The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1894-08-17
Dis9faCefdl.
Fight in the Democratic
Primary in Coal District.

81
Primary in Coal District.
But little interest was taken in
fhe Democratic primaries held at
various places in this county last
Saturday except in Coal district.
Ia some places the showing was
indeed sickly. but Coal district
hade up for the other nine.
Johnny McManaway swears that
II was the only typical Democrat
ID convention he ever attended.
The first call for the convention
mas at the Office of the Deison
house. 1t was a mass convention
md was organized by the selec
ion of James @. Garrett as chair
han and postmaster Vance as
secretary. A number of the
delegates were well stanked up"
with bad liquor, and the crowd
was large and boisterous. FL
nally they go. too loud and land
lord Deison managed to get in
through a window and ordered
the mob out, saying that If they
had NO respect for themselves
10 have some for the hotel. The
convention was then adjourned
10 the Court House, but not un-
lii two or three fellows had pull
ID their coats to fight. At tine
Court House there was more
boom and the crowd soon mum
bered about three hundred,
among whom were many Repub-
licans, Populists and Democrats
from other districts.
George Cornelius Southern and
Wilbur c. Morrison led one wing
of the party, and Ellis Lyon
Beverly Koon and others champ
ioued the opposition. A resolu-
ton to exclude Morrison from
the convention raised j storm.
An old church rumpus at Wilson
burg was revived, and one dele
gate wanted to know if a man
had to be a Baptist to be a Demo
crat? They talked church for
some time, during which Hon..
JohnJ Davis entered and thought
he had gotinto either aBaptistex-
perience meeting or a Methodist
revival, but he soon learned his
mistake. The bad whisky was
commencing to work and a lot of
fellows began to itch for a
Eight Morrison said he was a
Democrat and the other fellows
denied it. A vote on the resolu.
tion sustained the Southern and
Morrison forces. Morrison was
3 Democrat. A loud yell went up
from the throats of the victors.
IA committee was next appointed
to name the delegates to the
bounty convention, and then
came the fight. G. G. South.
ern and Beverly Koon
were candidates for President of
the board. Morrison made a flow
cry speech nominating Southern,
and when he had concluded Ellis
Lyon, in the supreme effort of
his life, placed Koon in nomira.
ton. He made a fiery, scathlng
speech, in which he character
lied Southern as boss" trick
ster, 1.-THE Richard Croker and
the "Tammany tiger While he
was speaking the excitement in
tenstfied. Several men took their
coats off and after he had taken
his seat the scene grew wild
and wooly.7 Alden Reynolds
couldn't control his muscle. He
gave John Boyles a couple of
awful whacks on the "noggin.
Then the fight began in earnest.
Some fellow pasted Jim Fra
zier in the only eye he had left,
and knocked him down. Then
Florinus Reynolds made a dash
for some fellow. dragging sher
if Alexander as he went. Homer
Singleton made at chairman
Garrett with a club, but Garrett
escaped. The fight now became
general. There were fully twenty.
five men striking. kicking. curs.