The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1902-09-11
Quay BLACKJACK PARTY
Independent Citizens Assailed By
Rioters.
ToUeHs FOR PENNYPAcKER
DisgracefuI Scenes In a Bogus Con
vention - Honest Men a Unit
For Pattison and Guthrie.

For Pattison and Guthrie.
The Philadelphia Ledger gives this
impartial account of the assault on
the Union Party state convention in
that city last week:
More than 200 men. some of them
armed with revolvers, knives and
black1acks, claiming to be regularly
elected delegates from different parts
OF the state, captured the Union party
state convention by forcing the doors
OF Musical FFnd Hall yesterday, and,
amidst the utmost disorder went
through the form of nominating Sam
uel w. Pennypacker for governor, Will
liam M. Brown for lieutenant governor
and Isaac B. Brown for secretary OF
internal affairs.
During the interval that elapsed be-
tween the forcing of the front door OF
the hall and the breaking down of the
barriers that were raised to prevent
entrance to the convention room on
the second floor, three men are known
TO have been injured-Andrew MacAl-
lister, who was struck a blow on the
head with blackjack; Louis J. Min
nick, who was stabbed in the leg with
dirk knife, and an unknown man,
wrist.
AS soon as the attacking party had
entered the convention hall they took
possession of the front seats. STATE
Chairman Ritter ordered those not dele
gates to retire to the rear of the room,
but his words were greeted with ieers.
| He finally had the call for the conven-
| ton read. and as Secretary Mapes was
| about to read off the temporary roll
motion was made that William Il.
| Knight be made temporary chairman.
| and he was lifted bodily by his friends,
| between two policemen, on to the plat
form. and thp control nf tbn
| ton then passed into the hands Of
| Pennypacker's supporters.
Knight and State Chairman Ritter
| held their places and attempted to ad-
| dress their respective followers. When
| one would open his mouth the other
side would jeer. But Knights voice
| was stronger, and he did not heed the
/ Interruptions. He followed the sched-
ule he had prepared for himself, de-
! spite the Interruptions and announced
the nomination of the three RepuOi-
! can candidates for state offices, regard
| less of the turmoil. When his side was
| through with its work he sat down
! with the determination of fOrcinC thu
! other side to leave the hall without
| having taken action.
Finally State Chairman Ritter IVES
! compelled to adjourn the convention
| to Parlor c. Continental Hotel, where
| Robert r.. Pattison was nominated for
| governor. George w Guthrie for lieu-
tenant governor and Lewis w. Emery.
an independent Republican. for secre-
tary of internal affairs, and a platform
was adopted.
An Object Lesson of Machine Methods
Editorially the Ledger says:
THE violent and shameful methods
| adopted by the followers of Durham
| and Ashbridge to break up the state
convention of the Union Party are a
| characteristic exhibition of machine
brutality and lawlessness. The actual
! delegates were no match in physical
! force, for the organized band of thugs
that took possession of the hall, and
| they prudently withdrew and held the
| convention in another place.
Freedom of political action, the So
curity of citizenship, must summon all
| true men to their defense, irrespective
of party name. The organizauon that
seeks to maintain itself by crime and
| violence is condemned in the sight o.
all honest people, and its candidates
must suffer condemnation with it. The
| gang that drove the Union convention
from Musical Fund Hall was organized
by placemen and minions of the Quay
| Ashbridge machine, and carried out it's
plot with the connivance of the police
THAT such infamous means should
be ,resorted to Is evidence of the dread
| which this movement has inspired in
tion of the Quay candidates by a crimi-
nal mob emphasizes their Identification
with the powers of evil that set law
and decency at defiance, make elec-
tions mockery. and wantonly insult
the decency of the state and the city
1t is a fresh notice to the people Of
Pennsylvania of the criminal power
from which they are called upon 10
emancipate themselves, not in the
name of any. party or faction, but in
the name of the commonwealth OF
law and liberty"
a Disgrace to the City.
The Press, Pennypacker support
er, is impelled to make this comment:
"The scene at Musical Fund Hall yes
terday was disgrace to the city. II
is always easy TO pack a convention oil
a party so loose and unorganized as the
Union Party, and DO it with some color
OF right. But no one can fairly doubt
that of the opposing factions yesterday
the one represented by Chairman Ritter
is the legitimate heir of the Union
Party of year ago.
"The Knight convention showed ite
| unorganiZed, unintelligent character by
nominating the entire Republican tick
ct on the Union Party platform of last
year. Nothing could be more incongru-
Gus, Inconsistent and incompatible. /,
is absolutely ridiculous and is explain
able only on the theory that no one in
the convention remembered what the
Union platform was when they unani-
mously adopted it. One of it's planks
favors fusion with the Democrats, SO
we have the spectacle of Judge Penny
packer and William M. and Isaac p
Brown running on a platform which
favors fusion with the Democralil
state organization.
Desperation Of the Bosses.
The Record editorially says:
1.-The proceedings of the Union state
convention in this city yesterday bear
their own comment. The hall in which
the delegates We're to assemble was
stormed by a crowd of city roughs, who
made all regular procedure impossible
They thrust aside the duly constituted
officials of the state organization and
defiantly indorsed Pennypacker and the
two Browns. The regular delegates
were driven to an adjourned session IL
other quarters. This brute force meth
cd of making nominations in Philadel-
phia gave the Union delegates in at
tendance from other parts of the state
| al Of ha 81