The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-07-27
ABOUT P. p ELDER.
E. q. Snow and Politics at Ottawa
in Recent Years


A NJ Bum of this city, formerly a
resident of Franklin county. gave to
Journal reporter the following interesting
but unwritten bit of history connected
with the rise and fall of E. H. Snow of
Ottawa. the last step being the suspen-
sion of the Ottawa Journal Mr.. Bum
said:
The demise of the Ottawa Journal, for
. years the property of ex-State Printer
z. H Snow, brings up many recollectionS
of the past. Snow for years held a band
of Greenbackers, and later Union Labor
ties in the hollow of his hand SO to
speak He was always in a state of i'm
pecuniosity and frequently called on P P
Elder for loans to tide him over some
rough spot in the sea of life. In the fall
of 1880, the Peoples Party was ushered
into life and swept Kansas like a cy-
clone, Governor Elder was elected TO
represent the Fifteenth district in the leg
islature by an immense majority, running
far ahead of his ticket, and on the night
of the election E. H. Snow was receiving
the pleasing returns in his office and
about o'clock a. m he jumped upon his
press and called the large crowd assem-
bled to order and nominated P. P Elder
for United States sena tor. cit was then
known that enough members of the leg
isIature had been elected to beat J. J.
delegation was sent after Elder who lived
on farm eight miles south. Elder ap
peared about 4:30 a m. and made
speech, and his boom for senator was
inaugurated. The next Thursdays issue
of the Ottawa Journal proposed P P
Elders name for the United States SEN
ator. On the strength of this. Snow sue
ceeded in making a few pulls on the gov
errors purse for expense money. Finally
hot 9
also booming himself, the old mans
money for state printer. However when
charged with this he emphatically denied
IT and stated that he only had one idea and
that was to see P. P Elder United States
senator.
Things drifted until the meeting OF the
legislature, when Snow threw off the
mask and went in with all his strength
for the partnership. To accomplish this
he commenced a most venomous campaign
against his erstwhile friends, Elder. The
result was that PETER was elected sena-
tor and Snow state printer, p. j. Elder
coming down out of the speakers chair
of the house to place him in nomination
In the fall of 1892. P. P. Elder was can
dfdate for governor and should by all the
rules of politics have been the nominee
at Wichita instead of Lewelling and
would have been undoubtedly, had it not
in the best paying office in the state and
who had extended the circulation of the
Ottawa Journal into thousands. Elder
got the delegates instructed for him by
a vote of three to one, but Snow got a
part of the delegates to go back on their
instructions and when he found that he
could not hold his own delegation intact
he withdrew from the contest. R. H
Sempie, a then Snow man was elected to
the legislature that fall and in 1894 Elder
came to the front again as against Sem
pie, but at the last moment withdrew in
favor of his friend, w E. Kibbie, who
was defeated. In 1896 Elder bought the
Ottawa Times and became its editor, and
rendered valuable service in the campaign
as a free silver organ, being the first
Populist paper to advocate the nominal
ton of R. P. Bland for the presidency.
"E. H. Srcw in the meantime had been
largely engaged in litigation Had Secur-
ed a divorce from his wife and married
again. He had in the meantime embrace
ed spiritualism and it is reported that he
asked Governor Leedy to run his cam
paign under instructions from the spirits
His later litigation with Joe Hudson and
his complete Knockout all along the line,
by even his supposed friends in the 1egis-
Iature are still fresh in the public mind
But three weeks ago his Ottawa Jour
nal failed to appear and for three weeks
it has failed to triumph
Senator Sheldon holds a large claim
against the plant and the printers have
failed to see the ghost walk for many
weeks In the meantime Governor Elder
although "A years old, is hale and hearty
and bid fair to triumph over his enemies
His paper keeps at the head of the edt-
toriaI column For President in 1900, W. J.
Bryan"