The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-08-07
REFEREES' PLAN FAILED
SCOTT AND THOMPSON WANTED TO
 REMOVE COLQUITT.
Judge Jones is Said to Have Declared that Politics Should Not Inter- fere With His Court
 Officers.

If persistent reports be true, con- troversy Is brewing between J. Q. Thompson and Charles H. Scott, Pres- lident Roosevelt's Alabama patronage referees, on the one side, and J ddge Thomas G. Jones of the United States | Court, on the other.
 | The struggle is said to be over the position held by A. B. Colqultt' | Deputy Marshal, and the impending trouble is blowing about the head of Capt l.. J Bryan, United States Mar shal in Montgomery.
 Briefly stated, report has 1t that Messrs Scott and Thompson as per sonal representatives of the President in Alabama, have told Captain Bryan that MT. Colquitt must go out of the MarshaTs office to make room for q Republican. MT, Colquitt is Demo- crat. Indeed. Messrs. Thompson aid Scott had sent their Republican friend | to Montgomery to relieve MT. Colquitt, and send him back to his Democratic | farm in the southern part of Mont gomery County.
 | At this juncture 1t Is said Judge Jones interposed a firm protest He is reported to have declared without | equivocation that no officer of his court I should be removed because of his pol itics; that the deputies were not con-
 
 they must be free from the interference of political referees. Moreover, Judge | Jones Is reported to have declared that if the referees undertook to interfere with officers of his court he would do | some decapitating on his own account. | As some forty odd Federal officials in Alabama hold their places by ap- pointment of Judge Jones. this intima- tioE is said to have caused alarm in certain quarters.
 Since Federal Judges are empowered to remove deputy marshals, the ref erees evidently saw that their plan to remove Deputy. Colquitt was futile. Their prospective Republican appointee is, however, waiting in Montgomery. like Wilkins Micawber, looking for something to turn up.
 Meanwhile Deputy Colquitt is attend ing to his business. He is the only gomery. All of the other field depu- ties are Republicans.
 Captain Bryan has not returned from his visit to Indianapolis, Ind, where he was q member of the com
 mittee to notify Senator Fairbanks ot
 his nomination as President on
 the Republican ticket.
 The appointment of Byron Trammell as postmaster at Dothan leaves d va cancy as office deputy in the Marshall $
 office, and 1t is generally believed that
 this place will go to Knox Booth, d deputy Internal Revenue Collector, and a Republican. It is understood that
 he is acceptable to Judge Jones.
 IL was expected that there would be a conference in Montgomery yesterday
 between the Presidents referees and Marshal Bryan to discuss the attitude of Judge Jones' MT. Thompson came
 to Montgomery from Birmingham on d morning train and paid q brief visit to the Federal building. In the absence of Captain Bryan he went to his old home in Tuskegee on an afternoon train. He will return here tomorrow and will probably see Captain Bryan and Judge Jones'
 Naturally none of the interested off cials will discuss the Colquitt case pub licly, but 1t is a topic of live interest about the Federal building | It is understood that Judge Jones has said that he would take the same po- sition If Colquitt was Republican: that he has not discriminated between | the political parties in appointing court | officers and that he will not have the | moral influence of his court impaired by political trading, even if he has to | take the matter direct to President Roosevelt.