Populist Party

The election of 1892 brought Populist Lorenzo D. Lewelling into the governorship. His People's Party had gained control of the state Senate two years earlier and believed it had won the House in 1892. But Republicans claimed 64 seats in the lower chamber.

Thus, when the legislature convened in January 1893 both parties claimed to hold a majority. Two separate Houses of Representatives began to function in the same hall. Although each party made attempts to unseat the other, they proved fruitless.

The breaking point came in mid-February with the arrest of Ben Rich, clerk of the Populist House, with the charge of disturbing the peace of the legislature. After his "rescue," both sides began to muster their forces. The next morning, February 15, members and employees of the Republican House gathered at the Copeland Hotel on Kansas Avenue and marched to the Statehouse. A few guards tried to stop them, but were easily swept aside and the door of the House was smashed upon with a sledge hammer. The militia arrived, but since it was composed almost entirely of Republicans, most of the units deserted the governor.

In 48 hours the "war" was over. The Republican House stayed in the hall, proceedings against the clerk were dropped and the Populists met in another room in the capitol. The final decision was left to the Supreme Court which decided in favor of the Republicans.