The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-10-06
By
Jno. E. Stillrnan.
No. I.

lahassee state convention in 1895.
How and why the lilly Whites"
opposed Mckinley and how and why I
became affiliated with the BLACK and
Tans." and how later we compromis-
ed and 1 became chairman of the
state committee and Joe Lee secretary.
and how Chubb, the Moses of the
Lilly White movement, deserted his
friends, Anderson and Gunby and 9TH
ers, and ensconced himself under the
wing of Joe Lee, there to remain I'M
til now, does not come within the pur-
view of this series of articles, but VIII
be told later.
It is of passing interest at this time
that Anderson and Gunby are moving
spirits in the progressive movement,
the former being national committee
man for Florida, and the latter can
didate for congressman at large.
In those days, the president receiv-
ed senators and congressman, national
committeeman, state chairmen and
such others that had influence with
his secretary to get in, in the room
of the secretary to the president, big
room adjoining the cabinet room, and
on the second floor of the White
House, the reception beginning about
II a. m. and lasting one or two hours,
according to the number of people he
had to see.
WENT WITH HANNA.
At Senator Hanna's request I met
him at his home on Lafayette Square
and we proceeded to the White House.
The senator was hardly able to get
up the stairs in the White House ow-
ing to the newspaper correspondents
who beseiged him and attempted to
get some word from him on one sub
ject or another. He was very pleas :
ant and "jollied" the newspaper men
in way that allowed him to get by
them without telling them anything,
at the same time making them feel
that they had been treated consider
ateIy.
When we entered the secretary's
room, we found a large number al
ready there awaiting the appearance
from the adjoining room of his ex-
| cellency, Theodore Roosevelt presi-
dent of the United States.
The senator was Immediately ap-
| preached by various other senators
and people, and I saw several whom
was acquainted with and engaged in
conversation with them. It was on
this occasion that a mutual friend in
troduced me to Captain Lucien Young,
of the navy, who was captain Of the
port at Havana, Cuba, after the Span
| ish-American war, now an admiral
and recently in command of the Pen
sacola navy yard, and a friendship
that / value highly was begun right
there between us.
! Off in one corner I noticed a Flor
| ida republican in the person of j
N. Coombs, of ApalachicoIa, Fla. Also
a Mr.. F. c. Buffum, of the same
place, an employee of Mr.. Coombs in
his saw mill business. Seated with
them were Senator Hale and Con
gresham Buckley, of Maine Both
Coombs and Buffman were original
| ly from Maine, Coombs leaving there
during the war, and Buffum a shor
| time preceding the time of this story
1t has been one Of the ways Of
southern republicans to attach as
much northern" influence as POS
sfble when they are after anything ir
Washington, and many are the time:
when some unexpected and hitherto
unknown northern" influence has up
set the plans, hopes and aspirations
of some poor southern republican.
BUFFUM CONNECTING LINK.
Buffum was the connecting link be
tween Coombs and this influence from
New England, and he had fortified
himself because he wanted something
He wanted not a job for himself
but he did want very much indeed tt
deprive another man of a job by de
feating his appointment.
That man was w. B. Sheppard. nov
judge of the United States distric
court for the northern district of Flor
ida, but at that time collector &C Gus
toms for the district of ApaIachicola
Coombs had been in way the 1oca
boss in his section of the party, anC
in 1895 when McKinley's friends il
Florida were making the effort of theil
lives to get q Mckinley delegation
from Florida, Coombs was using hi,
efforts to get said delegation fo1
Speaker Tom B. Reed, of Maine.
At the state convention both Coomb:
and Sheppard were delegates from