The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-14
NAVAL MILITIA DECLARES WAR
LIEUT.. COLDING CONTESTS THE
BATTALION ELECTION.

The Ground OF IlleEanty Cited to
the AdJutant GeneraI-The Differ
ence Between the Savannah and
Brunswick Divisions Gone Over.
The Result of the Election by the
Atlanta.
War Is on in earnest between the Sec
ond and Third divisions of the naval mill
tia at Savannah and the First and Fourth
divisions at Brunswick over the election
of officers for the new battalion.
Lieut.. H. S. Colding OF Savannah has
written the adjutant general, protesting
against the election in Brunswick and
proclaiming the illegality of the vote of
the Brunswick officers. The Brunswick
officers are not to be left out in this, and
they, too, have brought charges OF lille
gality. Lieut. Colding, however, laughs
at the idea of their having anything to
show that four, as they claim, or even one
of the officers here were disqualified to
vote. He says he has acted In every cleo
ton under the special direction of the adj
jutant general, and he has the orders to
Indicate the security of his position and
the utter nonsense of the claim
of illegality in the eight votes
cast solidly by the Savannah Off
GERS of the reserves for Lieut.. Colding,
commander; Lieut.. Clarence E. Brough-
ton, lieutenant commander, and Private
Walter ]. Thompson, navigator.
The claim OF the Brunswick officers, it
is understood, is that the four officers of
the third division were Illegally elected as
they could not, in due observance of the
regulations be elected at the same time
the division was mustered into service,
as was done. This is the very point Lieut..
Colding contests, and he has the orders
from the adjutant generals office to vouch
for the fact that he was not acting lille
gally. In the election of Lieut.. Brough-
tons successor before his promotion the
Brunswick people think they have another
point, but this, too, is covered by Lieut..
Coldings Instructions from the adjutant
generals office, which show that he gave
more than the requisite number of days
notice of the election. He was so careful
that, not having heard from the resig-
nation of Lieut.. BFoughton, which had
been forwarded to Atlanta, he wired the
office there, asking If it had been received
He was just about to order the election
postponed, when he heard from Atlanta,
and was instructed to proceed with the
election, as the resignation had been re-
ceived, and everything could be done with
perfect safety.
Armed with these orders from the adju-
tant general Lieut.. Colding will be for
midable adversary, and the Brunswick of
ticers will have trouble in. substantiating
their claims The eight votes of the
brunswick officers were cast solidly for
their candidates. These were Lieut.. Frank
D. Aiken, commander; James S. Wright
lieutenant commander, and w. NJ. Tup-
per, navigator. This was exactly what it
was thought here would be done, and the
vote for the Savannah and Brunswick
officers is a tie, and the result to be seen.
Every thing viii depend on the protests.
Lieut.. Colding's was forwarded last night
to the adjutant general. 1t is as follows
Second Division, Naval Artillery, Nav
al Militia, Georgia Volunteers, Savannah,
Ga, April 10, 1S97.-Adjutant General.
State of Georgia, Atlanta, Ga-Sir: In
accordance to orders issued from your
office, the election for officers for the
naval battalion, Georgia Volunteers, was
held last night. Before the polls were
opened 1 wired the following to Bruins
wick:
Lieut.. f. d. Aiken, Brunswick, Ca
Ensign duBignon was Illegally elected If
you allow him to vote election will be con-
tested H. S. Colding.
The facts in the case are as follows: An
election was held in Brunswick in accord
ance with orders issued from your office,
on Monday, Feb. S, 1897, for officers for
the torpedo division, and Ensign C. A.
Taylor of the First Division, Naval Ar
tilery was elected Lieutenant ofsthe jun
Tor grade of that division. The said Tay-
| lor did not resign his commission in the
First Division. and acted as an
officer in the same, appeared on parade in
the uniform of his office on Feb. %, 1897,
| and did not relinquish his connection with
| said division until March, when he receiv-
ed his commission assigning him to the
torpedo division.
ed 10 FOL xr af bo oil aTo
dered by you was closed, and Taylor was
| declared elected, Lieut.. F. D. Aiken open
! ed the polls in his division and, without
| giving the notice of five days to his men,
| bers, as required by the regulations, pro-
| ceeded to elect a successor to the said
| Taylor, again violating the regulations,
| which say an election shall not be held to
| fill a vacancy until one actually exists
| In this illegal election Mr.. duBignon /
| believe. was elected. If 1 am wrongly in
| formed as to the name of this candidate,
! it does not affect the facts in the case, and
l respectfully ask that you take the neces-
| sary steps to straighten out this illegality.
| His commission reads to take effect Feb.
s. 1897, and there was no vacancy until
March, 1887
If this man was allowed to vote,
his vote is clearly Illegal and should be
thrown out, which will give us eight votes
in Savannah to seven in Brunswick, Civ
| MS US q hidJOlIlS anu eleClilB our cdnQl-
| dates.
The position I have taken in this mat.
ter is in accordance with your letter of
Feb. 4, 1897. and your telegram of March
l, 1897, and I am also backed UP by the
officers of this city to whom I have shown
| this statement of facts.
We tried to avoid all differences with
Brunswick in this matter, and telegraph.
| ed them as follows:
Lieut.. f. d. Akin, Brunswick, Ca
! Savannah will give Brunswick command
| er and take lieutenant commander and
navigator or Savannah will take com.
mander and give Brunswick lieutenant
| commander and navigator. VIII you
| choose? Colding and Broughton."
This proposition they refused to consider.
| Respectfully, Henry 5. Coding,
Lieutenant Commanding"
The returns for the election held here
| Monday night were sent to Atlanta last
night by Lieut.. George w Drummond OF
| the Republican Blues, who acted as sec
rotary OF the board of officers superin-
| tending the election.
A Brunswick dispatch to the Morning
! News Says: THE Brunswick re-
serves are against Savannah hav-