The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-11-26
MEETING ENDS
INA WRANGLE.
Bitter Feeling Aroused in First
Precinct Convention.
CHURCH ISSUE is RAISED
FAILED TO NOMINATE cANDI-
DATE FOR SCHOOL BOARD.
IF THE WALLS Of an overcrowded

madhouse had fallen outward and
liberated its occupants, the scene
would have been peace meeting COM
pared with the school convention the
Quoted. or failed to conduct, at the old
Exposition building last night The
time was so tropieaHy stormy. the fac
tiOnal encounter so bitter and fierce
that the convention broke up without
having accomplished so much as the
election Of a chairman.
A nomineeE Why, they didn't get
far enough to whisper the name of a.
! candidate, except among the Wild talk
alive groups that stood about long
after the conservatives had dis
! perSed, and, more often than 1t was
possible to enumerate. got to the point
/ where one blow had it ever been
| struck would have plunged scores OF
respectable citizens into a hstio on
] slaught-
And the upshot Of the trouble viii
| be two candidates-One straight Re
! publican, the other az citizen nominee
1 who viii probably be, respectively -
J. Corum and Byron Cummings
Alleged Church Interference.
It is a question of alleged church in.
reference that brought the convention.
to so unexpected an ending. From whats
| information could be derived from both
| factions, bishops and others OF high
| standing in the Mormon church have
! been urging the nomination OF Cum
( mings, a university professor, who, al
/ though a non-MOrmon, has placed him
self on record as favorable to home
teachers as against imported teachers.
The friends of the other three candi-
dates, led by the Republican committee
and scrappers of the ward, resented this
alleged Interference, and made sue
cessful fight for adjournment when
11s hot -
Overwhelmingly for Cummings.
They argued that the convention was
called by the Republican committee,
and no Democrat had a right to be
present Therefore, the partisan Re
publicans declared an adjournment be-
fore there was a start, and the other
faction, unable to clear the hall Of
unfriendly citizens. did likewise.
At s o'clock. the hour set for the
meeting. the large room in the south
wing of the Exposition building, recent
! " used as a place of worship. was
packed to suffocation, and twice as
many stood on the outside trying TO
force their way in. The doors were
broken down in the scrimmage.
Hostilities From the Start.
The hostilities were on at the outset.
! The Rev. Peter A SimPkin, as citi-
zen. called the meeting TO order, and
made a speech, referring 10 the schools
and the Importance of having repre-
: sentative men in control of them. He
called for the nomination Of a perma-
2 nent chairman A F. Lawson imme-
2 diately named DR.. Simpl1in, and
l L. Z. IversOn named Joshua H Paul.
I A viva VOce vote was taken, and the
7 chairman was unable to decide which
had won. To get a standing vote was
: obviously impossible, as most of the
/, crowd was on its feet unable to get
= seats.
There were loud cries for both Simp-
kin and Paul, and in less than one
minute the house was in a turmoil
I ! Somebody suggested that the two draw
r cuts. and the howls against it were
: ear-splitting.
{ Above the din. George Wilson. pre-
d cinct chairman Of the Republican party
: made himself heard, and delivered a
e talk that poured no oil on the turbu-
lent sea. He shouted that Paul was
n a Democrat, and as such could not
; act in this, a Republican convention
e called by Republicans and paid for
by Republicans (meaning the rent
: As this aspect was raised. the din in
creased. Wilson was standing on q
table trying to carry his point, and
the crowd, at least the Cummings sup
pOrters, were bowling like wolves Fred
Leonard, at the next moment, got or
a a chair and suggested that the tive
proposed chairmen should act alter
nateIy. The bowls were turned. OF
him, in lieu of the hose.
Ordered Democrats Out.
/ Wilson, in stentOTian tones, insisted
q that it was a Republican convention
: and finally commanded the Democrat
to withdraw. Joe MacKnight mounte'
. a table and backed him up W. II
d Clark finally secured recognition at
is lull in the proceedings and suggests
10 that as the room was too small the con
= vention should adjourn TO anOthe
= evening and get a larger hail.
Il Meanwhile "Giasmann' Wilson, way
ing his arms franticalIy. had declare
Is the Republican convention adjourned
IT and called for a meeting Of the pre-
a cinct committee to select another tim
and place.
a At this. Mr.. Paul took the chair. o
lie chair, rather, and called the citizens
convention to order, inasmuch as tn
Republicans had adjourned. The Re
publicans did not. however, leave tn
, room The chairman pro TEN recOg
% nized z. 3. Critchlow, and he made a
1t impassioned speech, declaring the con
l. vention to be non-partisan and urgin
De the necessity of keeping politics out c
se the fight.
IT When he was Informed that there wa