The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-04-23
FORMING A HOME GUARD
To he the Outcome of the CommonweaI
Meeting Saturday Night.

To he the Outcome of the CommonweaI
Meeting Saturday Night.
The meeting in the interest of the
| Commonweal army at the court house
Saturday night was one of the largest
gatherings ever held in Topeka on SO
/ short notice.
The court house was fined to over
flowing, and hundreds of people couldn't
get in. After G. c. Clemens had deliv-
cred a speech of an hours length to the
people in the court house, he went out
side and made second speech to a crowd
of several hundred people who had been
held there by speech by s. NJ. Scott, of
the state board of public works.
The meeting was presided over by
Rev. ]. NJ. Harrington. the guide at the
state house. Speeches were made by g.
G. Clemens, Noah Allen. General Artz
.Brigadier General Sears, Frank Forrest,
John Radford and others. The speech
making was kept up until IL o'clock.
All the speeches were applauded fire.
quently, and the meeting was success;
at least that was what Mr.. Clemens called
it, and in numbers it was.
At one time an effort was made to adj
journ the meeting to larger hall, but
this was objected to by those who occu-
pied good seats. A motion was carried
to meet next Saturday night at Repre-
sentative hall to hear the latest news,
discuss the situation and complete the
organization of the home guard as pro-
posed by Mr.. Clemens.
Mr.. Clemens said there was no neces-
sity of marching to Washington, but he
and all the other speakers urged the
formation of a home guard.
''The story of the unemployed is grow
ing and there will be developments this
week which will startle the country"
said @. G. Clemens today.
"Coxey is almost into Washington, Kel-
ly and his command are on the road and
sympathizers all over the country are
preparing to stand by the common
wealers.
'The Saturday night meeting at the
court house was a demonstration of the
fact that the people are intensely inter-
ested in this movement. Such a crowd
attended that meeting could not have
been secured for any kind of political
meeting.
1.-THE plan which suggested Saturday
night for the organizations of bands of
ten must be carried out and will be be-
fore the meeting next Saturday night.
''We need an organization of that kind
even if we do not go to Washington. We
need some kind of organization by which
we get the people together on short
notice By my plan we could send out
word for meeting and could assemble
all the people of the city in a shorter
time than newspaper could call meet
ing"
at is hard to tell what the meeting
next Saturday night will be, as we can't
tell what will happen between now and
then. The meeting will be held in Rep
resentative hall"
Secretary Osborn when see by JOUR-
NAL reporter. said he had not been asked
for the use of the hall, and had not said
he would refuse to allow the meeting to
be held there. He said he supposed if
the people demanded the hall for such
meeting, they ought to have it. The
opening of Representative hall to any
but state conventions is contrary to the
law. but this law has been disregarded
so often within the past year that little
attention is likely to be paid to it.