The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-08-24
c. S. Ellsworth, Its Lecturer,
Says Its a Small Affair.
It Hasn't at Most 10000 Mem
bers In Kansas.
It's Claims of Big Membership He
Says, are the Merest Trash
Hoenscheidt is All There
is to It

| erhood, the resubmission organization,
in this state about three months. de-
clares that it has not one-tenth the
members it claims.
Ellsworth is at present located at
Horton, is an advocate of resubmissiOn
from principle, and has been engaged
in the work of fighting prohibition in
various states since 1885.
He gives the order away in the fol-
! lowing talk:
Il had not intended to make a, sign
| Of war upon the o. NJ. B. until it should
| have shown it's hand in the state cam
| paign, but since Hoenscheidt has got
! himself into a row with Greenspan,
| Bertenshaw and some of the other fell
/ lows, may as well tell you my story.
/ happened to be at Kansas City last
/ winter, on my way east from Colorado,
! when G. s. Smith of Wichita came to
! see me He also is city clerk of Wich-
| tia, and an honorable, manly man. We
/ had a talk at Kansas City, and after
/ wards he sent me money to pay my eX-
penses to Wichita. I went. and I was
appointed state lecturer of the order.
It is fair to say that I believe the order
IN its inception was all right, but it
was mismanaged, and so lost its bear
ings. I began work January II and
quit May 9. delivered lectures in the
towns of Coffeyville Kansas City. Ar
mOurdale, Argentine, Wichita, Win
field, Arkansas City, Independence.
Parsons. ChanUte, Humboldt, lola, Fort
Scott, Pittsburg, La Cygne, Paolap
Olathe, Garnett, Cherryvale, st. Paul.
Osawatomie, Emporia, Marion. Nc
Pherson, Salina, Abilene, Solomon.
Alma, Valley Falls Atchison, Huron,
Everest, Robinson, Willis, Powhattan.
Fairview, Baker, Horton, Reserve.
Hamlin and Morrill,, quitting at the
last named place May 9. Since then I
have been lying here, waiting to take a
shot at the rottenest outfit have ever
had the misfortune to go against
Let me say here that when talk
thirty-one times more will have de-
livered 1000 public lectures in my life
time. am the same kind of aresubTnis-
sionist was before got mixed UP with
the o. NJ. B. outfit. have not thing
to retract. I am a practical temper
ance mana teetotaler-but am OPP
posed to prohibition from principle. I
never have been discharged from the
0. NJ. 3. 7 quit on my own account
after finding that 1t was q bum outfit,
nothing but deception. cussedness. "
ing and scheming in it's entire opera
ton. I hope to be in this campaign
working for this same kind of resub-
mission I have advocated since 1885,
but my work will be done outside of the
Q. NJ. B.
John Hoenscheidt is all there is to
the o. NJ. B. He and Holiday and
Greenspan and a lot of other men in
the organization-some good and some
bad-claim a mem bership of all the
way from so, 900 to 100000 in the state. |
and Hoenscheidt is out with a state
ment that candidates must dance to
his music or they will be slaughtered. /
I say that there are not 10 900 mem bers |
in the order. nor 5000. I doubt if there
are 6,000 and they cannot slaughter
anybody, not even a road overseer.
Their claims are the rOtteneSt of rot. |
They well know that when the news
papers were publishing that the order
was marching along with z, 900 MEM
bers, it had not 5000 all told, and
don't believe it has added a man since.
For a year or more the o. NJ. B. has
been advertised as a wonderful fnsti-
tuition. When I struck it I was fooled
as we'll as the rest of the people. We
have been told that it has grown so
big that it could pay its own way and
have money to burn. I say that it's re-
ceipts from its own members have been
so insignificant as not to be worth
mentioning. All it has received has
come from outside the state. When
went to Wichita was told that there
was $500 month coming in from all
sources. I learned afterward that
every cent that had been collected
came from Kansas City brewers, and
the supply ceased when the agents of
the brewers, discovering what a fake
the Q. M. B. was, advised their houses
to quit putting up. I don't know how
much was paid into the treasury. but
I do know that the o. NJ. B. has been
hard up ever since I struck it. Why,
it never had enough money to pay
postage on charters to the ''fourishfng
1odr TTnaUGchaidf he 1aa
lied. I have had to lie in town for
days waiting for money to pay my
hotel bills. I would go to some of these
'fourishing lodges to lecture and in
stead of a full room I would find seven,
eight nine, ten. sometimes fifteen
members. At Kansas City, where they
claim 1000 members. I never saw more
than twenty-five at a meeting. Wich-
tia has the largest membership, but I
never saw more than 300 at a meeting
there, although they claim 1900 oh.
Hoenscheidt is a good claimerI
Last winter and until quite recently
all the talk at headquarters was to
beat Morrill, on account of his pro-
hibftion sentiments. Now they are talk (
ing of supporting him If he will sub
scribe to their faith. Now that's sur.
prising. isn't it? 1t looks something
like a holdup. If I were a candidate. |
running for governor or any other office /
and BOSS dOeHScHeluC SnouLd come TO
me for pledges I should politely tell
him to go to the country where they
cant make ice. He can't deliver any
votes for the reason that he has no /
votes to deliver. He has no votes for /
the simple reason that he has not done |
his work fairly. He doesn't know how |
to organize He found that out soon |
enough himself, and then he put up |
this great big bluff, hoping to scare /
candidates It is a scheme to get stuff. |
The politicians need not fear the O. NJ