The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-19
LEEpY. posrER AND BorK1N.

LEEDY. DOSTER AND BOTKIN.
Politics, parties and politicians are
woefully mixed down at Topeka. The
Republican majority of that town
doesn't like Major Morrill,. That's no
secret That majority was response
BILE for the candidacy of Jim Troutman,
whom Morrill, "done up The o. NJ.
| B. is quite strong in that county, hav-
ing four big lodges in Topeka The
o. N. B. was originally organized to
resist the high mOnkey-doodling of
Morrill's man, Dawes, and to encom-
pass resubmission. With the lapse of
| time and the defeat of the prohibition
candidates against Morrill, the o. NJ. B.
is now understood to be for Morrill,,
which fact greatly reduces the number
of Topeka's opponents to Morrill,. But
the Republican party is not the only
organization out of joint in Topeka.
There is an element of So-called self
respecting Democrats" in Topeka,
headed by the wealthy G. G. Gage, and
by Eugene Hagan, assistant U. S. at
torney. who are forming Morrill, club.
1t will be several hundred strong, and
Hagan says that 1.-THE self-respecting
Democrats of his county are not going
to vote fer J. w. Leedy for governor
or for Frank Doster for chief justice.
The man who loves his state and re-
spectS it's institutions can never cast a
ballot for turbulent disorganizer on
the one hand or an avowed Socialist on
the other 1t is not a question OF party,
but of state honor and pride"
All of this means fun down in Shaw
nee county, but principally for Morrill,.
That Morrill, is today the biggest man
in the state goes without saying. WITCH
ita is the only community that ever
proved too much for him, but even
Wichita, they do say, is now solid for
Merrill. Having failed to whip Wich-
tia into the traces the grand old man"
cartlred her with love and kind treat
ment. With a great body of these
''self-respecting Democrats" in all
parts of the state repudiating the blat-
ant Leedy, and with no candidate Of
their own, they must either vote for
the "dear old governor or not vote at
all, and it's not like Democrat to lose
his vote.
While these little pointers, growing
ont Of the fusing tribulations of our
opponents are very encouraging to
Governor Morrill, they are not less so to
the Republican party, locally and
otherwise For instance there is Jerry
Botkin, the fusion candidate for con-
gressman-at-large, whose inordinate
vanity and political worms worked him
out Of the ministry and who eight years
ago was the candidate of the Prohibi-
ton party for governor. What self
respecting Democrat can ever vote for
this political montebank, who has been
a Republican, preacher, a Third
Party Prohibitionist ranting Pop.
and now the Demo Fusion candidate
for Large, all within the
briefest time? They are very few. 1t
is said that his inordinate itching for
office is so extreme that he offered to
introduce and advocate are solution for
resubmission in the Abilene Popocrat
convention Those who have watched
his course for the past five years will
be ready to believe that, or anything
else. Of him. Leedy, Doster and Bot
kin constitute a nauseating dose for
any political stomach, not accepting the
copper lined Bourbon variety. Morrill,
with his good nature and desire TO
please his friends, may have proved
trifie lax in his vertebrate region now
and then, and Republican conventions
may evince a time-Serying inclination
when confronted with the prohibition
fad, yet there is no want of cleanness
and decency, while there is a total alb
sence Of the disgusting hypocrisy
which has marked the career of that
paunch of self-conceit, Jerry BOtkin.
and of the spirit of decker which con-
trolled the so-called Democratic con-
vention at Hutchinson and the hungry
rabble at Abilene.