Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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mie-Re rrmE e r8a6 an i t ws. ESTKBLISHED 1865. NEWBERRY, S. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1902 TWICE A WEEK. $1.50 A YEAR A Fist Fight ig the Seng SXNATORS TILLMAN AND M.eLAURJ coME TO BLC'W1. Seator Tillman Charges Senator McLa rna with Being Governed by Improp Motives in Voting for the Ratificati,n the Treaty of Paris-Seuator McLaur Deelared- that the statement is a Wilfi Ealiileus and Deliberate Lie," Whei upoi Tillima Jumped at McLaurin ai Oit Him, and McLaurin Bit Back. ai they had a Bough and Tumble Fight. Washington, Feb. 22.-In accordani wiWa long-time custom on Washingtom birthday the farewell address of Was ington was read to the senate today it ,ediately aer the body convened at o'cloek Benator Burrows, of Michigal read the immortal document. At the conclusion of the reading lr-.S-enatoe Lodge presented.a mem rial from the Maschusetts legislature favor of sUch an amendment to the co stitution, sa. would place it within t1 --power of congress to enact laws regula iug the hours of labor in the varioi states. When routine- business had been co g)edt ,Senator Tillman resumed b inc positi< o the ing Phi hpile arffbilltiwnich he begannyestei day. He referred to the readingof Was ington's farewell address as similar to tt reading in our churches of the Se..non c -the ont, s the one evidently has i 1I0e effept as the other, as it seemed thi we toy gre prone "tQ spit upon U e-U2he--t?d by t.e Father < Dicussing the Philippine tariff bill I eeared that no revenues were needed t the in su governwent in the Philippin4 apit h ample funds. The sole object 4 the bi-was that the Philippine Arcbipe abald be eploited and made to fa = a0PPortun% to the few to reap golden harvest from the islands Be declared further along, with respe< to Cub@, that the purpose of the admini Vasto give protection to the C in order to put milliot es of sugar and tA -PS it was, too, with t s pro. to give tb eoX si)9 ame sort < et'c had been givei othitwas the "game," he insist an )stas are as the mn shines it was tt prse to afford American capitalists e erypptsUnt,vto seguirm possessaon< the abe sopetes in the Philil pines. "Yet, ssid he, "God save t Smark, *e pretend tobe honest" Amaer Tilman maintained that it to civilize and elevate tb gpFnMent might betti aowe t. ,46.oo,po,ooo ej the Phil ippines in polonizin in the sQlthern states of th NOW TB InGHT WAS PROVoD. When he later directed a question i \ his friends on the other side of the chan ber," Senator Spooner inquired to whoi he refeered. --"I have many friends on the repubhica - W said Senator Tillman. "Persona oare a nice, clean-hearted set < ut litially you are the most ii cowards and hypocrites that eve [Laughter.] tIe' coqree of his speech Senat< became involved in a lively coll' ~ wth Senator Sp@)mer, of Wiscorgil the ratification of the Paris trea ~t,TjsSopth garolina senator t eferred i Sea~ poone'sommnenlts in his speec ymstepasy upon the part tak@n by Wilhi J. Bryau in securing the ratifieation< thetieaty He agreed with the Wiscol gin anstor that the influence of Mr. Br: a was potent, but insisted that even h idunence was not sugcient to induge tU eesator to ratify the treaty, for after i bad Jone all that it was possible for hi: to-do Senator.Tilimar' asserted, the ri psbaniyet lacked votes enough to s4 You know," he shouted, shaking h fngez at the republican side, "how thoe votes'ngeeay were secured." "Bow were they secured?" demande yenatnr Spooner, ' ow if the senator does not." ri plil ~nqt5~Tillnman. "I have receive 'uonnto in conidence 'from that sit of the swber. I know from that tha Impropar ingtuences were used in getti these votes." "Name the man," insisted SenatF Spooner, "upon whom those inflnence were brought to bear. It is due the sent to and due the country that he nan Iins. ~4 maty who impeaches another gaeeis a coward. If the senat knows of any man whio has been improj erly in4ueesed be should name him " "I know," asserted Senator Tillma: "that the patronage, the Federal patro: age, of a qtate has been parcelled out tc pipeter since the ratification of th grety." "What stete?" demanded Senat, 'gSena. -"Then," said Senator Spooner, "I lea, to fight the matter out with your cc "Well," retorted Senator Tillmn,' never shivk the responsibility for., stat meat I make. I know that he (Senat, Mc.nnrin, his colleague,) voted for tl treaty. I know that improper imfuenc were brought to bear. I know what I b~ lieve." "You simply believe," retorted Senat Spooner, what you do