AND TOPEKA TRIBUNE
VOL. TV. NO. .
$1.00 A TEAK, f
THE BOLTING DE1IQ0BATS.
As a Bepublican Sideshow Their Oonvea-
tion rroves a Dazzling Success.
The so-called democratic convention
met in representative hall, Topeka, on
October 7, aa per the programme made
out in the railway commissioners office
several weeks ago. It was an event the
like of which waa never seen in Kansas
before. There seemed to be a determl
nation on the part of about six or eight
disappointed office seekers, and on the
part of aa many more salaried railroad
employes to make themselves heard and
felt. How well they succeeded will be
seen later.
But what a strange and unique collec
tion of statesmen appeared at the con
vention, or whatever it might be called.
(In the latter part of the proceedings the
leaders denied that it was a convention.)
- There was the little crowd of self-ap
pointed leaders who had called the meet
lng. On the morning of the great event
they were alive to the importance of their
position, and In the evening they were
still on deck. In the morning they were
busy flitting to and fro between the Cope
land hotel, the Santa Fe general offices,
the state house and republican head
quarters, making arrangements for the
successful carrying out of their plana
jsesiae taem there were several other
classes of men In the menagerie. .There
J were the well dressed, sleek look in 2
aieiiows who rL presented a dozen or so of
Jjthe leading towns and cities In the state.
They were a jolly, good naturedsetof
Jieilows. When questioned as to the ob-
1 ject 01 their visit they would return a sly
1 Wlnlr. mill rfonrn tha Mnii,. f
j f " a o wiuu Ul UAOir ejftj
and say f "Don't you lay awake about us.
When we see a chance to take in a free
excursion and save the country at the
same time, do you think we'll let It go
Then there was the rag-tag and bob-
tall the hired men who had been in
duced to come In and help swell the
( crowd. They didn't nretand to iinrir-
1 stand the situation, they didn't know
. what all this "fuss" was about, but they
were here to earn the cost of their ride
and entertainment These were corraled
jaround at the cheap hotels awaiting
( orders, and when the time came they
tooKtneir places In the convention but
never uttered a word during the whole
It must not be said that there were no
liivucBii mcu iu uia mouey garnering, for
.mere were, 'lhere were men who nAvi-
suspected but what they were here to at
tend a bona fide party convention. They
aaa not been approached with any in
ducements to come, because they were
'Ming to come anyhow, bellevlnflr it was
uw) man, uu
fwent away disgusted with the whole
uaacuon. iney were satisfied as soon
TOPEKA, KANSAS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBEB 12, 1892.
aa they heard their leaders say they pro
posed to vote the straight republican
ticket
Finally the convention was called to
order by Railroad Commissioner Mitchell.
with 155 delegates in the hall, and the per
formance began. It was strange that the
following named stalwarts, each of whom
had taken a hand la calling the meeting,
all rewarded themselves with an assign
ment to an Important position:
A. A. Harrla, of Ft Scott, chairman;
Chas. F. Spencer, of Topeka, secretary:
J. S. Emery, of Lawrence, chairman com
mittee on order of business; J. B. Crouch,
of Hutchinson, the man with the capa
cious mouth, chairman committee on
resolutions; Joseph G. Lowe, of Wash
ington, chairman committee on address.
Each of these statesmen made a speech
whenever opportunity offered, but Rail
road Commissioner 'Mitchell held his
talent in reserve until the wind up.
The valiant band of stand-up patriots
dined sumptuously at the republican
tavern on the corner opposite republican
headquarters, and everything glided
smoothly until the afternoon session.
When the order of business committee
came to report It was discovered that
they had omitted to insert a number for
the nomination of a ticket This was as
the bell-weathers had intended, but those
who had come with an honest purpose
began to open their eyes and were dls
pleased. They wanted to know why
nominations" waa not in the order of
business. The chair explained that it
had been decided not to make any nomi
nations, and In order to quiet the lndlz
nation caused by this statement, Chair
man Emery of the committee stated that
Incase they wanted to make nomina
tions It could be done under the head of
miscellaneous business.
The bosses then made some more
windy speeches about the way they had
been sold out la July (not mentioning
the fact that they had since sold them
selves to the republicans), and then pro
ceeded to the selection of a state com
mittee "just to keep up the organization."
When the order of miscellaneous bus!
nesa was arrived at C. K. Holliday, Jr.
moved to proceed to the nomination of a
state ticket This brought th managers
of the hippodrome to their feet In rapid
succession, and they again pleaded that
the programme should not be changed
at this stage of the game, that this being
a conference instead of a convention they
had no right to nominate. Half a dozen
young men who did not understand the
game pleaded faithfully for the motion,
but the railroad lawyers were too much
for them and It was lest A delegate
from Greenwood county made the perti
nent Inquiry, "What art we here fori"
After a motion was made to adjourn
Railroad Mitchell mounted the itandand
appealed for subscriptions to a campalira
fund, saying he would start it with $25.
