The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-05-17
From the Republican.
MADDEN'R RECORD.

Of the High POsRtaan OF Presidential |
Hector. HIS Ree0rd OGacaally, III
nanelalIy ana Politically. He Cannot
COnamand Ghs Support Of 1he Parry
and sAoula BE Removed Frem she
Ticket.
One John Madden, of Cottonwood
Falls, was elected to the high and i'm
portant position of Presidential Elec-
tor by the Fourth Congressional dis
trict convention which assembled in
this city on the sth instant. But few
in the community where he lived knew
that he was candidate. His election
was evidently stormed through the
convention by s'unholy alliances
made by candidates for other positions
who Influenced delegates to give him a
support thinking it to be for their in
terest to do so. His record and char
acter were unknown TO great major
ity of the convention. He was unwit-
tingly lauded by some delegates who
had been wheedled into his support by
few persons whose characters, if pos
sible, are worse than his own. On
the morning of the convention, hearing
but Madden, we personally saw as
many delegates as we could and told
them that it would be great mistake
to elect man like Madden to such an
important trust-that he was ''dead
beat'' and a dishonest man, totally I'M
worthy of private or public confidence,
and that his record and standing
would be ventilated and that many in
fluential Republicans throughout the
district, and especially in the commun-
ity where he lived would not
support him; but the slate
was made up and the fraud perpetrated
on the district before many delegates
could gather their thoughts sufficiently
to enable them to determine the proper
thing to do. To take an obscure man
SO obscure as to have no public standing
so obscure as to be unknown to a ma
jority of the convention-was,t to say
the least, running a great risk. Some
times it will hit but this time it has
missed. To-day, we venture the asser-
ton, from what the public have learned
of him, he could not get one-tenth Of
the convention to support him for the
position, were it to be done over. He
is conspicuous only in the communities
where he has lived for unreliability and
dishonesty. for his lack of honor and
integrity. He was slipped into the
place because nobody else aspired to it..
But this did not excuse the convention
for accepting him, especially when
there had been presented before it the
claims of Mr.. Woodford of WOodsOn
county, veteran Union soldier who
left leg on the battle field, and whose
honor, integrity and Republicanism
were vouched for by Hon. Harrison
Kelley and others well known for their
high character, truth and veracity at
home and abroad. That this veteran
soldier should be denied the honor of a
position at the head of his party in the
State and dead beat" shot in ahead
of him, is political outrage that
should not go unrebuked. If this ap-
parent mistake shall not be corrected it
will cost the Republican party heavy
losses in our district on all tickets, 10
cal, State and national. The REPUB-
LICAN, on the morning after the con-
vention, contained the following pro-
test:
The selection of Madden as presidential
elector for this district was a mistake. and
when he appeared before the convention to
decIaim his little piece the mistake was ap-
parent. The convention, towards the close,
lost its wits and elected for this high position
person who is regaI ded in what is known
in business circles as dead beat" person
whose name no decent newspaper should float
at the head of its columns for any position
whatever. The congressional committee
should investigate the integrity and standing
of this pretentious stripping, and, if possible,
correct the mistake the convention made.
That Union soldier of strict integrity and
spotless character, who had left a limb on the
battlefield, should be defeated in the cOnven-
ton by a thing like Madden is simply q dis
grace to the convention and an outrage on
the people. Acknowledgement Campbell
placed himself ON a level with the dead beat
class of small politicians when he endorsed
the nomination. The time has come when the
Republican party should place none but men
of honor and integrity at the front, and fail
ing to do this, it should be held to account by
| the press Of the country. The REPUBLICAN, is
not personal or vfndictive paper. 1t has
| looked over many things that deserved to be
| rebuked, but when a convention does a thing
SO unjust and reckless as did the convention
yesterday in electing q "dead beat" over s
| veteran Union soldier of character and stand
ing, we feel it to be our duty to enter an earn
est protest against the outrage.
We're Madden a man of integrity and
honor, we should not oppose him,
although we could never feel quite re-
conciled to the action of the convention
in rejecting a gray-haired, hmbless
soldier for an unfiedged gosling of boy
with checkered political record. We
understand that Madden was elected
county attorney on account of some
views he expressed in regard to a rail-
road suit in that county, and when
elected, dismissed the suit, the cost be-
ing taxed up against himself, which.
of course, was equivalent to their can
collation.. To the charge we made OF
his being ''dead beat" we can say
that our own dealings with him prove
him to be such. We, also, find his
name published in the list of 'dead
BEATS" or, as a person unworthy OF
credit, in the Quarterly Mercantile
Report of the Creditors Protective
Association of Missouri and Kansas
page SO, and, also, we find it in the lis!
of dead beats" in the report of SCOTS
Commercial Agency, Kansas City
Missouri, page SO. He had been a sub
scriber to the REPUBLICAN for about
two years and a half and has never
paid cent. He was repeatedly called
on by our collecting agent. but all the
agent could get was fair promises. And
thus it ran along until the amount Of
his indebtedness reached $3.50. In
January, 1885, we stopped the paper
We sent him duns through the post.
Office. Our agent still at intervals Of
sixty or ninty days would call on him
He never denied the debt but evidently