The Topeka state journal., 1897-07-26
BorKIN's SIDE OF IT.
The Trouble at Ottawa on Old Soldier
Day Still Being Ventilated

Department Commander Botkin of
the Kansas G. A R. has replied through
an open letter to the charges recently
made in the Ottawa Republican, that
he, as chairman of the exercises on G.
A R. day, during the ChautauQua as
sembly, Disseminated against some of
the organizations notably. the ladies of
the G. A r, and was guilty of other
conduct unbeconling the department
commander.
Mr.. Botkin maintained a strict silence
until Jack Harris of Ottawa wrote
him a letter disclaiming any response
bility in the matter and apOlogiZing for
the show of bad feeling. Saturday ev-
ening Mr.. Botkin wrote an open letter
to Mr.. Harris, in which he said;
Now. Jack, as an anxious public is
breathleSSly waiting TO hear my side OF
this stupendous issue, and as have no
secrets to conceal 1 think il would be
pro bono publico to print this 1 have,
therefore, concluded to give it to the
newspapers. Tomorrow is the holy Sab
bath. and as the board of managers of
the Ottawa Chautauqua assembly will
doubtlessly be religiously inclined, it
may do them good to have their Sunday
meditations strengthened by a chapter
from their own history I know the
weathers is a little too hot for such
heavy reading, but it may get hotter
Hanback, and myself paid our own
hack fares, our own hotel bills. our own
travelling expenses, and, if we got ac-
quainted with any of your people it was
by introducing ourselves The only
place on the whole assembly ground
where we were ever invited to take
seat and rest ourselves was at the de-
partment headquarters of the W r C,
by the president, Mrs Margaret Griffith,
of Emporia. and her staff officers, none
of whom live in Ottawa. Had these
good ladies lived in your city, judging
| solely by the actions of the board of
ma anagers of your assembly, it is ex-
tremely probable that We should have
| been compelled to stand up the whole
| blessed day
| Now. I do not care very much about
these things. only it does strike me that
| a community whose leading citizens
| will permit such things to occur ought
| to adopt some measure that would pre-
/ vent the public from finding them out
/ I am blamed by the Ottawa republican
| for doing all my lOafrg> al W. r. C
headquarters. In the name of common
! sense where else was to loaf and rest2
/ 1 am also accused of blue penciling
| progra mme' by striking off certain
| names. Who ever saw a programme? :?
| No one. None existed. or at least you
| and DR.. Milner told uA none had been
/ n.ade up; that you expected me to ar
| range the programme l asked you and
| the doctor what material you had for
! Il progra mme- You and the doctor gave
| me the name of a lady from Kansas
City. Kan. who WOULD recite: the name
/ of q lady from Emporia, who would
| sing the song of The Flags, and the
/ name of lady from Hiawatha, who
| would give US a recitation wrote
| NiIner gave them I also wrote down
| your and the doctors names as availa-
! BILE for speeches. This was all dCne in
/ your presence I still have that list of
names-the only list ever made
| a few minutes after that. while sit
! ting at the w. R c. tent (there was no
! where else for mel I was called out by
| the woman who represented a Kansas
/ City aper, and the chap who claims to
| edit the Ottawa Republican. and asked
that I show them the programme. told
| them there was no programme, and I
! had not enough material for a pro-
! gramme yet. They asked me to see the
I names you had given me showed the
| list; then at once they sprung the point
/ that all three of these ladies were mens-
/ bers Of the ". R c. and that 1 was ig-
| uoring the ladies of the G. A R They
| asked why Mrs Wallis name was not
J on the list I told them il was because
| Mrs. Wall and Mrs. Griffith had agreed
/ between them that neither of them
| should take part in the meeting.
| Then Mr.. PompOsity of the RepubIi-
/ can fntimated that his paper would
1 state that evening that I was wholly
| ignoring the ladies of the G. A. R.