Lane faction were determined, if not able to elect their favorites, to prevent any election being held. The aspirants to the senatorship were Smith and Lane, democrats, Judge Williams and J. W. Nesmith, independents, and E. D. Baker, republican. Strong influences were brought to bear by the Lane democrats, who besieged the lobby and had their spies at every street corner.
On the 13th the senate organized without a quorum, Elkins being chosen president. A motion was made to adjourn sine die, which was defeated, and a resolution offered authorizing the president to issue warrants for the arrest of the absconding members, which was adopted. They continued, however, to elude the sergeant and his assailants for nine days, when after an unsuccessful ballot for senators in joint convention, in which the Douglas democrats voted for Nesmith and Williams, and the republicans for Baker and Holbrook, the legislature adjourned sine die. Governor Whiteaker then made an appeal through the public prints to all the members of that body to reassemble and attend to their duty; which they finally did on the 24th, but it was not until the 1st of October that balloting for senators was resumed, Deady, Curry, and Drew being added to the nominees. The contest was decreed by the Lane men to be between Smith and any one of the Douglas democrats on one side, and any two of the Douglas men on the other; but the democratic party in the legislature revolted against Smith, and rejected him on any terms. With equal scorn the Lane democrats rejected Nesmith, whom they hated, but intimated that they would vote for him if Smith could be elected. The Douglas men offered if the Lane men would give two votes for Nesmith to elect Curry in place of Smith, but they refused. On the eighteenth ballot the Douglas democrats reluctantly gave up the hope of electing two democratic senators without accepting Smith, and elected