not know." AN INTERLUDE. This ended the incident for the tim but the feeling engendered manifest' itself later in a thrilling and sensation~ scene. Senator Tillman continuing his speec ye*d some letters from soldiers in tl Philippines, 4etailing the alleged crue ties practiced upon the natives by tl American forces, lie told of 16o Fiipin of whom the writer stated the water cui had been administered, resulting in ti death of all but 26 of-them. Senator Hoar interrupted to say tb he had received many letters makii charges apainst the American forces,. b in every instance the writers had g iv' - him the information either in coDfiden or as incidents of which they merely h heard and of which they professed know nothing personally. He protest< aanst information of that kind and,d 8~e: "I do not 'want anybody to t' me in strict confidence of a murder." S e nnBrtn of Kansas, interrupt to.defend Gen Funston, upon whom, he said, the comments of Senator Tillman had reflected, as the soldiers who were IN charged in the letters the South Carolina senator had read with the cruelties were under Gen. Funston's command. Senator Burton read Gen. Funston's explicit de u- nial of the very story which had been re e ferred to by Senator Tillman, the denial Of concluding with the statement: In "This statement I wish to brand as an 'I, atrocious lie, without the slightest foun. 1- dation. Statements of this kind are simply d braggadocio and this braggadocio is re .!1 peated in the senate of the United States." Senator Burton quoted Gen. Funston as e saying that practices of this kind some 's times were resorted to by the Macabebe . scouts (natives.) i- "That's a confession of the truth of the tI charges," shouted Senator Tillman. He 2 disclaimed, however, any reflections upon Gen. Funston. t Soon afterwards Senator Tillman con D cluded his remarks. in Scarcely had he resumed his seat when 2. there was enacted one of the most sensa je tional scenes ever witnessed in the his t. tory of the United States Senate. iS MCLAURIN ENTERS THE RING. Pale to the lips and trembling with the - emotion which in vain he endeavored to is control, Senator McLaurin,.of South Car J olina, rose and addressed the Senate, c speaking to a question of personal privi 1 lege. Instantly a bush fell over the Sen Le ate and over the people in the thronged 'n galleries. The very atmosphere seemed kS surcharged with exciteu4ent. W ith It breathless interest the auditors both on Le the floor and in the galleries hung upon every word uttered by the South Carolina Senator. Despite the emotion under e which he was laboring Senator McLau&:n Y seemed to be the calmest man in ts the chamber. He spoke with de >f liberation andhisenunciation was clear 1 and distinct. Svery word he uttered r- seemed to be felt, as well as heard, in the a remotest parts of the historic old hall. "Mr. President," he began, "I rise to a :t question of special privilege."* 3 He had voiced less than a dozen words, I- yet the excitement by this time was in Ls tense. All seemed to realize that a Por tentous event was about to happen. Sen ator Scott, of West Virginia, moved rest e lessly about in the rear of the chamber >f and Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms B. W. - Layton rose fon 'is seat as if to listen d the better to what was about to be said. e WRAT $N4TOR MCIARTIN SAID, F "During my absence," continued Sen ator McLaurln, "a few moments ago e from the Senate chamber in attendance upon the committee on Indian affairs, the . Senator who has just taken his seat (Sen e- ator Tillman) said that improper influen r ces had been used in changing the vote of somebody on that treaty, and then went on late and said that it auplied to the Seatr .from South Cqrohna, who had bepn iven tl4e patronage in that State. I thintk I got the ?ense of the con troversy." Lt Still controlling himselt with an effort, . but still speaking very calmly and with a carefully modulated tone, Senator Mc nLaurin said, and his words cut through the Senate chamber like a knife: ."I desire to state, Mr. President, I ~fwould not use as strong language as I in .tend had I not soon after the Senate met replied to these insinuations and said that they were untrue, >r '-I now say," continued Senator Mc . Laurin with distinct emphasis upon eve-y word and half turning towards his col .league (Senator Tillman) who sat in the osame row, only three seats away, "that h the ste.tempnt is a wilful, malicious and deliberate lip." fSenator Mc1aurin go no further with his statement. . TILLMAN STRIKES FIRST BLOW. s Senator Tillman, who was occupying ke his