Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-05-09

iii
anyone else who undertook to call him
to account for language used in debate
on the floor Of the house. The refusal
to accept the challenge was accepted
self, making him party to the offence
against a member acting under his
constitutional rights. He felt called
upon to take up the quarrel and chal-
lenged ,Cilly to fight with him. The
challenge was accepted, the duel was
fought on February "a, 1888, and Cilly
was killed. After long investigation
and heated debate in which the duel
became an excuse as we'll as a cause,
the whole matter was laid on the table.
It was contended that duelling by men,
bers had been frequent and ignored by
the house. 1t was further contended
that Mr. Graves had not challenged Mr..
Cilly for words spoken in debate, but
because he had innocently been the
| messenger of Mr.. Webb. and by the
code he was compelled to take up the
quarrel Of his principal when Cilly re-
fused to fight with that gentleman.
A Fight with Quill Pens.
The troubles on the floor were not
always between members Of the house.
In the summer of 1886 the fight was
between two newspaper men who had
been admitted to the floor to report the
proceedings. They had disagreement
which became fight with quill pens,
and then with canes, and they fought
all around the hall among the members
until the sergeant t-arms took them
into custody. They were censured by
the speaker. .,r.
The anti-slavery agitation proceeding
the Civil War produced many personal
encounters. In 1851 Representative
Brown, of Mississippi, made a speech
defending states rights, and Represen-
tive Wilcox, Of the same state, took is
sue with him, charging false statement
by his colleague. Brown slapped the
face Of Wilcox, and they had fight
then and there, but both afterward
apologized to the house, and that ended
the matter. s... EasE...s-
In 1855 Representative Galusha Grow
Of Pennsylvania, and Representative
Keith, Of South Carolina, had bitter
controversy, in which the latter called
Grow Republican puppy" and Grow
retorted with negro driver" There
was free fight on the floor, and among
those who became involved were Elihu
B. Washburn. Of Illinois; his brother
Cadwallader Washburn, and Represen-
tative Potter, of Wisconsin,; Represen-
tative Barksdale, of Mississippi, and
several others. In this instance pas
sion gave way to ridicule when Cadwal-
ader Washburn seized Barksdale by
the hair and lifted the whole poll from
a perfectly bald head. Waving the wig
in the air as wild Indian might wave
q scalp, Washburn danced about the
floor until the whole house was con-
vulsed with laughter and the fight was
forgotten. Potter was afterward chal-
lenged to mortal combat by one Of the
southern men, and he named Boston
commons as the place for the duel with
clapboards for weapons. This sense Of
the ridiculous again spoiled the seri-
BUSINESS Of the quarrel. :"
There have been few personal en-
counters in the house during the ses-
sion in recent years, although there
have been many sharp exchanges in
5ohoto p,bioh y,ropoisad 70 Iaod to trou-
BILE. There have been quarrels in COM
mittee rooms and conflicts on the floor
which were either passed over or dis
posed Of with apologies to the house.
The nearest thing to fight on the
floor was the contest between Repre-
sentative John Sharp Williams and
Representative De Almond at the be-
ginning of the Goth congress. Williams
was minority leader, and had been in
vited by Speaker Cannon to assign the
Democrats to committees. De Almond
was the other Democratic member Of
the committee on rules and felt that
committee assignments. The two men
| held a conference on the floor Of the
house during the session which result
ed in dispute, and just as the house
adjourned the lie was passed. They
clinched just after the gavel fell and
the speaker refused to take an official
notice because the house was not In
| session. Had not the two men been so
conspicuous in the house and both
members of the minority party, 1t is
possible that the speakers decision
would have been otherwise. Williams
and De Almond remained members of
the committee on rules during that
congress, but never recognized each
other afterward.
| The Senate's Conflicts.
The senate has been freer from per-
sonal encounters than the house, but 1t
has had some that created great sensa-
tons; notably the assault upon Charles
Sumner by Preston Brooks, a member
Of the house. Just before the Civil War
northern senators were frequently
challenged to fight by their southern
colleagues, and it is said that William
H. Seward, of New York; Benjamin F.
Wade, Of Ohio, and Zach Chandler, OF
Michigan, formed compact by which
they agreed to fight whenever insulted
or invited to combat They proposed
to fight in frontier style, too, without
any regard to the niceties Of the code
They went armed and ready to shoot
the men who invited them to shoot. II
Is reported Of that day that In begin
ming his speech on one occasion, Sena-
tor Ben Wade laid brace of pistols on
his desk with the intimation that he
would use them If necessary. These
men were never challenged, and their
compact ended the duel as an adjunct
to Senatorial debate.
Senator Conkling, of New York, and
Senator John B. Gordon, Of Georgia
had a sharp clash in debate in the sew
enties, when Conkling remarked, III
the senator from Georgia saws / order