The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-08-28
The Islander and slanderer of Kansas Re-
buked.


printed in your paper an editorial on
the financial condition of Kansas, in
which you said:
THE recorded mortgage indebted
ness of Kansas was 1922, 600. 900, and that
this only told one-half: that the indebt-
edness by chattel mortgages, deeds of
trust. bills of sale, notes and other debts
of like character, would give s232, 900,
900 more, which. added to the real es-
tate mortgages, makes total indebted
ness of s464. 900, 000,"
Then. after you gave a lot of figures
drawn from your fruitful imagination,
with flourish, you reach the tremen-
dous conclusion and make the declara-
ton:
THE plain facts are, the state (of
kansas) is bankrupt and her people
ruined"
On the 18th day of June thereafter, |
prepared, with much labor and care, a
communication for your paper in defense
of Kansas and the credit of her people,
and in disproof Of your assertion. As an
old citizen of Kansas and one that had
been active for twenty years in bringing
the state from a comparative wild to a
rich, populous and productive COM
| monwealth, and, being Jealous and
active promoter of the peoples party of
| Kansas, | felt it my duty, and my
| friends urged it as duly. to make an
effort to rebut the effect of so monstrOus
declaration that could only do our
state and people an almost irreparable
injury.
In my reply, showed that the total
| bonded Indebtedness of the state OF
| Kansas her counties, townships. cities
and towns, was only S37, ll6.096. and
| that the total Of the Indebtedness of the
people of Kansas, on real estate mort
cages, chattel mortgages. notes, etc,
was not more than 5000, 900, or a to-
| tai of sl22, Ito, 096.
| showed from the records latter TAX
ing the crop record of 1889. only a fair
| crop year. and that of 1890. a crop year
almost total failure. aud striking an
averagel that in 1890 the actual value Of
the farm products and live stock, and
! farms and city and town lots was. S152.-
7l9, i6I: total debts, sl22. Il6.096. AS
sets over liabilities. $500 603. 565.
In addition to this, we have furnished
over one-third of the actual cash lin
prairies $500 miles OF railroad: we
have built 1900 school houses: 1900
| churches; splendidly endowed a
common school system: built
the third finest State House in
the Union; erected splendid university
buildings, normal college and agricul-
| tural college buildings: provided most
hountifully for our deaf, dumb. blind
and insane This has been done in
thirty years, and every dollar for the
state institutions has been paid.
gave these recited facts in refuta-
ton of the statements in yOur editorial.
and demanded of you, as had a right
to do, authority for your bold state
ments. In behalf of our people and in
behalf of truth and justice, challenge
you for your proof. did not assail the
honesty of your motives, for | said in
my article, II do not attribute to you
intentional falsehood or intention to
harm us, but rather that you unwilling
IL allowed yourself to be imposed on
through your zeal in the advocacy of
your party" [ respectfully asked you
TO publish my communication in your
paper. as the least you could do to undo
the great wrong. and | furnished you
with cory OF it.
have been absent in Texas for five
weeks, and on my return homie | found
my article returned 20 me with your
message that you declined to publish it.
You did not condescend TO give a rea-
son for YOUR refusal. You doubtless
read it, but you have not had the coUr-
age to reiterate your charges against
US or the honesty to say in your col
umns that you were mistakn.
As a citizen of Kansas. Jealous of her
character and the interests of her peo
pie. there is but one thing left for me
to do-to pocket this insult and remain
silent, and allow you to slumber with
the idea that your Importance exempts
you from being called upon to explain
or retract such articles. and that your
position eXempts you from criticism: or
else to denounce your editorial, which |
now do. as the most diabolical attempt
to intermeddle with the business inter-
ests Of the state, and destroy the credit
of whole community, that the world
has ever known. All the facts con-
nected with this matter now clearly
show to me that your editorial. which
was wickedly false and maliciously
slanderous, was Intentionally pub
lished for a base and devilish pur-
pose-for its political effect, regard
less of its injury to us. For your article
has greatly injured our credit: it has
prevented, and will prevent. may of our
people from extending their loans. it
will cause the foreclosure of many
mortgages and will he the direct cause
in turning many men with their fami-
of OIL
might have weathered the storm. Your
statement that the people OF Kansas
owed on real estate mortgages Se}2,
o00 900, was. | believe. malicious lie.
Your statement that they owed on chat
tie mortgages, deeds of trust, bills of
sales, notes, etc, s232. coo, 900 more, was
another monstrOuS lie.
And your statement. that The state
of Kansas was bankrupt and her people
ruined" was not only a monstrous.
slanderous falsehood. but was uncalled
for and mean. devilish libel upon the
people of whole state. which, if ut
tered against individuals, would con-
sign you to the four walls of a prison
and which ought TO consign you to in
fanny
The total Indebtedness of the state is
less than 81. ZOO. 900 and the people are
neither bankrupt nor ruined and can
not become so, only from the frowns OF
providence that will blight our crops, or
the folly Of political harlots, like your
self. that would utterly destroy our
credit for a political argument to boil
ster party.
Our people do owe about sS5, 900. 600.
They will pay one-half of this in the
next year. But if it takes years. they
will pay every dollar of their indebted
ness. Money is very scarce with us now
and has been. because there is not
enough in existence. and we have moth