regrular seat on the utain aisle, sprang e wth tiger-like ferocity at his colleague. Senator Teller, of Colorado, who was sit tng at his desk between the two South Caro'ina Senators, was swept aside with out ceremony. Indeed, the infuriated s Tilmian cllinbe4 over him in his effort to e reach Senator McLaurin. Without the slightest hesitation Senator McLaurin d sprang to meet the attack half way.. Sen ator Tillmuan aimed a wild blow at his col legu with his right fist. It landed upon Senator McLaurin's forehead, just above le the left eye, although its force was par it tially spent upon Senator McLaurin's g~ arm, which he raised in an effort to parry the blow. 7MCLAURIN HITS BACK. i Instantly Senator M1 Laurin's right arm ie shot out, the blow landing upon Seftor n Tillman's face, apparently upon the nose. r Again Sen ator Tillman struei out frauti >- cally, this time with his leih hand. The blow did not land upon Senator McLau a ri. Then followed a wild scrimmage, 2- both Senatory clutching at each other a madly. at Senators Warren and Scott, both of whom are powerful men, rushed toward r the combatants to separate them. As sistantaSreant-at-ArmIs Layton sprang r over d s in his effort to reach the bel ligerent Senators re Just as he seized Senator McLaum.n 4- Senatqr Tillmau aimed a left-handed blow at his colleague, which struck Mr. Layton 'J in the f#ce. Fortunately the blow was e- glancing and 'did no special harm. 3 'HE COMATANTS SEPARATED. i Mr L~aytonl tore them apart. Both Sen eators still were sti'Lking at each other, e- some of the blows lauding upon Mr. Lay toAn instant later the angry Senators were pinioned in the arms of Senators Scott and Warren. They were dragged efurther apart, although they still made .jineffectual efforts to reach each, other. 1l Finally they were forced into their seats. aSenator McLaurin, though very pale, h seemal to be the calmer of the two. Sem ator Tillmnani was as white as a sheet. As 1.he sat in his seat he drew his handker lchief from his pocket and wiped bls >d 1 from his face, that seemingly was flowinig reslightly from his no,e. Until that time re it had not been supposed that blood had ebeen drawn in the encouter. tDuring the fight Senators all over the atchamber were on their feet. Not a word. uthowever, was spoken. The Senate nevel ~in its history had received such a shock. ce AFTER THE FIGHT. i The President pro tern (Senator Frye to was the first to regain composure. It a calm and impassioned tones he directec e-- that the Senate be in order. .le rapped 11 sharply two or three times with his gavel and in a few minutes a semblance of or ~ er ..s obtained, although Senators, hav ing by this time partially recovered fro the shock, moved hurriedly about t chamber. Senator Gallinger was first to addre the Chair. "Mr. President, I ask that t doors be closed." Again the Preside pro tem requested the Senate to be in c der and that Seuators resume their seal It was reserved for Senator Pritchar of North Carolina, in a measure to relie the strain under which all were laborin He desired to address the Senate on t1 pending Philippines bill and, calling f the attention of the Chair, he said: "If the Senator from South Carolit (Senator McLaurin) has concluded" He was interrupted by Senator McLa rin, who said very calmly: "I will nc proceed with my remarks, which we unceremoniously interrupted." "I call the Senator from South Carolit to order," interrupted Senator Teller. "Which one of the Senators?" inquirt Senator McLaurin with some asperity. "This one," said Senator Teller, indic ting Senator McLaurin. "And the oth one, too, for that matter." "Mr. President," interjected Senat( Foraker, "I join in that " "Surely," I continued, with great feeling, his face y pale with excitement, "there is some wa to protect the dignity of this body." "Certainly," said Senator Burrows, wb had been endeavoring vainly to get tb eye of the Chair. "And the Senate cat not let this thing pass, Mr. President." "Mr. President," again said Senatc Gallinger, "I asked that the doors 1 closed." "Mr. President," said Senator Forake who had moved into the main aisle, ' move that the Senate go into executis session." Without comment, every Senator labo ing ) et under the emotion which all et deavored to conceal, the motion wi agreed to and at 2:52 the doors wer closed. BOTH SENATORS IN CONTEMPT. The proceedings after the doors wer closed covered almost two hours of tin: and resulted in the adoption of a resob tion in the form of an order as follow, "Ordered, that the two senators fror the State of South Carolina be declare in contempt of the