The advocate and Topeka tribune. [volume], September 07, 1892, Image 1

About The advocate and Topeka tribune. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1892-1894

Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

                
AND TOPEKA TRIBUNE
8ft a Yffif TOPEKA, KANSAS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1892. pSSniSStSfl Ih&b.
HUMPHREY'S HUMBUG.
Another Campaign Sensation Coming
From the Land of Yidette and Dyna
mite lame Another Prematura Explo
sion. On August 30, the Kansas City Jour
nal published Ave columns of dime novel
rot purporting to be a history of the
Frazer-Gibeon murders In Chautauqua
and Elk counties, and the Incidents lead
ing to the arrest of Frank Elnzey and
Jerry Hutton, which occurred August 29
at Sedan. The article was illustrated to
show the blood curdling manner In
which the murders were committed, but
a faithful perusal of the story fails to
show the reader what the illustrations
were drawn from, unless it was the re-
po rV.n agination.
This fake brought a broad grin to the
faces of many of the newspaper frater
nity, who saw that the sensation that had
t'ws if V-b up to sell to newspapers had
now been turned to political uses. The
fraud Is best exposed by the following
report In the Kansas City Timet of Au
gust 31:
"The arrest at Sedan yesterday of
Frank Kinzey and Jerry Hutton, charged
with the murder of John S. Frazer two
years ago, has every appearance of being
a frantic attempt by Gov. Humphrey and
other republican office-seekers to create
feeling against the farmers' alliance, and
make capital for the republicans in the
present campaign. The news of the ar
rest was carefully guarded from the
newspapers, with a single exception of a
Kansas City republican organ, which this
morning printed the story of the murder,
unfolding the.detaila of the great conspi
racy within the farmers' alliance, and
imputing to that organization the full
responsibility for the awful tragedy.
This is given on the authority of an
amateur detective, John T. T. Davis, who
Is credited with having unravelled the
mystery.
"The story as printed in the Kansas
City Journal this morning appeared
almost verbatim in the New York Press
several months ago, except that instead
of Kinzey and Hutton being the names
of the accused men fictitious names were
used.
Last November Detective Davis came
to Topeka and informed Gov. Humphrey
that he had, after a sleuth-like chase,
found the trail of the murderers of
Frazer, and had unearthed a vile con
spiracy on the part of the farmers' alli
ance. The governor became greatly
Interested in the story, and promised
Davis every assistance In his work. The
detective returned to Sedan to continue
his investigation, but before doing so
thought he saw an opportunity to turn an
honest penny by selling his information
to a newspaper. He first went to the
Topeka Capital, and outlining his story
offered it to that paper exclusively, to be
used only after the first arrest was made.
The Capital did not want it, so Davis
went to Kansas City and entered Into
negotiations with the Journal. That
paper paid him his price, and Davis un
folded his tale, which was at once written
up and put in type to be ready for use at
a moment's notice. 44 Dummy" names
were inserted in the article to be replaced
by the real names of the alleged murder
ers as soon as they should be arrested.
44 Davis then proceeded on his way to
Chautauqua, and again took up his clue.
For some reason the mystery did not un
ravel as rapidly as he had hoped, and he
was unable to secure enough evidence
to warrant an arrest.
44 In the Journal office is a young man
who corresponds for a number of eastern
papers. He saw an opportunity to profit
by Davis' story, so he had a number of
copies of the proof -sheets printed and
mailed to several newspapers, among
others the New York Press, Instructing
each to hold It until the arrests were
made. The Press overlooked the Instruc
tions, and published the story, dummy
names and all, last December, thereby
scoring a 44 scoop " on the Journal.
44 Gov. Humphrey is not In the city to
day, but his private secretary, James
Smith, said that the executive officer had
dropped the matter sometime ago, and
knew nothing of the work done by Davis
for several months. Early In the Investi
gation the governor employed Senator S.
B. Klrkpatrick to represent the state In the
matter, and sent Lewis Hanback to Chau
tauqua county to unravel the mystery.
Nothing came of this. In the meantime
the republican papers in the Third dis
trict were charging the crime to the
Chautauqua county alliance, and much
Political capital was made out of it
'eople's party papers likened these ac
cusations to those made by the republi
cans in regard to the dynamite explosion
at CoffeyvUle In 1888. The Chautauqua
county alliance employed Jeff Hudson, of
Fredonla, now the democratic and Peo
ple's party nominee for congress in the
Third district, to Investigate the charges
and disprove any connection of the alli
ance with the crime.
44 It is reported here this afternoon on
good authority that warrants will be
sworn out for the arrest of every man
who was a member of the Center town
ship alliance at the time the murders
were committed, charging them with
complicity In the cnme.
44 It will be Impossible to keep the
affair out of politics, and It bids fair to be
as important a factor In this campaign as
was the CoffeyvUle explosion in the cam
paign of 1888."
A CHAUTAUQUA HAH's STATEMENT.
To the Editor of Thx Advocatk,
The sensational article published in
the Kansas City Journal of August 31,
1892, In regard to the murder of John S.
Frazer, which occured in this county In
June, 1890, is one of the most malicious,
lying and scandalous libels upon a whole
community that was ever conceived or
published. In fact, there is Just suffi
cient truth In the whole matter to make
the lies all the more prominent What
Is the truth? That John S. Frazer was
most foully murdered we all believe.
Who did the act? We don't know.
Frank Kinzey and Jerry Hutton have
been arrested, charged with the crime.
When It became known that Messrs.
Gibson and Frazer were Intending to
ship a large number of Texas cattle into
this county, they were waited upon by a
committee composed of leading farmers
in this county, and a conference had, In
