New-York tribune., 1908-02-16
FORAKER MANS STORY.
TELLS OF FLORIDA FIGHT.
Chicago Delegate Says Attempt to
"Fip" State Contention Failed.

The Rev. John H. Dickerson of Jacksonville.
Fla and the Rev. s. Timothy Tice Of Tampa, Fla,
negroes, at the Hotel Maceo No. 213 West oSd
street. The first is deegate-at-large to the Re-
publican National Convention and heads the anti
administration delegation. The other is an alter
nate of the same delegation. They will remain IN
the city until tomorrow, and to-day Will preach
in Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, IN
West 25th street. in the morning, and at the Bridge
Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, in
Brooklyn, at night.
The Rev. Mr.. Dickerson chairman of the
State Convention at ST. Augustine on February s.
which instructed delegates for Foraker, but which
the administration delegates 'bolted he said. and
held little convention of their own in a cor
ner of the hall and named four office holders as
delegates-at-large. instructng them for Secretary
Taft.
THE federal offceholders in Florida" said Mr..
Dlckerson, showed perncious activity in the mat
ter of arranging, rather trying to fix, the con-
Ventlon. They did not pretend to choose delegates
to the state convention in the manner provided
for by law. but simply selected few names OF
persons who favorable to their ticket and
pushed them through dummy county conventions.
and in some instances did not through the for
malty of holding conventions at ALL The Florida
Republicans who opposed to the admins
tration candidate seeing how things were being
conducted bestirred themselves and by regular
conventions secured a large majority of the dele
gates favorable to Foraker
When the day for the state convention came
the offceholders. who had engaged the hall In
which the convention be held, instructed
their doorkeeper to allow only those delegates
whom they knew favorable to themselves to
enter the hall 1 went to the door. being a resu-
larly chosen delegate and demanded admfttance
for myself and the other delegates. There were
a dozen policemen hand, and 1 was not only
denied admittance but arrested In the ex-
Citement following my arrest about seventy-hve
of our delegates got past the doorkeeper into the
hall 1 released and got into the hall Then
a lag
the excitement this produced attracted the atten-
ton of the policemen. and the rest of the dele
gates overran the doorkeeper and got in.
III. S. Chubb, who is the head Of the Land De-
partment of Florida and chairman of the
State Central Committee, called the convention to
order but the secretary. Joseph Z. Lee who is
the Collector of Internal Revenue for Florida, in
calling the roll only called the names of delegates
whom they had their list Then when the nom
ina temporary officers called for,
crowd nominated me for chairman, and when the
put outnumbered them three to one
was made permanent chairman of the conven-
tion and we proceeded name the f5ur delegates
at large but without a desperate struggle
was pulled from the platform three times, and
the chair was taken from under half dozen
times but we persisted. and finally carried through
the convention.
Seeing that we were in the majority. the Taft
people got together in corner of the hall while
our convention in progress and named four
officehoders delegates to Chicago. They were
H. S. Chubb. of the Land Department; Joseph E.
Lee Collector of Internal Revenue; NJ 3. McFar-
land, Collector of the Port of Tampa and ]. NJ.
Coombs. who is national committeeman for the
state. We named delegates-at-large John H.
Dickerson. j. n. Stripping, j. De V. Hazard and
r. r. Robinson, and delegation is distinctly
for Foraker Theirs is for Taft 1t evidently
the intention of the officehoders to hurry the
vention through without allowing US to come into
the hall and then proclaim that the regular
convention of the party, but other delegates
were watchful. that their underhand tactics
availeu them nothing"
Asked he thought the Taft people would
test the delegation which he heads, Mr. Dckerson
replied that he thought they would but said he
relied on the of justice of the Chicago con-
vention. and believed the Foraker delegation would
be seated without trouble when the truth
made known.