from within and prepared for an
assault. They had not prepared for a
siege, however, and they are now suffer
ing the pangs of hunger and the nips Of
frost Soon after they left the hall the
Populist janitor turned off the steam.
The military guards without the hall
will permit no one to enter, and the Re-
publicanS have no means of supplying
themselves with food or with heat.
The Republicans have become mas
ters of representative hall. Only two
means of dislodging them presented
themselves to the Populist leaders. One
was to put them out and the other was
to starYe them out. The hot-headed
leaders advised that the
Militia BE Called Ont
and be ordered to eject the Republic
ans. More conservative counsel pre-
vailed, and Gov. Lewelling decided to
lay siege to the Republican citadel and
starve thenl-into submission. 1t was
decided that troops were necessary to
effect the object, and the governor Or
dered several companies OF the national
guard to repair at once to the state
house. Two.local companies were soon
placed in the field, and during the
day several more companies from
nearby towns arrived. At nightfall 400
men had been put in active service and
500 more are Ell route to the city. These
were put under command Of Col.
Hughes, Third regiment, who disposed
the men about the capitol so as to pre-
vent all egress or ingress. The men
were under orders to allow no one to
take eatables IN any form into the
building. and the starving-out process
was begun. Before the guards were
established the Republicans succeeded
in providing themselves with a sand
wich lunch at noon. Since then, how
ever, they have been unable to get any
thing to eat, and the prospects are that
they will be starved into surrendering
unless they are
ZscTIeved by Reinforcements.
Right here arises the probability of
an armed conflict between Republican
guards and the state militia. The Re-
publican members have kept the wires
| hot all day sending messages to their