The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-02-05
Than The

cised for accepting money from a saloon
keeper. He replied that he would always
| accept the devils money to fight him with.
Day after day. night after night. we
pounded, begged argued. promised.
threatened. persuaded Ny recollection is
Governor Stanley made many speeches. He
and others spoke until their voice was
gone and their argument thinner" than
"hot Scotch at a. m, after Burn 5
banquet.
The subsidy raised was to be conveyed 70
five trustees. These men had 10 have the
confidence of the people. One drizzling
night q boy came 10 the writer's home
with a note to get Colonel Murdoch and
n. F. Niederlander and go TO the board
rooms. In those days, to be notired was
to GO We arrived at the rooms. There
were perhaps 200 men present. II had been
decided to select the five trustees TO hold
the so-called half million of assets. As
usual there were factions. The old crowd,
the new crowd and the men who had no
ak to grind. After calling the crowd to
order and stating the object of the meet
ing the chairman seated himself, and
twenty men were on the floor at once,
shouting Mr.. Chairman.
Things looked mixed. BY accident
George Matthews was recognized and he
terminated SIuss as one of the trustees.
This was seconded. Then there was roar.
One man who was bounded into giving
anything. kicked on Sluss like Texas
steer" Demands were made for adjourn
ment; voted down: motion for electing by
ballot; voted down; motion to elect by
voting a ticket with five names: voted
down. Someone moved to vote on each
name proposed and seconded. until we had
five selected: carried.
Then many were called, but few
chosen"
Scott Corbett was named and elected; a
half dozen names proposed and rejected;
Albert A Hyde named and elected; Rob-
ert e. Lawrence named and elected; then
a brigade named and voted down; then
John NJ o. M.-"Johnnie'D Allen was
name and elected: and we adjourned
Note Four of the trustees selected
were Presbyterians; Sluss was Meth
odist. The meeting was a general,
prOmiscuous crowd. Two-thirds of the
crowd believed in Christianity but did
not believe in any particular scheme of
fina, redemption after foreclosure, but
by accident picked out FIVE churchmen
to handle the cash.
George Matthews. evidently in his young
days went to see Methodist girl and at
tended revivals. One night George got
the floor and moved that every man who
was a subscriber TO the fund go TO the
west side of the room and all non-sub-
scribers go to the east side. The sub
scribers filled the west wall. as "statoos, -
and soon the other crowd began to hunt
holes" Little Pierce locked the east door
and south door so that the way out"
was through the west door and the crowd
of subscribers. The scheme was a regu-
lar evangelistic revival trick but ii worked
in business Just as il works in religion.
Some weak men surrendered: some able
bodied ones got mad and ''cussed." As
a scheme it was a success; as policy it
was damnable.
One night a boomer who owned twenty
acres of land, that cost him $1,000, and
which was plated as addition. into
as many lots as it would make. got up on
the nOUI dllu IIldNt ii speech dS TO OUT gen
eral, particular and specific duty in the
premises; spoke of his purchase his addi-
ton; its value at 500 per lot, running into
many thousands. and everybody supposed
he was going to donate at least half of the
addition; but he didn't; he gave two lots.
The groan was such that he left the hall.
and never made a deed.
AS L remember Oak Davidsons dona-
ten. it was three times AS large as any
other donation.
The donations being all made. the gath
ering in Of the assets took as much labor
as the bookkeeping Of a receiver of a
busted bank. At least 10 per cent was so
tangled as to be worthless a large per
cent was mortgaged. When appraised the
second time. for the Peel syndicate. the
assets dwindled half The amount of stuff
that went into the Peel syndicate left but
little available assets. Not enough was
left to secure the indorsers on the notes
in bank to pay the borrowed money of the
board
The men who skinned the Board of
Trade on the sale of land. for locations.
themselves got skinned at the final
round uD'
The Peel syndicate was peeled" One
Greenwood in st. Louis and one A X.
Florida who had connections in "Heng-
land formed the Peel syndicate and float
Ell the concern. They paid Wichita $50
600 and it is said received twice that sum
for doing it,
Old Abe Hewitt, the Democratic mavor
who would not let any flag but .'old glory