Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1896-08-18


many of the delegates were missing,
having missed the 10 O'Clock trains, and
there was only a fair attendance of
spectators.
AS soon as order. was obtained the
chair announced that the business be-
fore the body was a roll call of the
State, by counties. for a vote for the
office OF Auditor, nominations for which
had been made the night before.
The clerk reported the nominees as
Messrs. Sommers, Mckay, Gaylord,
Boggs, Brown, McEldowney, Key, Nash
and Tippett, nine in all.
The confusion in the hall was great
at times, and it was very slow work
getting started, but at last some pro-
gress was made, and the roll was COM
pleted a few minutes before noon. Be-
fore any attempt could be made to an
nounce the result, however, the con-
vention broke out in confusion, brought
about by In effort to stampede the con-
vention to Boggs, who had about 300
votes as they were originally cast, and
the scenes which followed may fairly
be placed IN the same disorderly COL
umn with those OF the previous after
noon.
The vote for Key, Nash, Tippett and
Gaylord was exceedingly ragged and
none of them mustered owe fifty, and
at noon Mr.. Key made his way to the
stage for this purpose of Withdrawing
his name. The confusion was so great,
however, that he could not be heard by
the chair, much less by any of the del
egates, and he was compelled to stand
for many minutes, waiting a chance TO
be heard.
AT 1905 D.. M, Hon. H. R. Howard,
of Mason, also made his way to the
stage with a demand for recognition,
which he could not obtain.
The confusion continued and increas-
ed, and at 1910 the convention was a
seething mass of cheering men, most
of them in the interests of BOggs. A.
1911 Pendleton started a demonstra-
ton for its candidate by forming in
procession with the county marker at
its head. and in a moment the markers
of Randolph, Hardy, P~ocahontas, Tay-
Tor, Lincoln, Webster, Tucker, Logan,
Wayne, Boone, Bra2ton, Mason, Grant,
Gilmer and others fell IN behind inc a
circuit of the hall was made. three hun
bred men joining in the parade, while
all the rest stood on their
chairs and yelled at the top Of their
voices. At 1914 the parade disinte-
grated, and Assistant S~ergeant-at-
Arms MOTS. ACCuliOCn TdlSSu his NOlC0
to plead for qu:etness. By degrees the
riot subsidized, and at 1916 Mr.. H. R.
Howard withdrew the name of Tippett,
and cast the vote of Mason for Boggs
amid the greatest excitement. AT 1917
Mr.. Nash's name was withdrawn by
Wood county. At 1918 Kanawha,
which had originally voted sever for
Sommers, 8 for Boggs and 81 for Brown,
changed its vote to 81 for Brown, 8 for
Boggs and 1 for Sommers. At 1919
Mr.. Key finally obtained recognition
and withdrew his name. At 1920 the
roll of counties had been completed,
Boggs having about 800 votes to his
credit, Sommers 100, Brown about 200,
and the rest scattering, but changes
came SO fast and thick that the secre-
tary found It impossible to keep track
of them, and at 1920 a motion prevailed
to again call the roll for changes. This
work consumed half an hour, and at
1850 it had been completed. While
the secretaries were trying for the to-
tails, B. H. Butcher, of Wood, obtained
recognition and offered the following
resolution:
Resolved, That any county having
ono voted, on any ballot, shall not be
allowed TO change its vote, except to
correct a mistake, before the announce
ment of the vote"
This proved cries of mol" and
much confusion.
When he got a chance, Mr.. Butcher
went on to sa$ that great evils had re-
suited in former conventions as a re-
suit of the pernicious system of chang
ing votes of counties during a roll call.
He was interrupted for several min
utes by the confusion, which the chair
was powerIess to control. but when he
finally got a chance he said:f
I'VE saw the evils of this system
well illustrated four years ago, when a
man nominated by a convention was
euchred out of it."
Mr.. J. Hop Woods made the point of
order that the roll call a not been
completed, and hat the resolution vas
therefore out of order.
Mr.. Butcher thought a motion to
regulate a roll call was always IN or
der, BUT the chair decided that the point
of order was well taken. Mr.. Butcher
acquiesced and said he would bring the
matter up later.
The secretaries then announced that
the roll call was completed, n n
nounced it as follows:
Summers, 1874; Boggs, 391; Mckay,
50; Brown, 1S9.
ballot was ordered at once, but before
it was started the Butcher resolution
was put and carried.
The ballot was AIKEN without the loss
of much time, under the new rule, and
resulted as follows:
SECOND BALLOT FOR AUDITOR.
Vote in
ton mRrs. [av- RDnrgs- Brown.