Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-03-26
TENNEssEE REPUBLICANS FIGHT
Black Each Others Eyes in Free-fOr-
All Scrap.

NASHVILLE, Tenn, March 25.-
Republicans of Tennessee assembled
this morning for a state convention.
Tonight black eyes, skinned heads
and bruised faces testified to the riot
that marked the gathering in the hall
OF the house Of representatives at
the capitol.
In the list OF casualties Chairman
Newell Sanders of the state executive
committee figures prominently. He
presented sorry picture when he
emerged from the veritable battle
which occurred between the two fac
tons, one supporting the interests Of
Congressman w. p. Brownlow, the
other those of former Commissioner
OF Pensions H. Clay Evans. The
Brownlow forces wanted w. J. Oliver
Of Knoxville for national committee
man; the Evans men favored the
candidacy of Congressman N. w.
Hale for that position. Incidentally
Richard Austin was a candidate for
congress against Mr.. Hale. BY sheer
force Of numbers and fighting powers
the Brownlow-o liver-Austin crowd
took and held the hall.
The convention adopted a motion
that delegates to the national con-
vention go uninstructed. Roosevelt
Is Endorsed in the resolutions, which
also instruct Senator Oliver for ma
tional committeeman and urge the
state committee to call a primary to
nominate candidate for governor
The state committee was reorgan-
lied and the secretary of the conven-
ton instructed to communicate with
the Evans people and submit a prop
osition to place the claims of the
rival factions before the people in a
republican primary, the expenses of
which w. /. Oliver offered to pay.
The Evans-Hale forces held no con-
vention, but will meet tomorrow and
name ticket.
Free-for-All Fight.
Eearly this morning the Brownlow-
oliver forces proceeded to the capitol,
entering the convention hall shortly
after o'clock. They found few
guards present, placed there by the
state committee, but elected them
without trouble. They held the field
until what they claimed to be the as
sembly hour and then Chairman New
ell Sanders, an Evans man, not being
present, they organized without him.
Hardly had the chairman, w. L.
Davis of Claiborne. raped for order,
however, before the Evans-Sanders-
Hale charge was on. With regular
football tactics they started for the
rostrum. Before the Oliver squad
could pull itself together Sanders had
reached the platform and was pro-
ceeding to call the convention to or
der again. But he did not get far
before the Oliver forces came. Then
backward and forward the struggling
mass surged. Sanders being the rock
around which the storm ragged most
furiously. His guards could not stem
the tide, however, and he was liter
ally torn from their grasp, his coat
and hat gone. his shirt split and rag
ged, and even his trousers badly dis
arranged, At length he was bodily
lifted from his feet and carried be-
hind the speakers stand out on the
II looked as II he might be
thrown from the high elevation, but
better counsel prevailed and he was
released.
While all this was going on fights
were In progress and
the hall was a bedlam. Then came
the police, and something resembling
order was restored. In the course of
the riot r. H. Cameron OF Chatta-
nooga a Brownlow man, is said to
have broken four folding chairs over
The head OF negro delegate who had
given him some back talk"
With the police looking on the
Brownlow-oliver men went into con-
rention. the Evans crowd offering no |
interference than yells and |
eers at the speakers.