The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-09-07
They GET ROUGH
NOW AND Then
History is Full of Fist Fights and En-
counters Which Have Taken
| Place In Congress
Halls.
ONE DUEL WAS FOUGHT
First One on Record Was in Colonial
Days and Must Have Been
an Interesting
Affair.
UNITED Press Specially

UNITED Press Special.l
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6.-The re-
cent cutting OF house doorkeeper by
Representative Thomas of Kentucky,
is only another instance of the fact
that occasionally our national legls.
lators get a little rough, Just like 9TH
or people. Thomas himself has had
more or less stormy career during
his two terms in the house.
During the recent tariff dsbate,
Thomas, who had been sloughing in
his chair in the rear Of the house
electrified that body by arising and
without preamble, generally attacking
everybody whose personal appearances
displeased him. He called Minority
Leader Mann "a bewhiskered gent,
who had filled tons of congressional
records with vapid nothings," and al
luded to Representative Victor Muir
dock of Kansas, progressive leader, as
the guy with the sun kissed locks,
and other things. Being from the
mountains of Kentucky, Thomas did
exceedingly we'll In the verbiage sling
ing proposition, and he liked 1t SO well
that at other times during the day he
got up and started In all over again.
as attempted to fight a newspaper
correspondent who had hit him when
he called him liar" Another cor
respondent, who Is big and husky,
threw Thomas down and sat on him.
For five minutes before capitol po-
liceman came, various interested rep
resentatives were treated to the sight
OF member of the house lying at full
/ length ON the corridor floor in the
house office building with deter
mined reporter sitting on his chest.
But Thomas, though probably the
most untamed member of congress.
| isn't the only fighter by any means.
Away back in 1902 "Pitchfork Ben
! Tillman, senator from South Caro-
lima, and his confrere, Senator Nc
! Laurin, had regular fist fight on the
/ floor of the senate after McLaurin,
answering statement by Tillman,
had announced that 1t was a "wilful,
deliberate lie.''
Tillnan, his eyes flashing took one
long jump and pasted McLaurin. The
combatants were quickly separated
and after a senatorial investigation,
the matter was disposed Of without
action.
Kinds Precedents OF Congress has
4 a lot of interesting stories of encoun-
tiers between congressman and they
show that the pastime is a well estab.
lished one, for there are records OF
congressman who went out and shot
at each other with rifles to avenge
honor wounded in house debates. In
1885 Representative William Graves
and Representative, Cilley fought a
duel with rifles on the boundary line
between the District of Columbia and
Maryland and Cilley was killed. A
house committee Investigated the af
fair and reported that Graves himself
merely fought because when sent as
a second for a New York editor, Gil
ley had refused to see him, claiming
he did not want to be drawn into a
fight. The committee quantity declar-
ed that Graves. in forcing a duel after
, Cilley had been so pacific, had been
, guilty of gross violation of rules"
, and it ordered him expelled from con.
, gress. Graves had lots of friends
though who believed in duelling as a
high art, and after long debate the
whole matter was laid aside and
Graves stayed in congress.
. The first fight in the house was
probably the toughest in its history.
J, 1t occurred in 1898 between Represen.
i tatives Lyons and Griswold During
t a session Lyons tainted Griswo-sl
1 with certain acts of cowardice while
he was in the army. Mr.. Griswold, at
that time, amiably chewing tobacco
/ spat in Lyons face. The speaker OF
i the house and members separated the
: fiery comhatants for the day, but next
Y session while Lyons was writing Girls
e void came upon him with stout cane
+ and commenced beating him. Lyons
: grabbed the fire tongs from the CRATE
e and the two OF them lambasted each
t other all over the room, while colonial
i statesmen tried to separate them
$ getting the odd blows for their pains
=