The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-07-30
A CONVENTION INCIDENT.
Distressing Predicnment of Sergeant
2t-Arms MCDOWELL.

st. Louis Special In Philadelphia Record.
1t was during the first uproar of the
day. The crowd was gathered at the ros-
a fId@ p iina al T banners nIss and fiags. The
people on the platform were dancing and
shrieking with JOY, and most ~enthusiastic
of all of them was John Mcdowell, of
Union City. Tenn, the sergeant-at-arms
of the convention, and candidate for Con-
sress on the Populist ticket in his dis
trict.
Mr.. Mcdowell has been a very much
overworked man during this convention.
and in addition TO being overworked he
has. on two or three occasions. been with
in an ace of figuring as the star feature
of a lynching party. But he had gathered
all of his. energy together 10 help along
this demonstration and make it the great
est that any national convention had seen.
When Mr.. Mcdowell gets excited he
spreads his legs apart. throws his hands
and arms wildly about his head. shakes
his whiskers and leaps about with the en-
ergy and the spryness of a billygoat after
a lunch on tomato cans.
MIR. Mcdowell was doing all this
and more. He was sbrieking at the top
Of his voice. Every once in a while he
would rap the man in front OF him on the
back: ne was so entnusiasd'c, Is ,ne GEM a.
Mcdowell became more intense. He grew
red in the face. his eyes grew bright and
threatened to pop out OF MS head, ana ne
leaped eighteen inches at the climax of
the uproar.
Mr.. Mcdowell was SO energetic that half
the people were looking at him. 1t was
a moment of supreme triumph for the
Tennessee Populist. when suddenly. with
out n note of warning. all of his suspepder
buttons gave way; nn and IN dow an instant his
They escaped the fierce clutch OF the
unfortunate man. Have you ever faced
death: have you eyer seen people when an
them? Have you ever seen q poor wretch
on the scaffold with the knowledge that
his last minute had come? Well. If YOU
4D-,,NCf+o xfnfrtrn If hum nffx- m
Jergoing all these combined. you have got
a fair picture of Deacon Mcdowell as this
awful catastrophe overlook him.
As stated. the deacon was on a chair.
He clutchcd. bat he clutched too late. He
dived and grabbed. once. twice. thrice. bur
down those trousers slipped Mary Ellen
Mitchell. of Kansas. was less than two feet
awey. Helen Cougar was almost on the
SPOT.
two seats off. and all around and about
there were gathered the beautiful and the
eloquent women of the convention. and ev-
Mcdowell. Then he grabbed. and again
again and again. but the trousers eluded
him. Down. down he dived. At last VIC
tory perched on him. He got the trousers
them from stem to stern he pulled them
IN. AT no time had the applause ceased
nor had there been any sign OF a ietrup II
two-foid. and the women timed Mcdowell
clutching the truant trousers closely about
him, TO resume his part OF the
demonstration but il was useless. and after
frantic efforts to show enthusiasm he re-
tired to hunt up ten-penny nails.
phis was one of the interesting features
OF SATURDAYS session of the convention
When II was over an indignant PoDClisi
introduced this resolution:
Resolved. That future sergeants-at-arm:
sha | be required TO wear tights
For some reason the chairman refused L
put the resolution. so that IL is oossibl,
this catastrophe may happen again.