senate on account < the altercation and personal encounte between them- this day, in open sessioi and that the matter be referred to ih committee on priVileges an4 election with instrqctiqns to report w]at actio shall be taln by the senate ip regar thereto. The discussion which occurred in th secret session was based largely upon th above resolution, the first suggestion < which was made by Senator Forake in presenting the resolution immediatel after the doors of .the chamber wer closed, Senator Foraker took occasion t remark that the occurrence bad been a outrage upon the dignity of the senati of which the senate should take cogn zance. Senator Hoar endorsed the resolutio of Senator Foraker, btit said he thougl the action of the Senate should be mor -xplicit than contemplated by the res< luton. He therefore moved to amen it by ordering the two Senators froi South Carolina be declared in contemr by the Senate for disordetly conduct an speech in its presence, and that bot should be taken into custody. In sul port of this amendment he said the any Court or any other parliamentar' body would commit men for so grave a ffence against its dignity to await i judgment. The reference of the matte to a committee would be, he said, on line with a Court's refer ce to an and tor or a referee, and the'o enders shoul be restrained during the i'nvestigation. BOTH VWILLING TO A?OLOGIZE. Senator Blackburn and other Senato: then s ated that the two South Carohn Senators were willing to apologize, an thus purge themselves of the contemnp ad in view of this ststemnent Senat< Hor withdrew the portion of his an<u melt providing for their commitumen Senator Foraker thien accepted tt amendnent of Senator Eloar and it wi embodied in the resolution. Before ti vote was taken a nuber of Senato: spoke, and while there were many kin utt rances regarding, both Senato: there was no exception in the opil ins expressed as to the gravity an seriousness of the offence. Among t t Senators who thus delivered themselve were Messrs Teller, Fairbanks, IHann Blackburn and Spooner. Senator Hanna suggested that, serioi as had been the encounter in the Senat it was not so grave as the charge of mi conduct made against Senator McLal yin, and he thogght that ap iqvestigatic undei taken should extet.d to that matte Senator Teller, while uniting wit other Ser.ators in deprecating the occu rence, said that it was not unpreceden ed, that there had been other similar a fairs on the floor of the Senate, and i: stanced among others the encounter b tween Senators Benton and Foote. E also suggested that Senator Spooner w not entirely blameless for to-day's occu ance, because by* his interrogatori he had provoked Senator Tillman make explicitly the charges which he been vaguely made before his inte ference in the debate. Replying, to this statement, Senat' Spooner said that he had been of ti opnion that Senator Tillman shou either make his changes or move for inuiry by the Senate if he believed the toe well founded. There was mu< discussion as to whether the vote on ti Foraker amendment should be taken open or in secret session. A motic was made by Senator Teiler looking the opening of the doors. This w voted down-IS to 42. The Republican Sena-ors generally e pressed themiselve s as willing to hear ti apologies promised, but generally ins ted that there should be first action the resolutioni. On the suggestion of Senator Bac there was a division of the two branch of the question. The first vote was 1 ke on the declaration that the two Se ators were in contempt, and it prevail by a unanimous vote of 61 to o on a ro call l'he remainder of the resolutic referring to the matter to the committ on privileges and elections, was adopt without a roll-call. Both the South Carolina Senators: mnained in their seats during the enit Isecret session. They conferred occi sioially with their filends, but neiti miade an attempt to address the Sena IN OPEN SESSION AGAIN. After the secret session the Senate 5.1: resumed business in open sessi< m Evidence was abundant that the secret Le session had been more or less exciting Nearly every Senator in the chamber was ss on his feet. Groups of Senators were ie Rathered here and there about the cham nt ber, all discussing the portentious event r- which hah thrown the dignified body into :s. a fervent. d, As soon as order could be restored Sen ve ator Blackburn said that as the seal of 1 g. secrecy had been removed from the se- i ie cret session just held, he was at liberty or to say that during that session he had made a statement to the Senate of what g ia the Senator of South