The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-16
Opponent to Eaton j, Bowers
 Grows Bitter In Campaign
MEN NEARLY COME TO Blges'
 o$
Courtroom at Hattiesburg Presents an Exciting Scene as Two Political Opponents Denounce Each
 Other in Hot Words.

Hattiesburg, Miss, June 15.-(Special)- The joint debate in the courtroom in this city this afternoon between Eaton J.
 Bowers of Bay St. Louis and B. Nj.
 Barber of Biloxi, rival candidates for congress, wound up in a sensational dis turbance, with MT. Bowers in the judge s bench denouncing his opponents state ments as wllfully and maliciously false, with MT Barber making desperate eff forts to hurl a cuspidor at his rival, and with the sheriff and other bystanders ex- ercising themselves to prevent physical violence.
 The debate was listened to by an audi ence that could scarcely find standing room in the courtroom, for the gentle men had been canvassing the district to- gether and had brought the campaign to a stage of considerable heat. The divi- sion of time was an hour and half for each speaker with 20 minutes each for rejoinder, MT. Barber opening the dis cussion The main speeches of both were concluded without trouble. MT. Barber devoted most of his time to a discussion of the Gulf and Ship Island railroad and its activities in politics, saying in effect that MT. Bowers, was still identified with
 the road in sentiment if not in fact. MT.
 Barber also presented copies of the Con gressional Record purporting to show
 that on certain measures passing in Con- gress MT. Bowers had been present in the House and had failed to vote. Reply to Bowers. In his reply MT. Bowers presented other copies of the Congressional Record
 showing that on those occasions he had
 voted with his democratic colleagues. MT.
 Bowers also recalled to MT. Barber and
 to the audience that he had promised to
 produce at an early date document which Mr. Barber had said would show that MT. Bowers had been untrue to his duties as a congressman MT. Bowers demanded that MT. Barber produce that document.
 In his rejoinder MT. Barber said that
 he could not understand how it was that his copies of congressional records df- fered from those carried by MT. Bowers,
 
 had to get copies of congressional rec ords fixed up for campaign use. MI. Barber also incidentally referred to J. R. Talley of Hattiesburg as second assist ant congressman, J. H. Neville of Gulf port being classed as the first assistant to Congressman Bowers. This brought the first interruption of the day. when MT. Talley arose to say that if MT Bar Der wanted to draw him into the debate he was ready to meet him at any time he might fix.
 When MT. Bowers arose for his re- joinder he proceeded calmly enough, till he said:
 'I want to denounce the covert sug- gestion that I have brought here doctored copies of congressional records as malici- ously false"
 Immediately MT. Barber leaped for d large courthouse cuspidor and had about got it poised to throw when he was seized by Sheriff Magruder, District At torney McLaurin and others in the vlcln- ity. Mir Bowers proceeded to shout at the top of his voice, so as to be heard above the prevailing pandemonium T want to denounce any copies of con- gressional records purporting to show a different state of facts from those I have presented dS IlldliclOuSiy IalSe. Collision Prevented. By this time MT. Barber had broken away from his captors and rushed at the speakers stand. He was reached by outstretched hands just before he got to Mir. Bowers, who left the stand, after finally declaring: "I want to denounce as willfully and maliciously false the asser- tion that there Is in existence any docu- ment that will show that have not been true to my duty as congressman" Later Mir Barber got the stand and said that the end was not yet, for he would, week hence, produce the docu- ment referred to by MT. Bowers, and which would squelch his prospects for re- election. The document referred to Is ons which MT. Bowers threatened to use earlier in the campaign and which MT. Bowers challenged him to produce. In the course of today's speaking MT Barber said that he would produce the docu- ment one week hence at Gulfport, and that if 1t did not show that MT. Bowers had been unfaithful to his trust as con- aressman he, Barber, would withdraw from the race.