The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-08-09
DAWES SHARP WORDS.
Executive Who Doesn't Enforce
the Law, Perjured Villain.
WHOM DOES THE ATTY GEN'L MEAN?
His Address at the Republican We
mems Picnic at Garfield Park.

His Address at the Republican WO-
mems Picnic at Garfield Park.
The picnic of the Women's Republican
associations of the city atGarfield park yes
terday afternoon and evening was quite
well attended. The ladies were joined at
supper by the men and after the meal the
crowd gathered in front of the band
stand and listened to a programme that
lasted until 10 p. N.
Mrs. S. A Thurston, state president of
the Women's Republican associations,
presided. After the invocation by Rev.
Mr.. Fisher. the singing of "America"
developed the fact that few in the audi
ence knew the hymn, or else did not care
to sing.
D. {. Tillotson was then introduced by
! Mrs. Thurston. He spoke of public
| opinion and the law and held that public
! opinion is at all times superior to the law.
! Perfect laws would simply be the opin-
! ions of people as a whole put upon the
statute books. He deplored that the
criminal laws of the land and the aims
of our penal systems areretributive rather
than reformatory. He closed by saying
that woman's entrance into politics
would be the means of purifying it.
Capt a. A ROwley read an original
poem.
After a few remarks by Rev. Mr..
! Fisher, in which he said he had publicly
advocated woman suffrage for 40 years,
attorney general F. B. Dawes made the
speech of the evening. He said in part
"We have had drouths, grasshoppers,
and all kiuds of hard times in Kansas,
but through it all the people have been
faithful to the nation and never cursed
the stars and stripes, a worse thing for
the state than all the drouths and all
the grasshoppers was Populism
[applause.]
Little more than two years ago the
police of Topeka under the Republican
administration turned over to the
Populist force clean city; a moral
city; city where no man
woman, or child, or innocent girl
need fear to walk alone the darkest
night and be as safe as any place on
earth. A few months of Populist rule
and the city was infested by gambling
houses, dives and grog shops, and it was
not safe to walk along Smoky Row for
six blocks south of the river. Yet with
in thirty days after the Republican party
came into power Governor Morrill, had
closed every such place in Topeka with
the accent on Topeka.)
"The laws of the state should be en-
forced. l received letter from a man
saying that if the enforcement of the
prOhibitory law was not relaxed a little
in his county the party would lose the
county at the next election. The place
was Wichita. I replied that the enforce
ment of the law is not a question of
party, of whether the party goes up or
down in any county, of whether the law
is good or bad, but if law were not eE-
forced if l had sworn to enforce it I
should consider myself perjured villain
sit ia not a question with Governor
M Orrill or any man of the business or
policy Of any law. as long as it is on the
statute books it is his duty to support it
until every violation is wiped out. Open
violation OF one law breeds contempt for
others. There are now only four places
in Kansas where open saloons are run
and if the people of the etate give Gov
ernor Morrill, their encouragement | am
satisfied they will be closed everywhere
before he retires from office. l want to
say that 1 believe there is better way
of handling the liquor question than
prohibition, but as long as that is the
law believe in having it observed"
In closing Mr.. Dawes spoke of women
in politics, after which he said: when
the next campaign is fought | care not
who leads-whether that austere, cool
headed, far-seeing statesman, John Sher-
man, or brainy Tom Reed of Maine, or
the man whom l want to see. the states
man of all statesmen, Bill Mckinley of
-(applause) -the Republican party
will come into power Were Ben Har-
rison now in the presidential chair John
Waller would be free man today"