Carolina (Tillman) I was prepared and pleased to say to the I u- Senate. He explained that both Sen- i w ators from South Carolina had been de- 1 re clared by the Senate to be in contempt. f What he desires now .to know, and lie ia wanted the Chair to rule upon the point, c was whether any statement could be t d made to the Senate in open session by either of the Senators while they were s a- in contempt of the Senate. i er Senator Foraker interrupted to suggest t that unanimous consent be given to t >r the Senators to make their statement. t Le A QUESTION OR ORDER. A Senator Blackburn declined to hear y for a moment any suggestion that unan - imous consent to be given them to ad o dress the Senate. That they were in ,ed e contempt all Senators-all the world -now knew. What he wanted to know was whether Senators in contempt could address the Senate, not as a matter of e courtesy, but as a matter of right? On r that point he demanded a ruling by the r chair. The discussion on this question was I e quite long, and was participated in by Senator Blackburn, Senator Patterson, Senator Foraker and*Senatoi Teller. ts THE SPEAKER'S DECISION. -e Other senators showed a disposition to t discuss the subject further, but President t Pro Tem Frye announced that he was t e ready to rule, and said: e e "While these two senators are declared c . to be in contempt the chair could not s .: recognize either if he should rise and ad a dress the chair, but on motion made by o d any senator that they be heard the chair d would recognize the senator making the c motion and would hold' that the motion was in order. In the ordinary transgres- c 4ion of the rules or violation of order the c senator violating it must take his chair t< and he cannot be recognized by the pre- g d siding offcer again until the senate has t< relieved him of that by motion. Of r e course the senators from South Carolina p e can be relieved from the condition in t which they are:now so far as recognition c by the chair is concerned by a motion li and by a majority vote. What will hap- r e pen after the two senators have purged ji 0 themselves so far as it is possible of the s n contempt the chair will be prepared to 0 rule whenever that question is raised." t. At the conclusion of the ruling of i; President Frye Senator Blackburn said: "I move that the senior senator from t South Carolina be given the floor." e "Why one senator from South Caroli na?" interjected Senator Spooner. 1 d I move that the two senators from SSouth Carolina-" began Senator Black-t burn.t d "That's right," said Senator Spooner. ~ h "-be given the floor," continued Sena-a .tor Blackburn, "to make any statement t in their own way to the senate to purge ythemselves of the contempt."t SThe motion was carried.t SIn a breathless silence Senator Tiliman ~ rose to address the senate. He was calm aand collected and gave no indication by [ his manner of the tremendous scene in dwhich he had been one of the principal I actors but a short time before He spoke deliberately and either one of the hun. dreds of the auditors leaned forward - eagerly to catch his words. Said he: SENATOR TILL,MAN'S APOLOGY. ~"Mr. President: I have always es r teemed it an honor and privilege to be a i L member of this body. I had never had auy legislative experience when leatje e here and my previous service as governor b s of South Carolina for four years had un e fitted me in a measure to enter this an ~s gust assembly with that dignity and re- b d gard, proper .regard, I will say, for its s traditions and habits and rules that is Sdesirable. d ''I have been here seven years. I have e in that time learned to judge men with a s little more catholicity of spirit than I did v~ , when I came here. I have found a great many people here in whose personal im itegrity and honor and regard for their 8 Eobligations as gentlemen I have implicit - confidence; but I have seen so much of - partisanship, I have seen so much of t n what I pionsider slavish submission to r. party domination, that I confess I have h felt somewhat at a loss how to judge men I r- who in one aspect appeared to be so high ~ t- and clean and honorable and in another f- appeared more or less despicable. I say E 1 this because of the fact that one of the e senators has seen fit to allude to some [e matters that occurred in the debate this y i afternoon. I now want to say that so far r- as any action of mine has caused any a senator here, or the senate as a body, or i t the people of the United States to feel Ld that I have been derelict, and that I have r- not shown that courtesy and proper ob