The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-20
STRONGLY DENIES IT.
David Overmyer Says He Never
Made That Speech
THE STORY has BEEN RUN DOWN

BY estate journal Reporters ana the
Result OF Their Investigations IL
Given Below
The STATE JOURNAL has received q let
ter from David Overmyer in which he
emphatically denies having said any
thing about suffrage, prohibition or the
Germans in the speech made by him IN
Jefferson county in 1882. as he is charged
in the Kansas City Post Of recent date.
extracts of which were copied in this
paper
Mr.. Overmyer's letter is as follows:
HAYS CITY. Kas., Oct IS, 1884
To the Editor OF the STATE JOURNAL:
have just read your article in your
paper Of Tuesday, the 10th inst, pur-
porting to be a reproduction of portions
Of speech alleged to have been deIiv-
cred by me in 1882, at Valley Falls. As
to every utterance in said article impu-
ted to me 1 enter my solemn and IN
Qualified denial, and denounce the same
here and now as base fabrication and
8 tissue of lies from beginning to end. In
the speech referred to l made no men
ton of or reference to the subject of
woman suffrage, and no reference to or
mention of the subject of immigration:
no reference to or mention of the Ger
man people, or Germans nor any men
say that 1 was opposed to it. Capt. A J.
Arnold, postmaster at Topeka, and Judge
\. B. Arnold and many other citizens of
Topeka who know me from my first
rival IN Kansas, can attest that my senti-
ments upon all those subjects were al
ways just what they are now
Yours truly, DAVID OvERMYER
s. Goehring, managing editor of the
Kansas City Post, the paper which pub
lished the Overmyer speech in English
and German, and which is being used as
q campaign document by the Populist
state central committee, talked with
STATE JOURNAL reporter about the pub
LEGATION of the speech.
Mr.. Goehring said: 'Overmyer can't
deny having made that speech in Jeffer-
son county, because he made it and we
have the proof of it."
slave you a copy of the paper in
which the speech was originally pub
Hshedl" asked the reporter.
~Yes. it WAS published in our paper"
Where did you get the speech?"
"A prominent Democratic politician
who lives in Topeka, furnished the
speech
ssWho is this Democratic politician"
81 can't give his name, as he now holds
a political job which he would be likely
TO lose if il was known that he furnished
the speech
a written or printed copy of the speech2"
mo He furnished the facts, and I
wrote them OUT
do you regard your information as
perfectly reliableI'
Il most certainly do"
AYou insist that you won't give his
manner"
1--WE can give his name in case of
emergency. Overmyer's denial is use
less, as he made speeches AS a Republi-
i. \
publican platform represented prohibi
ton and ali the other isms"
Jacob Frowerk, the Kansas City. Kan.
representative of the Kansas City Post,
who spent several days IN jefferson coun-
" recently investigating Mr. Overmyer's
political record, says that Judge g. A
Huron, of Topeka, who was a candidate
for probate judge in Jefferson county on
the Republican ticket that fall, presided
at the Overmyer meeting.
Judge Huron, when asked by a jour
NAL reporter, said he did not preside at
the meeting in question. and also said:
Our county was very close one, and
we wanted a speaker who would be con
sentative enough to hold all voters
and draw the conservative elementThey
sent us Overmyer and he made four
speeches in the county, at Meriden, Val
ley Falls, Oskaloosa and Winchester 1
do not remember what he said about
oman suffrage but | know he was ex-
tremely radical on prohibition. He was
Sc radical and abusive that l was told
after he had been at Meriden by my
friends there that he had driven a great
many voters away from US. He only
made four speeches in the county and
we lost it in the election by about 4OO7
Police Commissioner Yount was said
to have Information on the subject A
reporter saw him and he said:
I'VE would just like TO have Over
myer deny it. We have the proof, and
Oscar Krauss knows all about it. He
can tell where the speech was pub
Iished"
Mr. Krauss was seen and said:
Il know nothing about it except that I !
saw the Post man when he came back
from Valley Falls, and he told me that /
he had found Overmyer's speech"
J. p. Wilson, ex-clerk OF the district /
court Of jefferson county. now book /
keeper for A. J. Arnold & Son says: II I
heard Mr.. Overmeyer make speech in I
1882 and it was so radical in favor of pro-
hibition that the Republicans of Oska-
loosa were of the opinion that he was +
doing the ticket more harm than good 1
and it was suggested that he must modify /
his expressions or it would be best to re-
tire him from the campaign"
What would the world be to rs