The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-02

Mccormick Assaults Stone on
Floor Today.
Accused Him of Breaking Faith
With Him.

Just before the house convened this
afternoon A. H. Mccormick of Craw-
ford county and Robert Stone of Shaw
nee had a personal encounter on the
floor of the house. Mccormick was the
aggressor. He cursed Stone and at
tackled him, striking at him several
times with his fists. Mr. Stone kept
his temper all through the fracas and
made no apparent effort to strike back
VIII Montgomery, secretary to the
speaker, separated the combatants
The trouble started over the defeat of
the Pittsburg normal divorce bill.
Only a few members had assembled
for the afternoon session when the war
broke out. Mccormick was sitting at
his desk in the front row. Mr.. Stone
was standing in front of the desk,
talking with the Crawford county man.
Mccormick was bitterly angry over the
defeat of the normal divorce bill Stone
was smiling and good humored.
Stone joshed the Crawford county
man about the defeat of his bill. Nc
Cormick acc sed Stone of breaking
faith with him. Stone had taken the
floor and made a speech against the
bill at the morning session. Stone de-
MED the Mccormick accusations Then
Stone still smiled and Mccormick
called him a - liar. Still Stone
smiled, and said, at would not talk
that way if 1 were you
Then Mccormick struck the man
from Shawnee in the face. Stone back
ed away and tried to ward off the
blows. One blow landed above the eye.
Then Stone seemed to get angry for
the first time and stopped backing
away. Will Montgomery stepped be-
tween the combatants at this Juncture
and several members seized McCor-
mick.
Stone left the house chamber imme-
diately after the encounter. McCor-
mick kept his seat.
When the house convened at 2o'clock
Mccormick rose in his place and said:
During the noon recess an unfortu-
nate occurrence took place on the floor
of this house in which two members
lost their heads. I was one of them,
and I wish to say I am sorry that this
affair should have taken place on the
floor of this house and I wish 10
apologize to the house as a whole and
the members
No action was taken in regard to the
statement of the member from Craw-
ford.
The encounter between Stone and Nc
Cormick came as suddenly as lightning
from a clear sky. No one was expect
ing it and the men were struggling in
the aisle in front of the press desk be-
fore a member could move to stop
them.
Mccormick is an elderly man and not
of robust physique, but the fires Of his
youth seem not to have abated. He
had worked all session for the Potts
normal divorce bill and took it's de-
feat this morning very much at heart.
He was bitterly angry when Stone talk
ed to him about the bill and the smile
on the face of the man from Shawnee
had much to do with Mccormick losing
his head. Mccormick described the
fight briefly as follows: f'Mr. Stone and
1 had an agreement that if I would
support him for speaker he would sup
port the normal divorce bill. I de-
livered the goods and then today Stone
spoke on the floor against my bill
this agreement and I called him a liar.
He returned the lie to me and 1 hit
him.
When Mr.. Stone left the hall he
went at once to rooms of the confer
ence committees on the utilities bill.
He is member of the house commit
tee. When he came out he talked
readily to the State Journal repre-
sentative Mr.. Stone denies that there
was an agreement between himself
and Mccormick over the speaker
ship question and the normal divorce
bill. He said:
''As I walked down the aisle past
Mr.. McCormick's desk, I put my band
on his shoulder in friendly fashion
and said: I thought you had us licked
this morning, Mac He replied with
heat: We would have whipped you if
there had not been so many dirty
liars on the floor of this house,
Il denied that there was an agree
ment and he again called me a liar.
Then he got up and struck me.
made no attempt to strike the old
man back, merely tried to keep him
away
Mr.. Stone was still perfectly cool
and calm and talked of the affair
abrasion under his left eye hut bore
no other visible marks of the en-
counter.
Most of the many stories of the en-
counter agree as to the main facts
stated above.
Senator Porter of Pittsburg, author
of the normal divorce bill, his pet
afternoon he regretted the unfortu-
nate affair exceedingly and said fur
ther that he had urged Mr.. McCor-
mick to apologize to the Shawnee
member. The senator said that he
understood the bill had been beaten
fairly in the house and that it did not
become the Crawford delegation to
fight over the defeat. They had fought
a good fight and done their best That
was all they could do, he said.
The normal divorce bill had passed
the senate. The vote was very close
in the house, 5S to Sc against the bill
Had Stone himself voted for the bill
the vote on the measure would have
resulted in a tie.