, 1900-02-15

feel that he would lose the nomination.
Toward the end Of the convention
the gigantic Ollie James, a Stone man,
rushed up TO Mr.. Goebel, and, with his
whole frame shaking with excitement,
and in a voice of thunder, exclaimed
You must withdraw or We will nomi-
nate Hardin!" James was the recog-
nized leader of the Stone forces, and
he expected this wild declaration would
move the Kenton county man. But Mr..
Goebel never budged. He simply said,
in a quiet tone: sAH- right; If you can
stand it | AN"
That was all; he never argued the
question; he did not ask why. 1t was
such a surprising answer that James
was completely no%nplussed, and he re-
tired from the stage without another
word. He vas nominated without
much further trouble.
During his campaign there was much
bitterness and acrimOny. Prominent
democrats all over the state came out
against Goebel's candidacy. Among
them was Senator Lindsay. GenerI
Simon b. Buckner, Representative
Owens. and ex-Representative Brock
inridge.
After the election. both sides still
claiming victory, the state board of
election commissioners met at Frank
fort on Dec. 4 to canvass the returns.
Supplementary" returns had poured
in from various counties throughout
the state, changing majorities in favor
of GoGbel. The latter's faction began
the circulation of reports that an army
of intimidators was being massed by
the republicans. Democratic claims
were raised that in these mountain dis
tricts-the counties of Know, Magoffin,
Johnson, and Pike-"tissue" ballots
had been used, and that. therefore, the
votes cast here must be thrown out.
In the city of Louisville the calling of
the militia was construed by them as
ground for the i%nvalidating of the alec-
ton there.
After four days Of canvassing and
the hearing Of arguments, Commission
ers Pryor and Ellis decided that the
board.sat merely as a canvassinS body
and could not 60 behind the returns
to decide whether the contested coun-
ties should be thrown out in the count
to overcome Taylor's admitted MAORI
ty of 1883 votes. Certificates of cleo
ton had been issued previously to Tay-
lor and Marshall and they were install
ed, the one as governor, the other as
lieutenant governor, Dec. II.
The GCebel men made ready to take
up the contest against Taylor and Mar
shall in the general assembly, where
they held a majority on joint ballot of
thirty.two. On Jan. 2 both houses or
ganized at noon. On Jan 8 the formal
notices of various contests were read
in both houses. Committees to take
charge Of these matters were authoriz-
ed on the following day, the opposing
factions drawing m from a hat.
Manipulation favored the Goebel side
and they secured ten out of the eleven
members Of the committee authorized
to handle the contest over the govern
orship. The body to deal with the lieu
tenant governor organized with nine of
the eleven members Goebelites. On
a 81 the first test on joint ballot
came, when a contesting member, a
Goebel sympathizer, was given his
seat in the assembly by a vote OF 81
to As.
This was the state of affairs when
Goebel was shot. Every one is famil-
lar with the subsequent details-how
he was declared elected by the legis-
lature, and received the oath of Office
IN his deathbed.
Taking advantage of the high politi-
cal feeling on both sides, some friend
of Colonel Sanford. who had been kill
ed by Goebel. shot the Kentucky demo-
cratic leader, it is claimed as a matter
a bill passed, reducing the tolls over
bridges across the Ohio river. Colonel
Sanford was a stockholder in the COM
panies owning the toll bridges, and
published an attack upon Goebel in a
Covington newspaper. Goebel wrote a
bitter anonymous reply, and Sanford
declared that he would kill the author
on sight. Meeting Goebel one day on
the steps of the bank of which Colo |
mel Sanford was cashire, Sanford at
once asked Goebel if he had written
the letter, to which the senator replied
at once, without the slightest show of
emotion that he had. and hen shot
him dead. The shooting created the
most intense excitement. Sanford had
a number of very powerful friends and
many followers who had been associat-
ed with him when he commanded a
Confederate cavalry regiment during
the war.
HAAyv 4 r Nvyro |