Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-01-09
.DISCoRD PRESENT
Serious Split at Meeting of Dem
ocratic State Central Committee.
The AntEWiIliams Men left the Meeting
and Organized a Convention of
Their Own.

| Boston, Jan S.-The annual reorgan-
iization meeting of the democratic state
central committee, which was held at
! the American House this afternoon, re-
suited in a split the anti-Williams men,
headed by ex-senator George P. Cook
| of Milford and Daniel H. Coakley of
Boston, leaving the meeting in a body.
The boilers then engaged another
| apartment in the hotel and held a meet
/ ing of their own. The delegates favor
/ able to the regular reorganization con-
tinued in session, and elected Christo-
! pher T. Callahan of Holyoke chairman
and ex-senator William S. McNary of
! Boston secretary.
/ 1t was supposed that John H. Lee of
Boston would call the delegates to
order. AS he was the senior vice chair
man of the last years committee, Chair
man Coughlin being absent.
| Mr.. Lee, however, was refused admit
lance. The meeting was called to order
/ by Daniel H. Crowley of Danvers.
/ The first contest came on the election
of a temporary secretary. The delegates
! favorable to Mr.. Williams placed in
! nomination William S. McNary of Bos-
1 ton, and the anti-Williams delegates
named Daniel H. Coakley of Boston as
|
Cooke complained that his candidate for
secretary, Mr.. Coakley, was receiving
unfair treatment. This brought on a de-
bate in which several lively speeches
were made and Delegate Cooke and "a
of his friends left the room. The Will
| liams delegates went on with the meet
ing and elected their candidates accord
| ing to the slate agreed upon.
/ Christopher I. Callahan of Holyoke
| WA c oil n a r
secretary.
The boilers obtained another room in
the hotel and Immediately a second
meeting was called to order. Resolutions
were adopted protesting about the treat
ment at the hands Of the Williams men
at the convention The name of DR..
Cooke was proposed for chairman, and
that of Daniel H. Coal5ley for secretary
! of the new organization.
! After the bolt the newspaper men
were admitted to the original conven-
ton room downstairs, and were told
that the Coakley vote was "a to IA
against him, and that Callahan and Nc
\ Nary had been elected by a vote of 80
\ to nothing. These votes We're taken as
/ the other side was in the act of with
drawing from the room. For vice presi-
dent, r. T. Paine, Jr., J. e. Donahue of
Lowell, John H. Mack of North Adams
and Daniel N Crowley of North Adams
were then unanimously elected.
The boilers had "a at their meeting.
Soon after they got together, r. T..
Paine, Jr., went to the other meeting to
demand the official list of members and
secretary's books from Secretary Pope,
but his demand was refused.
| A temporary organization was made,
with James N. Owens of Lowell as tenn
porary chairman, and D. B. Kelly OF
Haverhill as temporary secretary. The
second convention adjourned until noon
next Saturday
After the adjournment of the com
mittee the Williams faction issued
statement rehearsing in detail such pro-
ceedings in the meeting as became a
matter of record on the secretary'S
books. Among the last items of bust
ness transacted was the choice OF
agents to look after the legal right Of
the committee. The anti-Williams men
also issued a statement 1t alleges that
the meeting of the Williams men was il
legally held.
After citing the call for a meeting of
the state committee, the statement says:
an the absence of Dr. Coughlin, chair
man of the democratic state committee
of 1897, by whom, under the rules, the
meeting should be called to order, the
first vice president of the committee OF
1897. John H, Lee, in accordance with
the rules called the meeting to order,
and stated that Frank Pope, secretary
of the state democratic committee OF
1897. had been denied admission to the
room at which the meeting Of the com
mittee had been called, to carry out the
duty devolving upon him of calling the
meeting to order, and of presenting the
temporary roll of members as prepared
by the chairman and secretary of the
outgoing state committee. in accordance
with the rules, and that for this and
other. reasons, the purported meeting of
the democratic state committee there
held was Illegal and invalid
A statement was made by Mr.. Dan
ieI H. Coakley, a member-eleet OF the
democratic state committee for 1895, who
had been present 1T such alleged meet
ing of the committee, showing that its
proceedings had been Illegal and con-
trary to the rules and to the law, partic
ularly in that there was no temporary
roll of membership made up by the
chairman and secretary of the outgoing
state committee for use, and in that the
meeting was. therefore, held without
any legal roll of membership.
1t was voted that, in view of the lille
gal proceedings at the alleged meeting
of the state committee, called to order
by Daniel n. Crowley, ana in view of
the impossibility of giving notice OF this
meeting to all of the members of this
committee, that the committee adjourn
to meet at the Quincy House on Jan. %.