Omaha daily bee., 1921-06-19
Hot Legislative
Fight on Fixing
States Capital
Omaha Members of Assembly
of 1853 Battle Valorously
Against Florence "Se.
ceders'' and Others.

Continued from Page Twol.
shrewd practice by the opponents of
Omaha.
Last Round of Fight.
Hanscom and his associates now
turned several tricks which resulted
in the securing of enough votes to
prevent the passage of the bill over
"Grandmother" Izards veto.
The last round in the capital re-
moval fight was fought out in the
winter OF 1883 Hanscom was agall
summoned to champion the cause OF
Omaha. AT this time he was not Z
member of the legislature, but was
classed as a lobbyist. However, that
made but little diiierer-, with him
The plan of bribery was discussed
but Hanscom declared that he, Tor
one, had been paying out money long
enough, and that now he proposed
70 punch" somebody. =,
The opportunity for the punching :.
soon came. Speaker Decker had
armed himself with a revolver and
announced that he and his party
were prepared for any emergency
The committee OF the whole had
elected DR.. Thrall as chairman, and
he at once filled the chair. The
Omaha men now let loose flood OF
talk and held the floor from the
morning hour until late i'll the alter
noon, when message was received
from the clerk of the council after
that body had adjourned. Under
the Joint rules no message could be
received by one branch when the
other that sent it was not in session.
Grabs For Gavel!
While this point was being dis
cussed Speaker Decker attempted to
take the chair, but DR.. Thrall held
him off. Decker grabbed for the
gavel in Thrall's hand. and at the
same time announced that the com.
mittee of the whole would rise and
receive the message from the coun-
Gil. This was out of order. Hans
com, as an ex-member of the legis-
lature, took advantage OF the privi-
lege to make himself at home within
the bar. He was sitting near the
speakers stand, and shouted to
Thrall to hit the rascal over the
head with the gavel.' AS Decker
attempted to push Thrall out of the
chair Hanscom jumped to his feet
and pulled Thrall back.
This tussle was continued back
and forth for some little time. J..
w. Paddock and Mike Murphy now
took a hand and the next instant
grabbed him by the back of the neck
and the seat OF his trousers and threw
him with great force under table. A
free ough-and-tumble fight ensued
in which several men were roughly
handled and were given black eyes
and bloody noses as souvenirs OF the
occasion. The Omaha gang" won
out.
Adjourn to Florence.
The next morning each house
passed a resolution of adjournment
10 Florence. The proceedings OF
these two bodies at Florence amount
ed to little or nothing, and they were
not recognized as a legislature by
the governor, who at that time was
w. A. Richardson of Quincy, ILL.,,
who had succeeded lizard in January,
1857. The secessionists had ap-
pealed to the governor for protection
from IAN unrestrained mob" in ON
aha, declaring that they had a we'll
grounded apprehension as to the
personal safety of the majority oil
the legislature, and they urgently re-
questcd him to communicate with
them at his earliest convenience.
Governor Richardson addressed
them as members Of the legislature,
and not as "the legislature" He
assured the Florence seceders that
il they would return to Omaha and
transact necessary business he would
guarantee them protection from any
act Of violence by any man or Sc,
of men. The seccders, however, did