Lawyers Harris, Rosalngton and Lowe
each aald they would give a like amount,
and a stalwart delegate from western
Kansas asked: "What do we want with a
campaign fund? Is it to help elect the
republicans?" This uncalled for ques
tion dampened the ardor of the delegates
who were going Into their pockets, and
the contributions soon ceased. The ex
hlbltion was over.
THE NIGHT MEETING.
Thursday night the Grand opera house
was thrown open for the stalwart ratifi
cation which had been advertised. Dele
gates were Invited to seats on the stage,
and the seats in the parquet were occu
pled by the most prominent republicans
in the oity. It was altogether a good
looking audience and the distinguished
statesmen had their speechui prepared
to suit the occasion.
Orations were made by Chairman
liosslngton, Crouch (he with the capa
cious mouth), Lowe" and Harris. The
first three endeavored lo impress the
audience with the idea that they were
still democrats, and It was left for Harrla
to overwhelmingly cap the climax. He
did so with the dramatic utterance of a
declaration that he intended to resent
the action of the regular convention of
his party "by voting the republican
ticket from top to bottom." This decla
ration brought out a etdrm of applause
from the republican audience, while the
delegates on the stage turned pale with
disgust Even those who agreed with
the speaker In sentiment did not want
the scheme publicly exposed In this
manner. After Harris subsided the meet
lng adjourned.
I OTFiriAT. P A WW n f Tim
PEOPLE'S PARTY OF KAN3AS.
KANSAB, POLITICS.
Straws That Bhow Which Way the
Breeaea are Blowing,
Gen. Alger is doing Kansas for the re
publicans this week. He is to be at
Clay Center Saturday.
John W. Thurston, the celebrated
Union Pacific attorney who presided
over the Chicago convention In 18S3,
spoke in Topeka last Wednesday.
The death of Senator Ptffer'BSonwai
the cause of some of the senator's datas
being cancelled. Frank Herald, of To
peka, was called upon to take his place
at the Kansas City fair.
Reports from Abilene say that the per
secution of Chairman Breldenthal haa
changed 200 votes In Dickinson countv
to the People's party, and that Foraker'i
speech la good for 100 mors. Tb Popti-
Hata are to have a rally there on the 28th.
After taking a trip to Europe. O. W.
Coles, of Abilene, became a Populist co
the Advocate is Informed by a citizen of
that town. After buying 29 worth of
tableware and paying $31 duty on it he
came to the conclusion that the con
sumer pays the tariff tax In some cases
at least Mr. Coles made other observa
tions In Europe that helped to change
nis political notions.
NOTES.
The committees, the address, the reso
lutions and the order of business had all
been prepared and printed before the
convention began.
W. F. PetlUon, the Dodge City kicker.
waa a member of the regular democratic
committee, but that body demanded his
resignation and got It Pete then went
to the bolter's convention.
There were not over twenty delegates
who took any active part In the conven
tion. The others were as mum as oysters
ana as unconcerned as If they were visit
ors from some other party.
The convention passed resolutions
commending the Kansas City Times for
the course it was taking in the campaign.
Tula was very appropriate, for the public
cencedes the Times to the republicans.
Every stranger who made his appear
ance about the state house was offered a
badge consisting of a white ribbon bear
ing the words "Stalwart Democracy" and
urged to take a seat among tha delegate.
Eegular Democratio Committee.
The regularly elected democratio com.
mltteemen, those who are heart and soul
In the movement to ffeot a change in
tne state government, held meetings at
their headquarters In Topeka on tha 6th
and 7th. Every district in the state ei-
cept two was represented, and each mem
ber reported aa to the outlook In hla
district These reports were all of the
most encouraging character, showing
that nine out of ten of all the democrats
will not only vote for, but are working
vigorously for the success of the Weaver
and Lewelllng ticket Many of hem
gave the result of a poll of their coun
ties, and In no case did it appear that
more than a dozen dissatisfied democrats
could be found In a whole county.
iheoommittee paid its respects to tha
so-called "stalwarts" In an address
which they will soon publish. A resolu
tion condemning Railroad Mitchell'a
course was knocked out with the argu
ment that as Mitchell Is not a democrat,
and never had been one, and as he la
holding hla efflce by republican appoint
ment, he is beneath the notice of the
committee. Chairman Jones la In hlrt
gle over the reports of the commIii2s-
men.
Aluminum watch chirm. Fins eorfeiift
of L. D. Levelling, ntxt coTernor of Kin.
Baa. 8end at once. Only limited nnmhr.
Twenty-flre cents eaoh; $1.80 per doien.
so. W. B&siDxaTHAL, Topeka, Kaa,