The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-11-21

Committee Pass a Resolution Yester
day Afternoon in Secret Session Re
questins Rufe Cone to Step Down ant
Out-He Appeared Before Them ans
Refused to Comply With Their Re
quest He Takes Occasion to Tell Kie
and Arnold Some Truths
Between twenty-five and thirty mem
bers Of the Populist county central com.
mittee met yesterday in the office o.
Chairman Frank Neiswonger in execu.
tive session and passed a resolution re-
questing Rufe Cone to resign from the
state central committee.
For the past few weeks J. Fost Arnold
has been circulating a petition among
the long haired personnel and frothy
cranks Of the Pop party. He has been
getting their signatures TO the petition
with a view of presenting il to the Pop
central committee, who in turn were
asked to have Mr.. Cone resign as COM
in the court house yesterday afternoon
when he received a telephone message
asking him TO come down town to Frank
Neiswonger's office, as the Populist cen
trail committee was in session and that
a petition mad been presented prefering
certain charges against him. Everybody
VINO knows Rufe Cone is aware that ne
rs not afraid of any living man. His
horse was hitcf1ei out in front and get
inc int n hing ina ut
Neiswonger's office.
The resolution was handed to Mr.
Cone, which he read. He was asked
what ne had to say. He told them that
he was very busy and that ne would not
talk very long. He was going to call
things by their right name Mr.. Cone
said, in part:
Gentlemen, I have lived in this coun-
~ for twenty years and no man can
point TO dishonorable act that 1 have
ever done. The good people of Sedgwick
county and Wichita have five times hon
ored me with Office, and no one can say
that l have not performed my duty both
as an officer and as a citizen. Every
promise l have ever made l have ful-
filed and every man who has voted for
me l have tried TO repay the obligation
by being an officer whom they could
trust. How well have succeeded / will
leave to the citizens OF this county to
say.
AS TO the resolution, gentlemen, 1 do
not care l cent what you do. Do as you
like. l would not turn my hand over to
keep you fromd ding one thing or the
other. I do not propose to resign. dare,
defy and challenge any one 10 point out
one dishonorable act of mine, and that
Is more than some here can do This
resolution has no name signed to it, and
there are no specific charges made
against me, there are only insinuations
1 have never fought the state or county
administration. I did have the courage
10 say, and l say it now, that I did criti-
cize Governor Leedy's appointment of
Jocelyn and Spencer to be police commits |
sforers. l said that it would wreck the |
party, and it has. 1t beat the ticket last |
spring, and it defeated the ticket this |
fall, and it will continue to defeat the |
ticket az long as they are commission |
ers"
a
the meeting and Mr.. Cone, to their faces, |
roasted them to a Thanksgiving brown. |
He never for second minced his words. |
He told them good deal that has /.
been published in the Eagle and good /
deal more. His statements were made |
without any varnish on any of his words /
Rufe Cone, with fire in mis- eye, shot a .
whole Calling gun full Of red hot loads /
into Kies and Arnold and they. with red !
faces, sat in the room and did not or
could not dispute his statements. Mr.. +
Cone told Mr.. Arnold some Things to his
face that cannot be published To the
committee Mr.. Cone said that he had
FOR weeks paid out OF his own pocket
from S. to $50 as a donation to Mr..
Kies or his assistant, Mr.. Webster And
one or the other of them never missed
4 week AT that time gentlemen, I
vas chairman Of the county central
committee, and besides giving four
months Of my time, / spent 500 OF my
'wn money that Kies might be elected.
And would have been in the hole, too.
had 1 not been better guesser than
some of the Republicans. ] won 81. 900.
worked from in the morning until II
II night that the ticket might be success
'ul, and Kies was running for clerk of
ne district court"
After NJ. Cone had finished talking he
ooked about the room, surveyed those
present, and as none there said any
hing to him, he bid them good day. and
departed to attend 10 mis- own business.
: was a close and bitter fight that was
vaged when the resolution was submit
ed TO vote. 1t looked for a time as if
here would be a small panic with Pop
vliskers at a discount. Cooler heads
'ot control and Quilted the more
rantic ones. Although the official vote |
ould not be obtained from unofficial
ources, it was learned that the resolu- ,
ion passed by a majority Of two
There Was rumor on the street last
light that a telegram was received in
ne city announcing that Mr.. Cone had
cen bounced from the state committee ,
ut this was not true a. the committee :
as not the power 70 dismiss him. There
'as no meeting Of the state committee =
esterday.
IErHoDIsr MEETING To CONTINUE :
hurch Will Hold Special Thanksgiving