Show hi G i 01 O 1 PI P 1 fACTIONS > I FIGHT A BATTLE The 1cottMcKinIey Thugs Make a Murderous Attack BLOODY ENCOUNTER AT COLORADO SPRINGS One Wolcott Cutthroat Killed and Several Others Wounded Attempt of Goldbug Conspirators to Capture the Hall In Which Silver Republican Convention Is to Be Held1tIcKinley Officials Chief of Police and Sheriff Aided the Toughs Brought From Denver I Give a Rot Reception Colorado Springs Colo Sept 7A pitched battle occurred in this city at daybreak today between the two warring war-ring factions of the silver Republican party of this state in which one man was killed and three rounded The dead man is Charles S Harris an employee at Denver of the Gulf railroad rail-road The wounded were spirited away br their friends and their identity has not been definitely established It is said that a man named Palmer was shot in the cheek but not serious injured Another man had his hand shot nearly off and another got a flesh I wound in the arm The tight was waged for possession of the opera house in which the silver Republican state convention is to meet I tomorrow An armed guard representing represent-ing the TellerBlood faction was in i possession ExState Chairman Broad who had been deposed by National Chairman Towne sent an armed force to drive the guard out of the theatre After a hot scrimmage in which many shots were fired the Tellerites fled in dismay Harris and the men who were wounded are supposed to have been members of the attacking force Chairman Blood A M Stevenson and other leading silver Republicans openly charge Sheriff Boynton of this county and Internal Revenue Collector r 1irnnk Howbprt of Denver with lead uu ing the attack Sheriff Boynton states that he Mr Hwbert and Chief of Police Po-lice Gathright did not go to the opera house until the battle began and then i only to tale possession of the place i Five men were arrested in the opera I house aid one it is claimed by the police had a smoking Wiriehesteriin hl hands ° 111 e l1rlsoners are Walter Russell J W Lupton J J Long A C Smith A F Monge all of Cripple Creek rhey are charged with the murder of Harris and informations were filed in the district court against them A guard of 20 men under Boynton and Gathright hold the opera housed house-d the Teller people are refused admission A mission I In a published statement Chairman Blood intimated that I N Stevens vIce chairman of the National Silver party during the last presIdential campaign cam-paign and others arranged with a gang of thugs to come from Denver and assist as-sist in capturing the theatre Mr Stevens Stev-ens brands this statement as absolutely abso-lutely false and says he knows nothing noth-ing whatever about the opera house affairACCOUNT ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE At 1 oclock this morning the Vol cottStevens faction applied to Judge Lunt for a writ of mandamus compel lag Chairman Blood who was then in possession of the opera house to turn the building over to exChairman Broad The writ was refused At 410 this morning said ex Mayor Plumb twentytwo of us were inside the opera house Suddenly a fusilade of shots was fired through both the front and side doors Then in a second the doors were burst open and in rushed from 75 to 100 men There was constant firIng in all part of the hall we re9lyIQg as best Wt could I saw one nan fall shot through the lungs They carried him to the balcony and laid him down He died in a few minutes afterward Another An-other man was injured Ye were forced out of the building Sheriff Bomton and Chief of Police Gathright were in the front ranks The police and sheriffs officers claim that the attack was made entirely by men brought by the VolcottStevens faction from Denver They say they only rushed in after the attack began It is a peculiar fact however that they were all on hand An attack was made upon the building from the front and back Sheriff Boynton and Chief Gathright took control of the opera house and made thorough search The sheriff said they discovered a whole arsenal in the building The officers of-ficers seized six Winchester rifles and tell revolvers RIDDLED WITH BULLETS The sliding doors which form the 2n trance to the auditorium show the ef frets of the shooting The right hand door as the room fs entered is perforated perforat-ed with bullets from a VInchesterand a ball also lodged in the left door Roth I WEre fired from the inside of the room and are about as high as a mans head from the floor Todays clash between the factions I was preceded by the action of Na tionalChairman Towne In removing i Ridliara Broad from the chairmanshi I ofUic tate committee on the ground oft di loyalty to the silver Republican I v ar iY d the cause it stands for it being alleged that he had joined in a I conspIracy with friends of Senator I Wolcott to defeat the proposed fusion with Democrats and Populists BLOODS STATEMENT t Chairman Blood has issued the following fol-lowing statement To the People of Colorado As chairman chair-man of the state central committee of the silver Republican party I desire to make public the exact conditic t of I affairs resultin in the deplorable occur oc-cur nce of this morning On yesterday evening the county convention of the I silver Republican party of El Paso I county vas being held in the opera I house at this place The convention ad J jourlled about 12 oclock midnight At j that time Mr S N Nye the lessee and t tJ 4 manager of the opera house turned I f over the door keys and the possession of the opera house as Del contract tome to-me s chairman of the silver Reaub I f Moan state central committee for the purpose of holding therein the ensuing I state convention called for tomorrow Rumors had reached me that exChf man Broad I N Stevens and De Witt 3 C Webber had arranged with a gang of thugs to come from Denver headed t 0 i t i a by Duffield Arnett Tom Clark and others who have done time in the penitentiary pen-itentiary for lawless acts to COODer ate with the sheriff of this county W S Boynton and the police force of this town in obtaIning possession from me of the obera house by force BeIng lawfully 1npossession of the opera house I determined to retain the same and for that purpose left about a dozen persons in the house under the leadership leader-ship of exMayor Plumb and