The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-19
~ I C. SEA ,
  afs. sss4 Ht -sS N
 aF tlys-
  Yhs e4ua1 Cr..sssE'c +F fNS re S.. .l.e Aras'u 4SfS fs'' An s4 ft sst f-
 s.-f-. ..anaYra
Z--I. E.tIorts'

-.
 uashtugton. Ian, 1S-(Special)- oniv aix election contests have been filled in this Congress before the hlec- tion Committees. ,....
 There are three of these committees knovvn as Nos. 1, and 8. Prior to the Ftfty-fourth Congress In wnicn tne late Thomas B. Reed of Maine was speaker for the second time, only one elections committee was doing pusi- ness. In the Fifty-first Congress over twenty contests were made against Democrats, who had been certified as being elected. and who were allowed of course. to be sworn in and hold eheir seats until a requisite number had been turned out so as to provide the Re- pubiicans a comfortable working majority. '
 That was the Congress which gave Thomas B. Reed his initial term as Sneaker, It is well remembered that the late William Mckinley was his chief competitor for the high office, the other three candidates being Joseph G. Cannon. now Speaker. me late David B. Henderson of Iowa, sub- seouently Speaker for two terms. and Julius c. Burrows. for some years past Senator from Michigan. It will prob ably be alluded to in history as "Reed's Congress" for the big man from the
 
 ized parliamentary proceedings, and at times the feeling ran as high in the House that 1t was with difficulty that riots were avoided.
 The first contestant to be seated by the Republican House in that Con- gress was a nondescript from Arkan- sas by the name of Featherstone. He was supported by the Republicans of the district. and also received the ITa nrnhahIV did not know exactly what he was. but he promised to vote as the Republican managers here dictated, and he got the seat. Then Pendleton, the Democratic member from the Wheeling district of West Virginia was thrown out and Atkinson given the seat The latter afterwards became Governor of West Virginia and now holds here life posi- ton on the Court of Claims.
 Fought Against Negroes.
 In that same Congress two negro contestants were awarded seats. The cases were not even discussed on the floor of the House. Party feeling was simply intense. and the wonder Is that personal encounters did not occur. The Democrats kept up red-hot fllibuster- ing movement for eleven whole days. and at times far into the night. The Republicans started in with only three majority, and some of their members were in bad health and were unable to attend the sessions.
 The late Judge Crisp of Georgia and Charles T. O'Ferall of Virginia. con dueted the fight for the Democrats, they being the ranking men for their party on the Elections Committee. To block the game of the Republicans every Democrat except OFerrall would leave the hall. and it was impossible for Reed to count a quorum. The dashing Virginian was photographed as the only man standing on the Demo- cratic side of the hall striving to prevent the Republicans from robbing his party of seats in order to put in two negroes who were defeated badly at the polls But in less than two hours the majorI- ty party, without discussion even of the cases, voted to turn out F. c. Venable of the Petersburg district of Virginia and the late Colonel William Elliott, of the Charleston district of South Carolina. The mulatoes who got their places were the late John M. Langs- ton, at one time United States Minis ter to Haiti, and William Miller.
 Three of the contestants in this Congress are negroes. They are all from South Carolina. A. P. Prioleau, who thinks he ought to have the seat now occupied by Representative Legare of Charleston, received only twenty eight votes at the last election In