The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-09-15
WILL THE PUBLIC FoRGETq

| In all likelihood Lewelling is refusing
to explain the charges against him on
the ground that, by so doing, he is ac-
complishing something very smart
politically.
That has been one of the troubles Of
this woe-begone governor. He was not
skilled in political methods before he
was governor, and he is still Numbering
along blindly.
Many politicians bank on what they
think is the American peoples knack
for forgetting. A charge made three
months before the vote is taken, they
often figure out, will be lost sight of in
the heat of the fight just previous to the
election.
This is apparently the game of Lswel-
ling. He is employing his little knowl-
edge OF politics, and it is very little, to
combat these accusations, and more
from imitation than judgment he is
going to go through this campaign with
out making reference to the charges
against him, ignoring Ben Henderson's
letter, ignoring the charges against
Piichner, and Chase's brutality, and the
Pullman Car reduced assessment matter.
the sale of fraudulent school bends and
the other scandals which have been
repeated over and over again.
BY avoiding these matters in his
speeches, Lewelling thinks he is doing
something very shrewd politically. He
believes that the people will forget them.
Two months is long time, he argues,
and other matters will displace these
scandals in the public mind.
Lewelling shows what an ignoramus
he is, when he makes any such argu-
ment. Politicians are shrewd, as rule, |
but no politician in the world would dare |
to ignore the charges against him, as
Leweiling is now ignoring them. In |
the first place these scandals are the |
topic of the day in Kansas. The news
papers, of all political opinions, are talk
ing about them; the people are discuss
ing them; the thousand and one organi-
cations in the state, which are non
political, are discussing them, and the
only man who is saying absolutely Meth
ing about them is the man against whom
these charges have been made.
When the ballots are counted and |
Lewelling finds himself settled forever
and fired back into oblivion he may see
his mistake. He Will see that the DO
Iitical policy of ignoring a matter did
not work in his place. He will see that
his was no ordinary case. Charges of
were at first made against
him by the Republicans. He did moth
ing uncommon when he branded them
simply as Republican lies. That is an
old and rather strong and trusty political
method of counteracting story. But a
new element entered into these charges.
They were reiterated and enlarged and
by a member of his own
party, a member who was influential,
who was chairman of the last Populist
state convention, a member of his party
who remains IN the party to fight cor
upton and corruptionists This puts
an entirely new face on dwellings
'ase. lie can no longer combat these
charges with the explanation that they
we're Republican lies. The proof of the
come from his own party.
There is no politician in the world who
would not, if caught in the position Lew
cling is now in, remain up night and
lay explaining. Unlike Lewelling, the
poorest politician in the most remote
precinct in Kansas would see that pol
cy of ignoring charges made by the OPP
position and proved by members of
landing in his own party would result
n ignominious defeat.
He would know that people do not for
ret charges which are as vital as the
mes which have been preferred. He +,
would know that in the absence of au
explanation the effect of these scandals
would augment, instead of being forgot ,
en-.
But Lewelling can not see hese things.
lie is not expected to. He will wait for
he public to forget them.