which the dangers to domestic cattle
were discussed, and Gibson and Frazer
notified that they were exposing their
neighbors and friends to serious and
irreparable loss In order to advance their
own private Interests. Gibson and Fra
zer answered all argument first by de
claring their belief In no danger, and
second by offering to pay all losses that
might occur from Texas fever. There
the conference ended without "ill" feel
ing, as the Journal states, and one of the
forties to this conference afterwards
eased to Mr. Gibson a large pasture.
The Journal Is "off" again when it
says this conference took place after the
cattle were landed. The conference was
had quite a while before the cattle ever
reached the state of Kansas.
The Journal Is "off" again when It
says the cattle were landed at Sedan. The
cattle were landed in the Indian Terri
tory, south of CoffeyvUle, and driven
across the line into the state west of
CoffeyvUle and thirty miles east of Se
dan, February 28,1890. Wire fences
were cut soon after the cattle were driven
into Chautauqua county, not only around
the Gibson & Frazer pastures, but around
other pastures with which Gibson &
Frazer had nothing to do, and which did
not and never have had ahoof of Texas
cattle in them.
The Journal willfully lies when it
produces what It pretends to be a note
from one committee to another, as no
such committees ever existed and the of
ficers hate no such information, I know.
The Journal again willfully lies when
it speaks about members of the alliance
forming Inner circles and meeting at a
house near a certain cross-roads, the
owner of which house has since gone
crazy. No such thing has ever occurred
In this county. The thing is a Ue out of
whole cloth.
The Journal again lies when It says
that S. S. Kirkpatrick has been hired by
Governor Humphrey to take charge of
and prosecute the case. The facta are
that Humphrey and all the rest of the
clan like him, with the Journal, when
this murder was committed rushed Into
open declaration charging the crime and
laying It at the door of the alliance, and
seemed to be perfectly satisfied to let it
remain there undisturbed, as none of
them ever did anything to bring the
criminals to justice until Davis and
West (the detectives to whom the Jour
nal ascribes so much honor), through the
Freeman's Lance, a People's party paper
at Sedan, charged "that the criminals
were known to the officers and that they
were permitted to go free in order that
the republican papers and orators might
charge this crime to the People's party
(as they did), and thereby gain;" then it
was that Humphrey showed some inter
est in this matter, and then it was that
the Journal also showed some interest
in the matter, and some of its managers
wrote some letters (which I can make
oath to if Mr. Journal thinks I know not
whereof I speak), and the only action
that Humphrey then took was to insist on
the county attorney commencing prose
cution; and when It became known upon
whom susploion most strongly rested,
then these same gentlemen who were so
very content to charge this crime to the
alliance and let it rest at that these
same men, I say, magnamlously publicly
declared that they did not believe that
any political party or organization had
anything to do with the crime. Why
had they so radically changed their
minds? Was it another CoffeyvUle
bomb? It was because the coroner who
conducted the investigation or port
mortem on Mr. Gibson's body and who
took charge of the stomach, and who
never allowed anyone but himself to
analyze said stomach or the contents
thereof, and who never mads the results
of his analysis known, If he made any,
was a republican. It was because every
man who is under suspicion for the mur
der of John S. Frazer and every man to
whom the evidence points were republic
cans, and were never at any time mem4
hereof the alliance. ,4
Mr. W. H. Gibson and his daughtfef
Mahala, were on their way home and
stopped in Moline to stay over night.
Gibson retired apparently as well as
usual, and was found dead the next
morning. No cause was ever assigned,
and the coroner's post viortem developed
no Information and was practically sup
pressed, as I have before stated. Gibson
was on his way home, and not going
away, as the Journal says.
John S. Frazer was most foully mur
dered, as It Is su pposed, about twomlles
and a half northwest of Sedan, on June
28, 1800, and his body was found on Mon
day following In a pool of water In Deer
creek; the pool was about waist deep and
about fifteen feet across. There were
six stabs in his cheet, one of which pene
trated to his heart; his throat was cut
from ear to ear, his windpipe being sev
ered; there was one stab also in his ab
doman. Gibson and Frazer were good
men and valuable citizens. Mr. Gibson's
death Is a mystery. Frazer was mur
dered, and this community and thia
oounty deeply regret it, and we are doing
everything In our power to ferrlt out the
criminals and punish them. But the
citizens here, without regard to party,
color, or previous conditions of servitude,
protest against such outrageous lies and
libels upon a whoie community as that
contained in the Journal.
In conclusion, let me say that the alll
ance and People's party are entirely out
of the question in connection with this
matter, aqd that some of the leaders have
been most prominent In bringing about
this prosecution, and have employed
eminent counsel to assist the prosecution.
I charge the Journal with not only wUl
fullyand maliciously lying about this
matter, but with suppressing the fact
thai the alliance has been and is assist
ing in this prosecution. I charge it with
also having its libels, falsehoods and
misrepresentations ready for print mora
than three months ago, and was Induced
to withhold the publication thereof only
upon the promise that it would be first
notified when the arrests were made.
And there can be but two reasons why It
published the stuff that it did: First, to
make the paper extremely sensational In
order to make it sell; and second, In the
hopes of Injuring the People's party In
Kansas where it hoped the truth might
not become known. In each case the
motive was most contemptible and shows
a spirit of avarice or hatred blacker than
the shades of hades. Dak M. Pilz.
Sedan, Ejus., Sept. 2, 1802.