The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1896-02-12

Saturday Afternoon. Albany Negro
Given the Marble Heart.
In response to call issued by George
Brooks, the chairman of the republican
county executive committee, about fifty
people met in the county court room
Saturday afternoon. The inclement
weather was doubtless the cause of so
small an attendance. Captain j. M.
Alexander was the only white republi-
can present.
The purpose of the meeting was to
reorganize the executive committee and
elect delegates to the district convention
to beld in Albany on the 9th inst, and
to the state convention to be held in At
lanta on April goth. The district con-
vention will elect two delegates to the
national convention, and the state con-
ventiOn will elect delegates to represent
the state at large.
1t was evident from the start that
there was division in the ranks of the
party. Johnson Mathews and Nero
Clark were put in nomination for the
craftsmanship, and Clark won. Mathews
and JIG. Styles, the principal of the ne
gro public schools, were nominated for
secretary and Mathews again went down
under the disapproval of majority.
The meeting then moved along har
m0niouslY until the organization of the
executive committee was completed.
The next business was the election of
delegates to the state convention, and
from then until It's close the meeting grad
ually grew hotter. Several names, includ>
ing that of Captain ]. M. Alexander,
were put in nomination. The captain
withdrew his name and was followed by
a number of others, and when the vote
was taken the list had Mario wed down to
B. J. Davis, George Brooks and Emanuel
Greer. Davis and Brooks, both Reed
men, were elected almost unanimously,
and assured the meeting that when the
state convention met they would be there.
Captain Alexander and Emanuel Greer
were elected alternates.
The election of delegates to the dis
trict conven ion was next in order
Ishmael Lonnon, the negro ppli-
tlcian of Albany, and chairman of
the district committee, wants
to go as delegate TO the national
convention, and came over to ma
nipulate the meeting in the interest of
himself and DR.. Arnold. bis presence
seemed to have a bad effect upon the
Reed forces, and instead of receiving a
friendly delegation he got red hot
roasting. 1t seems that Lonnon, hoping
to profit by the example of Chairman
Hobbs of the democratic executive
committee four years ago, had issued a
cali for all the counties to elect district
delegates on the same day, February
22nd. Ben Davis wanted to know what
such arbitrary action meant and in
whose interest it was done, and said
several other things not calculated to
add to the good feeling of the Albany
darkey. Johnson Mathews said there
wss no necessity for haste in electing
that it might be we'll to adjourn
and meet again on the day fixed
by Lonnon, Styles then took the
floor and denounced the action of the
district chairman in a lively manner.
He advised the meeting not to submit to
such an indignity, and Characterized it
do llO SCII0lh1 VI a LltLl6 iuSlgulUCduJ ana
designing political boss. When Styles,
who is a Reed man, quit speaking it
was decided to elect delegates to the
Albany convention, then and there and
ne was enthusiastically recommended t.
that convention as one the two delegates
from the second district to the national
convention. Nt
A motion made by Davis to permit
Styles to name the delegates to the dis
trict convention brought on the biggest
wrangle of the afternoon. The McKin-
ley element, led by johnson Mathews,
entered a vigorous kick, and at one time
1t looked as if the meeting would break
up in a row. Mathews secured the
hoor but, while in the midst of fiery
speech in which he Was stating his OBJ
lections to the notion was suddenly
and peremp:orily called down by the
chairman, who made it known that fur
tner oratory on the subject was objec-
uonable tOhim and would not be allowed.
Mathews then offered motion to table
Davis motion, but the chair refused to
entertain it, He then appealed from the
chair to the meeting, but TIE pre-
siding officer was still obdurate and
refused to give the convention a chance
10 vote upon the appeal. This got