The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-05-19
ENDED WITH A TRIUMPHANT
VICTORY.
UTTER R0UT OF SKINNER AND WILSON
All the Tactics of Generalship and Arts Of the
Diplomat Brought into Play by the
Senator--He Closed With a
Great Speech.

question by their State convention, which
was in almost continuous session here
from o'clock Tuesday afternoon until
500 o'clock yesterday morning.
There was a conspiracy to put the
party into new hands. A triumvirate.
composed of Harry Skinner. Congress
man from the First district; s. Ohio
Wilson, the Grand Gideon and deposed
Railroad Commissioner, and A. 5. Peace.
the treasurer of Granville county, had
planned to capture the whole layout.
The stakes were high and the tTium-
Yirate played their cards well in county
and township meetings; but when ii
came to the State convention they made
Il most fearful botch of the whole thing.
thereby proving that they are good heel
ers but poor bosses.
When the convention met Tuesday &f-
ternoon no men could have been more
confident of an easy victory than were
these three conspirators. But they are
now wiser men. They have learned by
bitter experience that nothing is sure
in politics until the votes are cast and
counted. After caucusing all day Ohio
Wilson told me at 6 o'clock that there
were 1,10S delegates represented, and Of
this number he had 663 who were against
Butler on anything. and half the others
were wavering in their allegiance to the
Senator.
When the convention adjourned VIII
son. Skinner and Peace could muster
only 2s5 to Buffers 675. The figures
tell the story.
There is no doubt that Butler went
into the convention beaten-badly beaten.
He knew it, as did also both his friends
and his opponents. He came out. after
a twelve-hours' fight, triumphantly vic
torious.
"How was it done?' the people ar,
asking. 1t was done by superb man
agement; by just the same kind of pow
ers and tactics that general brings
into play when he wins great battle.
BY a proper distribution of forces, by
making the most of the resources Mt his
command, and by attacking the enemy
where he is weakest. All of these things
Butler did.
To begin with there were long pre-
liminaries and skirmishes over the APP
pointment of committees. In these
Butler was most adroit and kept his
men well under cover, only rushing out
now and then to draw the enemy's fire
from some weak point in his defence,
would show how really weak he was
But every time he came forth or ordered
out trusty lieutenant there was n
CLEAN of wit, Il flash of sarcasm. we'll
timed hit that went straight home to
some troublesome opponent and brought
forth cheers and applause from even his
enemies.
This was kept up for exactly one hour,
amid the greatest excitement. Then
the convention took a recess to allow
Chairman Fountain to do that which he
ought to have done before-prepared a
roll of the counties represented. To this
adjournment Wilson and Skinner agreed,
not knowing until too late that it was a
part of Buffers scheme.
Two hours later the convention met
again, and then began in earnest tn.
greatest al-conyention-battle Raj
eigh has ever seen.
The fight opened up with a flank move
ment by Congressman Fowler, Buffers
first lieutenant, who surprised Skinner
by making and passing the very motion
that Skinner had failed to get through
ut the afternoon session-allowing each
Congressional district to name its own
committeeman. OF course having advo-
Gated such a course at the afternoon
session the conspirators could not now
back water on Fowler's motion, and
they voted for it, wondering what would
happen next.
They did not have long to wait to find
out. All was a hubbub for a quarter of
an hour, and then each district an.
nounced its committeeman. When they
did the hearts of the anti-Butlerites
sank like piledrivers They We're lost.
Some emissary had been at work. But
Ter controlled absolutely every commit
tee. How it was managed nobody has
yet been able to explain, but the fact
remains.
Skinner and Wilson were not the
men though to give up without a fight
to the last ditch They went into the
committee rooms, and there the contest
ragged for hours. 1T was long past mid
night before the reports were ready
And when they were ready, Peace was
beaten for chairman by Cy Thompson,
all contests were decided in favor OF
the Butler men; the platform written by
Butler in Washington was adpoted with
out change, and the typewriter Demo
cratic-fusion resolutions went through
without dotting an or crossing Il t.
Could any victory have been more
complete? Well. hardly.
But Senator Butler was not satisfied
with it. He had few old scores that
he wanted TO pay off. He felt it pa
triotic duty to do so, he said. and he
went about it in mastery manner.
Day was just beginning when he be-
gan. As the dawn filtered through the
long windows and dimmed the gas jets
the tense words began to hurtle from
his lips like hail-stones before storm;
faster and faster they came. Sleepy
eyes opened wide and drowsy brains
Guickened as all felt the Importance of
the occasion. And cheer after cheer
rent the air as the impassioned sentences
were sent crashing through the hall. 1t
was a great speech; every period was