servance of the rules of this body, that I >r regret it; I apologize for it I was ready 1 e to do that two tminutes after I hai acted, Ld but under tl-e provocation which was n known to all of you I could not have acted otherwise than I did, and while I h apologize to the senate and a-n sorry that t e it has occurred. I have nothing more to u say." toSENATOR M'LAURIN'S APOLOGY. as Senator McLaurin rose at the conclu sion of Senator Tillman's address He, - too, was calm, but it was evident that he 1e was suppressing his emotion by an effoiL. s- He spoke with greater feeling than had m been manifested by his colleague, particu larly when he told the senate how sorely m he had been tried by the accusations es which had been made against him from a- time to time. His statement follows: n- "Mr. President: I did not realize that d I was in contempt of the senate nor do I 11.- think now if my words are read in the n, Record that I was in contempt of the ee senate. but at the same time, as the sen ed ate has ruled that I am in contempt of this honorable body, I beg leave to -e- apologize. Ire I desire to say, Mr. President, that I is- have been very sorely anid severely tried. Ltr I was in attendance on the committee on te. Indian affaLirs when I received a mne-sage from a friend in the senate that my pres tence was needed here. at"The history of the vote oni the Span have been statements made in nem papers and insinuations that I had be4 inflaenced t - improper motives in co nection with my vote on that treat Knowing in my soul and knowing th God in heaven also knows that it w False, when I was told that it was ce tred down to me I was so outraged I what I considered a most brutal assau upon my honor as a man, and especial' n view of the fact that in the beginnir )f the session, after the action of = ?arty associates, I made a most carefi nd deliberate statement, explaining a hose matters, I did not feel, as a mai hat I could ever hold up my head agai f I did not resent it in the place where was declared, iu the strongest and mo brceful terms, that I could employ. "With that, Mr. President, I am doni xcept I have this to say: If there is an nore talk of that kind or any more" As Senator McLaurin uttered the la entences of his address, intimating thc f there was any further effort to pre, pon him the accusations which had bee nade against him there might be troubl< here was an evident stir in the senat4 5everal senators rose to their feet, as ialf expecting a renewed outbreak < rouble. Senator Bacon, of Georgia, an enator Patterson, of Colorado, both ( vhom were sitting near Senator M< aurin, urged him to stop where he wa. )enator Patterson saying: "I beg the senator to refrain" 'I will refrain then, Mr. President, aid Senator McLaurin. As he resume is seat lie made an effort to compos uimself as if to dispel any fear on tb art of,those about him that it might hav een his intention to precipitate furthc isturbances by any violent comments. STATUS OF OUR SENATORS. The status of Senators Tillman an /IcLaurin is that they are still in cot empt of the ienate, and o-ly by a vote c he senate can either be recognized eithe D speak or to vote on any question whal ver. The senate is operating under lause of Section 5, Article r, of the Cot titution, which recites: "Each house may determine the rule f its proceedings, punish members fc isorderly behavior, and with the cot urrence of two-thirds expel a member. The senate adopted a resolution dt laring both Tillman and McLaurin i ontempt. By a vote both were allowe : make statements in which both apolc ized for their actions. But the senat :ok no further action, and the resolutio: eferring the matter to the committee o: rivileges and elections is still in oper2 iou, and until the committee is di. barged or the senate relieves South Carc ina senators of the coutempt, they mus imain silent in the senate. This is th idgment of all senators who have coi3 idered the question and the presidini fficer, it is said, will refuse to recogniz eir right to participate in the proceed 3gs until the order of contempt is vacated THE CAUSE INDIRECTLY. Way down under the surface it is be leved that the friction between Senatc ilman and Senator McLaurin is due t be fight they are now engaged in ove le pending appointments of Mr. Koe' er, as clerk of ir.ternal revenue, and Posi asters Richardson, Chaffee and Purcel' t Greenville, Aiken and Newberry, re pectively. All of the appointments wer ade at the instance of Senator M< 4arin, and are being held up in commil se, it is said, indirectly, by Senator Till ian. ROOsEVELT's RULING. 