The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-07
STATE OF KANSAS,
GOVEROR'S OFFICE

TOPEKA, Kan, August 80, 1890.
NJ W. Levy, Esq, Wichita, Kan.
My Dear Sir-Your letter reached me
few hours ago | avail myself of the sug-
geStion you make, to state frankly that IN
my Judgment, whatever misunderstanding
occurred with reference to my action In
the premises. arose from the use OF general
expressions, and from failure to be spe-
cifc and definite as to the place OF meet
ing. In the first place, the date was fixed
at the instance of those seeking the con-
ference to which of course i acceded. In
the morning, a committee waited on me,
Colonel NJ. NJ. Murdoch, of your city, act
ing As spokesman, and informed me that
they had a memorial to present. and de-
sired me to fix a time at which it could be
presented. | said, II will hear it now"
but Colonel Murdoch said they were not
then ready to present it, and after some
general talk, O'Clock p. m. was the hour
agreed upon. Now, in this conversation
do not Tecollect that any particular place
was designated, or that there was any def
mite reference to place. 1t never entered
my mind that l would be requested
to go away from my own Office
to receive the memorial. As soon as the
committe retired, | ordered some addl-
tional chairs to be placed in the Office, so
as to accommodate more people than are
usually seated. / naturally assumed that
a committee would wait on me at my office,
though now believe that the committee
had in mind, although no express refer
ence was made to it, that l would meet
them in convention. l have no hesitation
in saying now, as did say to the second
committee, that had the first committee,
when it called on me in the morning, eX-
pressed desire that | should go in person
TO that convention, | would have declined
to do so, as | would have done in case of
~ Nf har Nynrfin 1Inh ar iron
stances, having under consideration and
discussion a question involving executive
action. From the use of those general
terms, acted on the supposition that the
memorial would be presented at my office
while the committee acted on the belief
that it would be presented at the place at
which the convention was to be held.
No man is more willing to concede, than
/ am, the absolute right of any of the
people of this state, to meet together and
express their view and declare their pur-
poses on all questions Of public interest. |
am and always have been. anxious to meet
the people of the state in their personal or
representative capacity, listen to their
views, receive their petitions and memoir
ials, give everybody fair hearing and
patient and impartial investigation of all
their demands and suggestions, and it was
far from my intentions on this occasion to
snub or affront any citizen or body of citi-
zens of the state. / recognized that many
of my personal and political friends were
among the delegates to that convention,
and in all l did. in all said, am not con-
scious of anything which could afford any
excuse or justification for such charge
against me. To sum the whole thing up.
there was unfortunately misunderstood
ing, which regret as much as any one, as
TO the exact place at which the memorial
would be received, resulting. as | have
said, from the use of general expressions,
and from failure on both sides on that
forenoon to particularize.
LYMAN L. HUMPHREY.