Razors in the Aisles: A Seattle Democratic Convention Turns Violent
When an attempt to integrate the local Democratic party erupted in a brawl, the chair was sent flying and the local police were called to restore order to a chaotic political meeting.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At the convention to nominate delegates to the Democratic territorial convention, order and harmony appealed, but the former two were noticeably absent. As the supporters of Cleveland and Thurman were about to begin, Mr. H. W. Turner, of Seattle, a colored orator, who was an applicant to the convention to elect delegates and support Thurman, was struck to the floor by a blow from a heavy cane wielded by a person from the Couch & O'Mealy faction. Immediately, a half-dozen men drew their revolvers and threatened violence, causing a stampede over rails in the hall, and rushing toward the door of the hall, when they were met by police. Many had also drawn knives during the fray. Chairman Shelton finally announced that he had turned the chairmanship over to Mr. Turner, the candidate for Thurman, and he therefore declared the balance of the convention proceeds of which he had adjourned, null and void. The convention immediately organized a platform of their own.
“Immediately, a half-dozen men drew their revolvers and threatened violence, causing a stampede over rails in the hall.”
Political infighting and the struggle for representation within the Democratic Party is a cycle as old as Washington statehood. While the weaponry of choice has changed, the tension between grassroots organizers and established party factions remains a familiar feature of Seattle's political landscape today.
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