The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1905-12-28
MASS CONVENTION SPLITS THE PARTY
Two Conventions Result From Mass Meet
ing and Two Sets of Delegates Will
Go to State Convention.

InS uHu lMU oelS vi DettSdttn " Ill
Go to State Convention.
Lebanon Banner December 81:
The Democratic mass meeting held
at the court house last Saturday for the
purpose of selecting delegates to the
State Convention to be held in May
next, was about the red hottest propo-
sition that ever "went down the pike"
so to speak.
When the sovereigns from Hurricane
and Dodoburg and Mt. Juliet and
LaGuardo and Cairo Bend and Tick
Town and Owl Hollow and the other
large cities of the county commenced
to arrive at an early hour the wise ones
knew that there would be something
doing" when Chairman McMenaway
let the gavel fall at II o'clock, and they
were not disappointed.
At II o'clock the Chairman endeav-
ored to get order for the purpose of
calling the throng which stood on top
of each other in the court house to
order, but it was not until he called
Mr.. W. r. Chambers to his side and
announced that he (McMenaway) rep
resented the Cox faction and Mr..
Chambers the Patterson faction was
he able to make himself heard more
than ten feet away.
The Chairman when he was at last
honored with temporary silence, an
nounced that Mr.. j. 9. Sanders was q
candidate for chairman as the represen-
tative of the Cox faction, while Mr..
W. r. Chambers was a candidate fol
chairman as the representative of the
Patterson faction. He also announced
that it had been agreed between repre-
sentatives of the two factions that the
Patterson men should leave the Circuit
Court room and go over into the Coun
ty Court room to be counted, while the
Cox men should be counted as they
passed out of the Circuit Court room
tellers for each side to be present dur
ing the counting.
Marcellus Hatcher and Sam Doal
were then appointed by Messrs. Sand
ers and McMenaway to represent tn,
Cox faction in the count, while N. G.
Robertson and Ben Drake were ap
pointed tellers by Mr.. Chambers tt
represent the Patterson faction. TIL,
Patterson faction also appointed DIR. A
B. Martin to keep the law students GU
of the Patterson side, the claim having
been made by the Cox faction that tn,
Patterson men were going to vote non
resident law students.
The Patterson men were then ordered
to proceed to the County Court room
which they did, the County Cour
room rapidly filling up.
At the close of probably thirty min
utes of strenuous effort on the part O
the Patterson men to secure every
voter possible for their room, and tn,
equally strenuous effort of the Cox mer
to fill up the Circuit Court room ant
to prevent the voters already in The
Circuit Court room from coming out
Chairman McMenaway ordered the Pat
terson door closed, but Ben Drake, who
was in charge, refused, whereupon Mr.
McMenaway ordered the count to pro
coed on the Cox side without the Fat
terson tel1ers, which was done.
Instread of leaving the Circuit Court
room, as agreed, the Cox men were
marched through the Judges stand
from one side to the other aud were
counted as they passed. This, Mr..
Menaway claims was done because the
Patterson men had refused to close the
Patterson door and he did not think ii
wise to let the Cox men leave the hall
for fear they might leave the court
house, thus giving the Patterson men
chance to come over and take charge
of the convention.
At the time the Cox tellers left the
Patterson room door they claimed that
only 976 men had entered, while the
count of the Cox men as made by the
Cox tellers alone. showed, according
to their count, the presence of All Cox
men.
Without notifying the Patterson fac
ton, who were still in the county court
room, that the convention was ready
to proceed to business, Mr.. McMena-
way took the stand and announced that
Mr.. Sanders had received Az votes and
Mr.. Chambers only sT6 votes and de-
clared Mr.. Sanders chairman of the
convention. Mr.. Sanders then assum-