The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-05-05
ASKS FOR JUSTICE
Father of Lieutenant Colonel
Little Calls on Gov. Stanley.
Protests Against Subordinate
Officer Being Promoted
OVER HEAD OF HIS SON
Says That Ed. Little Suggested
FunstOn's Appointment.
DIR. f. B. Lawrence Files a
Vigorous Protest.
OVER HEAD OF HIS SON


appointment of any one but Lieutenant
Colonel Little to the colonelcy of the
Twentieth Kansas regiment. one
was a formal one filed in typewriter
manuscript by DR.. F. B. Lawrence OF
Ell Dorado, national committeeman Tor
Kansas of the Silver Republican party
and the other was made verbally by
Theophilus Little of Abilene, father OIL
the lieutenant colonel of the twentieth.
Theophilus Little of Abilene, the
father, is modest, elderly, kindly faced
gentleman. He is proud of the TWen-
tieth Kansas and its exploits and or
course takes particular pride in his son.
the lieutenant colonel. He is naturally
anxious that his son, who has shown
himself a competent, brave officer and
who is in the regular line of promotion,
should be made the colonel. He is
familiar with many little incidents In
connection with his sons military lire
that are not widely known to the
public and yet reflect the greatest creolt
on Little as a. man and as a soldier
Mr.. Little said: Governor STANLEY
told me that he understood Lieutenant
Colonel Little had interfered with the
appointments in the regiment during
Governor Leedy's term, and that ne
might expect to suffer as a consequence:
Governor Stanley said, however, he did
not expect to take any action until ne
governor stanley's talk about Ed
interfering with appointments in the
regiment while Governor Leedy was IN
office is not to the point" said Mr.. Lit
tie. He suggested some appointments
as he had a right to do as lieutenant
colonel of the regiment If it was IN
the regular service he would probably
not have had the right, but 1 know that
he had the right volunteer officer.
Ed could have had the colOnelcy of the
regiment in the first place, but instead
of asking for it he suggested Fred Fun
ston. If it had not been for Ed Little.
Funston would never have been given
the appointment, and this know to be
a fact.
ED has proved himself as able and
as daring an officer as any of them,
and I'd be willing to wager all have
that he is popular and well liked by the
men of the regiment
Captain King of the United States
regular army. said Mr.. Little, re
Gently promoted to be brigadier general.
and now on his way home on account
of disability, said of Lieutenant Colonel
Little, when he observed the drilling of
the troops that Little had mastered mil
itary tactics quicker than any one he
knew and seemed to be thoroughly
familiar with everything pertaining to
the drill.
broke out" continued Mr.. Little, sr..
ED. was very anxious to enlist. He
had been a student of military affairs
since he was 10 years old, and early
last year he began to read up every
thing in the way of military tactics he
could get his hands on. When he talked
of entering the army asked him what
position he expected to get He said he
thought he could get majors commits
sion. / told him he ought to ask for
nothing less than a colonelcy. He said
no, that he was not qualified; that he
had had no military experience and
that he thought he would be lucky If
he could fill the position of major.
Il told him there were hundreds of
officers who would be commissioned in
the volunteer army who were at pres
ent incompetent, to be sure, but who
could learn, and I said to my son that
he would be far more capab BILE of learn
ing than many others who would be
appointed to higher places with little
knowledge as he He finally decided to
ask for commission as lieutenant col
onel but would not think of accepting
a commission as colonel.
LAS a matter of fact, Ed. is response
BILE in the main for the appointment of
Col Funston, you know Ed. Little
was at the time private secretary to
Governor Leedy and very close to him
in connection with all appointments.
OF the four officers appointed by Gov
ernor Leedy, three of them were Re
publicanS, and one of them, my son,
silver Republican.
Everyone remembers how the Twen-
tieth Kansas was at first cIaSSed as
sort of a mob, and yet all who know the
ment developed into soldiers. Week
after week. and month after month,
they were drilled at San Francisco, and
Lieut. Col. Little, with the exception of
a few times, was in charge of the drill
ing Grant Schopp, soldier in the
Twentieth Kansas, who was in San
Francisco at the time the regiment en-
barked for Manila and was returned
home on a furlough, says that when the
Twentieth marched down to the dock to
sail from San Francisco it was one Of
the finest drilled of regiments, and that
Lieut.. Col. Little was responsible for
that part of the work SO successfully
conducted.
Il rejoice with all Kansans that Fred
] Funston has been made brigadier gen
eral he surely deserved it. But L do
| not like to have the fact result in the
! breaking of my sons neck by the fall
! ure to promote him in the regular line.
Ed. has done a great many things in
| a quiet way which have endeareo him
| to the soldiers of the regiment. We did
| not hear word of these things through
| him, but through others. One OF these
| incidents to which refer IS to Ed 5
| action in saving young k1e1nhans of
| Topeka from a cruel and unnecessary
| surgical operation and sending him at
my sons own expense to a private hos
| pital in San Francisco. Another Incl
/ dent is when Ed. left 500 of his own
money for the special care of young
Dawes at Honolulu. -
I'm one of his letters to US my son
writes that with a decent government
| these islands might be a desirable ac-
| QUESTION. We will lick the Filipinos,
| said he, and conquer them if we have
to burn the islands and drive them into
| the sea-
The protest filed by DR.. Lawrence is a
| vigorous one, and is made on behalf of
the silver Republicans Of the , state The the
| belongs. 1t reads as follows:
TO His Exeelleney, Hon. ": E: Stanley,
GoNernor or the State OF kansas:
1 unless L miSiQfOrmed through the