'resident Announces His Conclus'on I Schley Case. Washington, Feb. 20.-The Pres ent has given his decision in th atter of the Schley appeal, whic , to say the least, diplomatic. H eems to have been trying to motif oth sides and steer between th wo, and has most probably ende >y offending both. All matters before the battle c antisgo are considered as out c he sphere of inquiry, as, if Schie r'as guilty of misconduct, his ol ences had been condoned by th ilence of his superiors. In the bal le itself the President thinks the here was no actual cammanders-it hief; that it was a captains' batthi Ie thinks Schley's loop was tb nly blunder of the battle; but thE .fterwards Schley did all he coul Lave done. He says that Sampso as technically commander in-chie ,nd as such was entitled to his pr< otion ahead of Schley. Bil. LEVER'S CONTEST. earing Before the Election Committee 4 the Hous.e Today. Washington, Feb. 20.-Commil ee No. 2 on contested elections hel hearing today on the case of Dants er vs. Stokes, in which the right< iir. Lever, elected to succeed M tokes, to a seat in congress is ii olved. Mr. Moss, of Orangeouri appears for Mr. Lever. Dantzler :epresented by counsel but is n< present himself. Several membe: >f the South Carolina delegatic were present at the hearing, minc ing Elliott, Talbert, Johnson at Scarborough. Mr. A. G. Flowers, who was ti other day appointed to a clerksh in the government printing offic has arrived in Washington from I home at Samter, S. C It is stati that his appointment was made u der the civil service rules. Ni Flowers is well known to the Son arolnaelaion in cngress. BURSTING WHEEL KILLS THREE MEN, at 3s I APPALLING DISASTER AT POWER HOUSE IN SPARTANBURO. It y A Whirling Wheel Bursts-A Big Fly g o Wheel of the Railway Engine Rau y Away and Flew to Piece4 With i1 Distressing Loss of Life-Cause 11 is Uncertain. 1, - t [Spartanburg Journal, 20th.] t The most fatal accident that ever occurred in Spartanburg happened Y last night at 10 o'clock at the power t house of the Electric Railway and t Light Co., when one of the fly wheels of an engine running a dynamo that furnished power for the car current bursted and killed Assistant Engin eer I. Lawrence Wilson, Gas Maker Thomas Pike and Fireman Robert Sample, colored. These men in the twinkling of an eye were cut down like grass before a sc) the by a sec j tion of the fly wheel weighing about e 250 pounds, their bodies torn and " mangled and their limbs shattered r and amputated. Sample lived about fifteen minutes after the physi cians reached him. Mr. Wilson lived for several hours and r retained consciousness and gave an intelligent account of the accident, and Mr. Pike was still living this morning, though uuconscious and S with no chance of recovery. He died at 1 p. m. These men were alone at the power house at the time of the accident and as there was nobody to t ilephone or e give notice of what had occurred, it was some time before an3 body reached the terrible scene. The electrio lights went out up town t at once and the electric light people tried to telephone the 9 power house to learn what was the matter, but, of course' could get no response. A fireman from Beaumont Mills was the first to reach the power station, closely fol lowed by Engineer F. H. Knox and SSuperintendent J. C. Norcross and others. The place was enveloped in ,darkness and was as still as the death e it contained. When finally lighted the scene that met the eyes of those - who had come beg{'ars description. BODIES OF VICTIMs SCATTERED. The bodies of the victims were a scattered over two rooms of the power house and out in the yard, a big engine was wrecked, the electric generator smashed into a tangled amass and the roof and floor of the building were torn up by the huge pieces of the wheel that had been 'thrown through them. Big steel erods and pieces of iron were twisted like wires and the steam chest of the engine was broken open and through the aperture all the steam in the boil ers rushed. This was the cause of the shutting down of the lighting dynamo, which was some distance efrom the place of the accident and itself uninjured, as was the engine which furnished it power. By a curious fatality all three of 'the men were apparently standing eat the time the big fly wheel bursted t right in line with it and in the very place where its flying pieces came ~with most force and destruction. Thbree feet to either side of where the unfortunate men stood nothing was touched and they could have stood in safety, but in the path of the flying missiles from the shattered Iand swiftly flying wheel everything