of County Coun-ty Clerk Leggett At about 1 oclock this morning I left the opera house in peaceable and quiet possession of these gentlemen and retired to a hotel Shortly before 4 oclock this morning T was aroused hv thOSE > whom I had left i in charge of the opera house and was informed the opera house had just been I taken from them by a body of armed men that all the entrances to the i house had been attacked simultaneously simultaneous-ly by the firing of a large number of I shots through the doors accompanied by forcing of the doors and the entrance en-trance of armed men No word was spoken or demand made by anyone previous to the commencement of the firing and assault When the armed force entered the opera house it was found to be headed by the sheriff of this county W S I Boynton and Frank Howbert the collector col-lector of internal revenue accompanied I Qy members of the police force of this i town and a number of other men some I of them dressed in police uniform and the thugs imported from Denver and I elsewhere Upon gaining entrance to the house no process or writ or warrant I I of law of any kind was displayed by I I anyone or anj explanation made of this extraordinary unlawful proceeding At the same time by the direction of Sheriff Boynton and Collector How bert four or five of the men in charge of the house were arrested without any warrant or process of law whatever and thrown into jail I am informed that several persons have been more or less serious i wounded in the attack on the opera house I can only regret that in this absolutely I abso-lutely lawless and wholly unjustifiable proceeding the peace officers of this I city and county should be found the first to Violate the law and cause bloOd to flow In order to consummate an unholy I un-holy alllarce intended to defeat the sovereign rights of the people of this state to peaceably assemble in conveil I tion Signed JAMES H BLOOD Chairman Silver Republican State Central Committee ExChairman Broad this afternoon isstied a counter statement to that of Chairman Blood Broad charges that the rIot was caused by incendiary speeches of the Teller Republicans at last nights county convention He says Manager Nye vIolated the lease made with him as chairman of the state committee by turning the opera house over to Charles S Sprague editor of the Evening Telegraph and a follower of Teller Broad says his lease gave him the right to pUt his men in the opera house any hour today for the purpose of decorating and preparing the hall for tomorrows convention NOSE SHOT OFF It is said this afternoon that the man who was wounded is John L Russell exchief of police of Denver and now special timber inspector under the McKinley Mc-Kinley administration and that his nose was shot off THUGS NOT MOLESTED Sheriff Boynton allowed the men who participated in the riot to leave the city early this morning unmolested A majority of the mob which attacked the theatre went to Denver bj the first train After battering in the doors 75 men rushed into the building shooting revolvers re-volvers The ceiling is full of bullet holes The attacking party shot into the air with a hope of frightening the guards into submission The guards were scattered in groups about the auditorium where they could best command com-mand the entrances and they returned the fire Those who participated in the rIot say that more than 150 shots were fired within a few minutes The smoke was so dense in a moment that all shots were at random The attacking party finally reached the center of the house and the guards fled to the street The latter had but one round of ammunl Uon while the attackers trebled them tK 1 U if > in numbers and had two revolvers each and plenty of ammunition CHANCES FOR FUSION Most of the delegates to the state conventions of the Democratic Populist Popu-list and silver Republican parties which open here tomorrow are on the ground tonight The fight this morning morn-ing between the two factions of the silver Republicans which seems to have made certain a split in that party and two conventions has improved the chances for fusion on the state ticket I between the Democrats Populists and part of the silver Republicans There I will be some difficulty in the distribution distribu-tion of the offices as each party is anxious to name the head of the ticket and there are numerous candidates I The silver Republicans who reccgnize as state chairman Janes H Blood National I Na-tional Chairman Townes appointee and who are regarded as followers of I Senator Teller are said to have agreed I I upon Frank C Goudy as their candidate I candi-date for governor The Democrats are divIded between the present governor Alva Adams and Charles S Thomas I With the Populists it is said Judge Thompson of the court of appeals is the favorite I The opera house where the silver Republican Re-publican convention is called is now I in the hands of the followers of Chairman Chair-man Broad who was depo d by National Na-tional Chairman Towne yesterday and they are guarding it with an armed force This faction is opposed to fusion with the other silver parties and will unquestionably nominate a full ticket It seems tonight that all dangers of further serious trouble between the two factions of the silver Republicans has been removed This afternoon members of the Blood faction made application I ap-plication before Judge Harris of the district court for a writ of mandamus compelling Sheriff Boynton to turn over the opera house to them Tonight citizens citi-zens of Colorado Springs took the matter mat-ter in hand and the result was a compromise com-promise by which both sides relinquish all claims to the disputed room By this agreement Judge Harris issued an order to Sheriff Boynton to let neither I faction have possession of the place The Broad faction have secured the I Coburn library of Colorado college and the Blood wing will meet at Durkee I hall I It is Impossible to learn anything about the man alleged to have been I wounded in the opera house fight except ex-cept that John L Russell of Denver is not the man I Late tonight the chances of fusion 1 do not appear at all bright The Pop I ulists hold out for the head of the I ticket to which there is strong opposi i tibn from both the silver Republicans and Democrats II I I |