The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-08-02

polls, and had no choice but to meet fire with fire.n
 The GI.s are elected and will serve as your county officials be- ginning Sept. l, l946,' the statement concluded.
 Violence erupted last night after several veterans had been arrested at the polls and three of them were jailed by the special deputies. The deputies, at Mansfield's direction. | also had seized most of the ballot ooxes and taken them to the jail.
 Gun Fighting Heavy
 Returns from the only two of McMinn County's 12 precincts which had been tabulated had shown the G.I. ticket leading about three to one
 Heavy gun fighting began as the veterans, armed with submachine guns, rifles, pistols, shotguns. tear gas and dynamite, moved in on the jail
 Deputies barrioaded themselves behind tables and other furniture and fired through windows at the ex-soldlers, who sent volley after volley crashing into the building rom the street and from vantage points in nearby buildings.
 Two women were said to have been in the Jail with the deputies but their Identities were not learned immediately.
 Bomb HaIts Battle
 For about six hours the battle ragged, the scene lit by flames from automobiles which the veterans overturned and ignited near the jail.
 At about A. M. homemade dynamite bomb was thrown against the jail building, and the explosion tore the porch from it. Clouds of white smoke arose and firing from within ceased abruptly.
 In the sudden silence, q man screamed:
 For Gods sake. hold your fire and let us give up"
 A few moments later the hloodv bedraggled deputies filed from the Jail, their hands held above their heads. >a .-
 Badly Maltreated
 Those who emerged first were set upon by the mob, beaten. kicked and spat upon. One deputy was passed from nan to man, each in turn knocking him down.
 But within few moments Butt- ram and his lieutenants had man. aged to calm their followers. and they saved the bruised and bleeding men from further punishment.
 Lets put these men in jail and treat them a damn sight better than they treated us" veterans, leader pleaded, and his words swung the mob with him.
 A repetition of the Athens battle was threatened at Etowah, eight miles to the east, when a CT shock force made ready to move on that town and seize the ballot boxes. But on receiving an ultimatum from the veterans, the machine officials in EtoWah hastily conceded the elec- tion and the expedition was called off.
 Run Out Of Shells
 The deputies sent word out of the Jail to cease fire so they could sur- render after one of half dozen dynamite bombs had knocked off the porch. They came out without their guns, saying they had run out of shells.
 The whole town of 10000 seemed to be swarming around the jail area soon after the shooting stopped. A tremendous cheer went up when the ballot boxes were hauled from the hall and taken off in 8 truck by the CT faction. z
 The "non-partiSan committee" to which the CTS belonged along with dissident Democrats and Republi- cans asserted it had no choice in the riot except "to meet fire with fire"
 At least one of the jail defenders had escaped through the mob. He was Bryan Sharpe who crawled out with part of one leg shot away, and made his way to Forie Hospital for Urea atment.
 Thank God. I'm out o6 M' = said.