was ruined and every human being slaughtered. The splendid machmn eywas demolished like a toy and the substantial building battered and bruised. r. THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. LThe cause of the horrible accident, ,as is frequently the case with sud 3 den loss of life and destruction of >t property, will probably never be def. s initely known. Engineer Wilson be *n fore his death told his brother, Chief I. Engineer Wilson, of the circum d stances preceding the accident. He had noticed a short time before the e bursting of the wheel that the [p governor was not working properl~ e, and was giving out a knocking soun is and did not seem to be regulating d the speed of the big engine as i ~should. He telephoned this fact t< hhis brother, the chief engineer, an< was instrucend to shift the load ove to the reserve engine, known as No. 3, the one that was giving trouble being called No. 4. Mr. Wilson thereupon started up the No. 3 en gine and going to the switchboard changed the load before stopping No. 4, the engine that was giving trouble. It is supposed that as soon as the engine was released of its load the governor, which bad just phown itself to be out of order, failed to cut down the steam accordingly and the engine "ran away," as the saying is. This enormously increased the cen trifugal force always present in re volving wheels and the wheel flew to pieces. However, it did not do so until Mr. Wilson had time to walk from the switchboard back to the throttle valve, which is just behind the swiftly whirling wheel. He told his brother that he remembered putting his hand on the valve to turn off the steam, but remembered nothing further. It is believed that Mr. Pike, who was the gas man and had no daties in the engine room, was attracted thither by the unusual noise of the engine running too fast and came to see what was the matter. The colored fireman, whose work was in the boiler room adjoining, probably came to aid the engineer in shutting off the steam as it was necessary to close a valve under the floor also and this the ne gro usually attended to. Anyhow, all- three of the men were ptanding close to each other when the acci dent occurred and were injured in very much the same manner. NATURE OF THE INJURIEs. Mr. Wilson and the negro both had their legs cut off si..ooth by the flying section of the wheel rim. Mr. Wilson's severed limb was carried into the boiler room, and Sample's leg was thrown through the boiler room and out of a window into the roadway outside the building and the shoe torn from it. When found it was 75 feet from where the man stood at the time he was struck. He was the worst mangled of the three and died first. Mr. Wilson as stated, lived for several hours and retained possession of his faculties and was able to narrate to his brother the circumstances of the tragedy. Be sides the loss of his leg he had his hip crushed in and complained be fore he died of a soreness or pain in his abdomen. Mr. Pike's most se rious wound was the fracture of his skull on both sides. His legs were shattered, but not severed. He is a native of this county and leaves a wife and a child. Mr. Wilson had for a nflmber of years resided in Kansas and had not been in Spar tanrg but a few months. He leaves a wife. The electric light people sum moned physicians and did everything possible for the wounded men, but they were beyond hope of aid or re lief. The accident is greatly regret ted by them and is distressing to the public generally as well as the friends of the dead :nen. The railway com pany has always taken every possi ble precaution to guard the lives and safety of its employees and the pub lic, but this was an accident, which, it seems, could not have been pre vented FUNERAL OF A BIGi MAN. Buried In the Larget Coffna That Was Ever Made. New York, Feb. 20.-Dennis La hey, a Laurel Hill florist, who was buried in Calvary cemetery, weighed 689 pounds, and was regarded as the heaviest man in the State. He was 36 years old and was the son of Dr. Salvator P. Lahey, a Manhattan physician. From his infancy he was corpulent, and he tried various meth ods without success to reduce his weight. He contracted pneumonia on Tuesday of last week and went to bed in his room in McGarry's hotel. Two doctors were summoned, but he died. The coffin was the largest ever made by a coffin company in Wil liamsburg. Its length was seven feet, width thirty-two inches and Sdepth thirty aud one half inches. SThree-inch screws kept it braced to Sgether on the inside to prevent the bottom from falling out. The com Sbined weight of the coffin and body