People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-10-11
Purge the Party
The Skeleton in The Closet of
Sumner Comfy Republi-
cans, Exposed by Ray.

Last May Judge Ray of Wellington
begun a series Of lei ers to the
VOICE over the signature "a Sub
scriber."
He was figuring on a nomination
for anything from county attorney to
cOngresSman-at-large.
The Republicans didn't want him
because they considered him too
smooth to handle.
The Republican ringsterS in their
worship of Sledge Hammer Douglass,
saw tit to Ostracise Ray from the
inner sanctum sanctimOnium sancti-
mOribus. They treated Ray shame
fully, ignoring him entirely until
after the state and county tickets
were duly nominated and ratified.
Then they cast about to find ora
tors to 60 out to the school houses
and gull the voters of Sumner county
to vote 'er straight.
Then it was that they remembered
the magic of Rays OratOry, and fell
upon their knees and implored him to
wasL the salt out of his sores, and
come and speak the soothing words
OF the ritual, to smooth the pathway
Of the dying.
And he came.
But not without great persuasion
and considerable of the circulating
medium.
He had compassion on them in their
helpleSSneSs and consented to preach
their funeral.
In their enthusiasm they forgot
that the great orator had previously
been mad, that be had tore his hair,
and chewed his pencil and spit upon
their dearest idols, and written letters
which appeared in print and were
preserved by those who had prayed
"oh! that mine enemy would write a
letter."
And he had not only written one
letter, but five or six of them.
And these letters were published
in the VOICE, paper holding popu-
list beliefs, which is rank hereSy in
the eyes of Republicans, and anarchy
and lunacy to them who are incapable
of understanding the plain things of
the word.
Print is more enduring than mem
ory and many people have already
forgotten the things Ray did say in
the letters which he indited in the
heat of passion and the tears of
penitence.
But the print still endures.
To refresh the memory of the
people the VOICE will give a few
choice extracts from the memorabilia
and desperandia of the learned and
ecCeutric Judge" now out of a job
and free to reverse his own decisions
as party and the wind wills.
The following were his ideas of the
party at the time he wrote:
JUDGE RAY MAY Is, 1894.
who are the republican leaders
and convention fxerS in this county
today? AT the head of the party, as
the chairman, is a man who is re-
garded by the governor of the state
from which he came, as fugitive
from justice, and for whom extradi-
tiOn papers have been issued and
served in this county, and who is only
permitted to remain here by techni-
calities raised before a court.
THE secretary of the party is
known to have for years obtained from
the county money for printing matter
for which there was no law for max.
ing charge against the county: a
man who recently offered to sell a part
Of the county printing to the Opposi.
tiOn, and man who is under the Grim.
inal charge of having libeled county
commissioner, and who can only
escape conviction by proving repub.
lican county commissioner to be an ac-
cepter of bribeS
The late county clerk has retired
with 81, 800 of the cOunty's money in
his possession and refuses to diSgorge.
but confessed his guilt by offering to
pay 5000 to compromise the suit now
pending against him.
The republican register of deeds
seems to think he is under no Obliga.
ton topay the county its dues except
at the insiStence of the sheriff armed
with an execution. A republican dis
trict judge attempts to collect s27.7T
which the auditor of state says belong.
to his predecessor, and is now figuring
' as plaintiff in the supreme court, pray
ing for judgment against the auditor
of the state for that enormous sum.
80 much for the past. What OF
the future? That a combination ha,
been formed among certain republi
cans to manipulate the next republi
can convention in the interest of
candidate for probate Judge, whost
peculiar habits have required the ef
forts of body guard to keep house
and whose party associates, to pre-
vent his exposure, have found it nee
essary to resort to many devices ant
schemes, but to no effect; who Will,
chairman of the party during the hea