The National tribune., 1907-12-26
CONGRESSIONAL FIST FIGHT.
Man From Missouri Shown by Man From,
Observation-Disclosures Gets BincI< Eye
De Almond Busted Nose and jaw.
Democrats All.

When two men of good horse sense,
who have been elected by their constit-
uents to represent them in Congress,
engage ip plain, everyday fist fight
and street brawl on the floor of the
National House of Representatives, who
is going to lick two boys who knock
each other down after the same fashion
punished in the Police Court and at
home, too. while the men, who ought
to have some sense, but seem not to
have, will go scot free.
Last Thursday the leader of the
minority, John Sharpe Williams, of
Mississippi, and the man who wanted to
be the leader, De Almond, of Missouri,
had exactly that kind of rough-and-
tumble fight on the floor of the House
just after it had adjourned. The cause
given for the scrap-displeasure over
committee assignments-is simply ridi-
culous. Mr.. Williams had made his as
signment of the minority membership
of the committees of the House, and
one Democrat who was friend of De
Almonds, being dissatisfied with his
assignment, complained. Williams told
him that he had made the assignment
on the suggestion of De Almond, who
said that that would suit his friend.
De Almond was then appealed to by
the friend, and said he had never said
anything of the kind, and told Will
liams that he did not say it. One word
led to another, and De Almond called
Williams a liar" and there you are.
When the lie passes between two men
fur is likely to fly, and it did, right
straight off.
They had been discussing the matter
just as the House adjourned, and Will
liams saw that De Almond was pretty
mad, SO said:
Now, see here, De Almond, we don't
want to have any scene here on the
floor of the House. 1t is simply ques-
ton of recollection
But Mr.. De Almond was now in a
boiling rage. Tho he is 63 and Mr..
Williams 10 years his Junior, perhaps
thoughts of past defeats and resent
ment of what he considered acts of in =.
justice were in his mind. The two are
about the same hight. He glared at the
minority leader.
'It is not a question of recollection;
you are liar" he said, raising his
voice.
You are going to far; you don't
mean to say that" demonstrated Mr..
Williams, both men rising to their feet.
Il mean to say that you are -
liar!" shouted the enraged Missourian.
NOW, DOtn men are usually OF the
mildest manners, and the madder the
other fellow gets the cooler they keep,
but both We're mad clear thru, and at
the last epithet from De Almond Will
liams's hand shot out and took De Ar
mond square on the nose, hurting him
back against a desk, and before he
could get his breath Williams had bast-
ed him another on the jaw. Then they
clinched and went down in the dust on
the floor, while women screamed and
men backed off, fearing to get mixed
in the disgraceful melee. The members
of the House We're so amazed at the
suddenness of it all that they, too, held
back for a moment, but when their wits
began to get together somebody sprang
to the rescue, and soon separated the
two men, who We're all but biting and
clawfng. The two men looked like
hunks of raw beef when they We're
pulled up from the floor and hurried to
the cloak room by their friends.
What was the real trouble? Well,
now, Mr.. Williams says: What he said
made him mad was not what he was
mad about" And a man, a Democrat,
who thinks he knows, was telling a
story of an old preacher who was sent
to pacify turbulent member of his
flock, man who was enraged at an
other member Of the flock, and had
expressed desire to eat his heart be-
cause of some ostensibly slight differ
ence of opinion that had arisen between
them. The old preacher went on his
mission, but came back on the jump