The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-13
.MUSGROVEPLAM ]. FORMAL ATTACK ON STATE COUNT Will File Contest With The State Executive
 Committee DECISION REACHED AT
 CONFERENCE OF LEADERS Fraud Charged-DinsmOre Con- cedes Defeat-Underw0ods
 Lead Grows

cu HI tue pTeslucutidA pTlndEy, h. AS' Musgrove Wednesday refused to be counted out" '-.. Charging that Outrageous fraud" had been perpetrated to return Senator Oscar W. Underwood the winner, the Jasper capitalist summoned his man. agers and attorneys from various parts of Alabama to Birmingham for a con- ference. "The fight is just starting," Mus grove declared late Wednesday night after conferring with 20 of his leaders. He said the first step would be the | filing of a formal contetst with the state democratic execueive committee, so as to pave the way for an appeal to the democratic national convention l which meets in New York in June. More of his managres will reach teh city Thursday and further con- ferences will be held, Musgrove as- serted.
 Win Appeal
 "The state committee" he said, ''is controlled by Underwood forces and expect nothing from it. However, un- der the law, must first appeal to the, state body before I can take my contest to the national convention" Campaign leaders of Senator URder- wood laughed at the defeated candi- dates plans for a contest and invited him to .'go as far as he ikes." Matt H. Murphy, chairman of the senator's l Jefferson county campaign committee, asserted "Let Mir. Musgfove bring his contest. It will get him nowhere. He was overwhelmingly repudiated. at the polls and there is nothing he can do to take Senator Underwoods sweeping victory away from him."
 Other sharp exchanges between Un- derwood and MusgrOve leaders clearly indicated that the aftermath of the pri- mary is to be equally as bitter as the two-months campaign which ended Tuesday.
 No Court Action
 Musgrove, after a conference with lis attorneys, announced that no court action would be possible.
 'sThe primary was held outside of the law and without the protection of the state election laws" he said. This situation, I am advised, bars me from going into the courts to show up the crooked deals that were perpetrated Tnesdagy a 1 q 1alize also that the state exe- Ieutfve e6nsisf tsea is iaE eIy c6iiip6self 0f Senator Underwood's henchmen. It ktherefore, looks as if my contest final l ly will reach the floor of the New York convention. I am determined to fight | to a finish"
 | Formal steps will be taken as soon as the statewide returns are consoli- dated and declared by the executive committee when it assemblies in Bir- mingham at noon W ednesday, March 19. Musgrove declared to reporter for The Age-Herald that the election at Mobile was Gas crooked as dogs hind leg" He said his representatives were denied admission to the polling places and that the majority recorded for Underwood was "twice as large as the total vote boiled in Mobile"
 vots In Walker
 | Musgrove continued:
 'The Walker county vote was on the level and I carried that county by landslide. The opposition could not get away with any manipulation there. The story would have been the same all over the state if the primary had been honestly conducted.
 ''In Mobile the watchers I had as- signed to the polls were thrown out. I wired Dr. Eugene Crawford, presid- | ing elder of the Methodist church, pow CT of attorney and asked him to ar range for watchers to be admitted. His efforts also were met by strong-arm methods and was unrepresented at any of the Mobile polling boths. It was one of the most outrageous pro- ceedings in Alabama history. I will never stop until I expose these frauds
 Some folks ought to go to jail for what happened in Alabama Tuesday. Take the Dallas county vote, for in- stance. am credited with only six votes, but could give the names of many others who cast their ballots for me in that county. The situation in many other counties was just as rotten"
 MusgrOve was indignant and in fighting mood as he discussed the re- turns with reporter.
 r Hold Conference
 l State Senator Walter s. Brewer, one of Musgrove's attorneys, had lunch with the Jasper millionaire Wednes- day. Other attorneys who participated ill the Tutwiler hotel conference which began at [ o'clock Wednesday night were Edgar Clarkson of Tuscaloosa |: John w. Altman of Birmingham, and several Jasper attorneys. Approximate ly twenty Musgrove campaign leaders from over the state also attended. | NJ. A. DinsmOre, who ran a bad third in the primary. readily conceded his defeat. To reporters, he said You may say for me that l have absolutely nothing to say"
 With complete returns from all but three of the ballot boxes in Jefferson county, the vote in the presidential pri- mary held Tuesday showed majority of 1900 for Senator Underwood over his nearest opponent, l.. B. MusgrOve.
 Late Boxes
 The boxes reporting Wednesday were those at Short, Bibby's store, Graymont Fire station. Goudelocks s store, Oxford's pharmacy. Bowers store, Cedar Grove, Morris, Haig, Powhatan, Bearden's, Let's store, Mountain Ter race Junction, Harris Transfer com pany, NOrwoOd Fire station, Partridge, Corner school house, Toadvine, Gra- ham, Pratt City hall, Sandusky, Rocky Ridge, Docena, Hueytown, shannon, Maxine commissary, Maynard Con- i tracting company. Ensley, Gardendale East Mulga. Mt. Olive, and Virginia mines.
 The total vote from these boxes mak- ing belated returns showed that Un- derwood increased his former plurality over Musgrove by 463 votes. The re- turns as a whole showed that six of | the II boxes in Ensley were carried by Underwood, while he carried Dolo- U II E.-l L.. -A-.-