The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-10-04
WEBB M'NALL SPEAKS.
Addresses a Good Sized Audience at
Hamilton Hall


Superintendent of Insurance Webb
| McNan opened the Populist campaign
/ in Shawnee county last night with a.
| speech at Hamilton hall. Considering
! the shOrtness of the announcement there
was a gOOd-sized audience present, the
large hall being nearly half full.
Colonel Fred Close presided. In intro
ducing Mr.. McNau he referred to the
claims made by Stanley in his recent
speech here that the republicans put
down the rebellion and also carried to
a successful termination the war with
Spain.
THE man that made that claim said
Colonel Close, lis older than myself, yet
he was not in the war from 81 to 81,
and neither do ind any request on MS
part to be allowed to participate in the
recent war. He claims that this war
was fought by republicans, and yet the
democrat, General Lee is a democrat,
General Joe Wheeler is a democrat and
many more might name, and the same
is true of the rank and f1Ie.'
When McNau was introduced as tine
only insurance commissioner Kansas
ever had" he was greeted with pro-
longed applause. He made no intro
ductory remarks, but took it for grant,
ed that the audience knew what they
were there for and plunged at once into
his speech.
THE republicans" he said, have no
issues this year. Their platform only
attacks the pOpul1SIS dL one pciAt, az
that is on the penitentiary coal mine
And in the penitentiary coal mine the
populists only carried out a law placed
on the statutes by a republican Ieg1sla-
ture.
1.-The only thing the republican party
in Kansas has to talk about is exalted
patriotism, which Mr.. Stanley ana MT
Burton claims is all centered in the re-
publican party, and especially in those
two speakers I think if that IS the
case Burton and Stanley better get
patent right on patriotism.
This country has not got TO the polne
vet where it cannot talk about its Off
Gals and I think we can talk about MI
AIger If we want to, only L ADVISE the
soldiers who are not yet mustered oue
to be careful what they say aDoub nun
or it may become uncomfortable Ior
them. The Republican party prag5
about how much it thinks OF the oIo
soldier. vet every veteran that was
candidate for a nomination before the
Hutchinson convention was turned
down, and then the convention passed
resolution saying that they would give
preference to old soldiers wherever
possible
ION the other hand, what did Cover
nor Leedy do? He advised the boys
in the Kansas regiments to elect ola SOL
diers for their officers where it seemed
at all practical because their experience
in army life would be invaluable to
them, and he further told the poys In@I
whoever they saw fit to elect he would
commission. When the mastering Of
fcer came on and refused to muster any
one as an officer who was drawing
pension from the government. Governor
Ieedy telegraphed the war department
that he would commission anyone the
boys elected, and the war department
backed down and wired its mastering
officer to accept whoever the governor
commissioned"
McNau then started in on the con-
tingent fund arguments of the repuo-
licans and said that while Leedy had
used his contingent fund only to assist
in enforcing the state laws against the
corpora lions. Morrill, used his contIn-
gent fund to pay his private secretary
for work done before he became gov
ernOr and to pay attorneys for trying
to GUST POpulists from office
When McNan announced that he was
ready to begin on insurance he received
another round of applause from the
audience. He spoke of how he had en-
forced the valued policy law and then
came to his troubles with the insurance
companies he had shut out of the state
"A republican legislature he said,
passed a law making it the duty of the
superintendent of insurance to smut out
of the state any insurance company
that does not obey the laws, ana the
supreme court. of which Judge Horton
was chief Justice at the time, rendered
a decision unfolding the law. Judge
Horton has not gone into state court
with an insurance case since.
when I shut out an insurance com
pany in accordance with the provisions
of that law ana that declSlOn the N
surance attorneys appealed to the fed
eraI courts for help, and that ArkansaW |
1urist Judge Williams, issued an re-
straining order enjoining Boyle and |
myself from interfering with the com |
pany's agents. We went ahead enforc-
ing the law. and although the insurance !
attorneys predicted that we would soon |
be wearing stripes, we are not IN jail /
yet /
williams issued a mandatory order for +
me to license another company I
haven't issued the license yet and 1 |
don't propose to until the company I
complies with the law"
McNaH then reviewed his enforce |
ment of the antitrust law in forcing |
the insurance companies to give up the /
CIarksOn rating book, and said if any |
one would show by competent evidence /
that any insurance agent in the state IS [
using the rating book with the consent /
of his company he will revoke the com
pany's license just as quick as he can
get to his office.
In closing AIcNa1l spoke of his friend
illness for the fraternal insurance or
ders. which, he said, he believed was
the proper method of insurance. He
was frequently interrupted by applause
and hardly a person left the room al
though he spoke for nearly two hours