As the 1908 campaign season opened , the Brownlow faction wanted Tennessee 's seat on the Republican National Committee to go to Oliver , while Evans wanted it to go to Hale . The Evans faction dominated Republican county conventions that year , winning most of the delegates to the party 's March 1908 state convention in Nashville . With Brownlow ill and Austin out of the country , a frustrated Oliver decided to take matters into his own hands . He recruited around 800 Knoxville-area ruffians , armed them with pistols and hatchets , and transported them via train to Nashville . The mob burst into the Tennessee State Capitol several hours before the convention was scheduled to begin , overpowered the guards , and promptly opened the convention proceedings . After Oliver delivered a " red-hot speech " trashing Evans and Hale , he was " elected " national committeeman , and his associates were chosen as delegates to the 1908 Republican National Convention
1908 Republican National Convention
1908 Republican National Convention
William J. Oliver (industrialist)