The Topeka state journal., 1900-08-25
PopuIist State Committee Badly
in Need of Funds.
Every Cent i'm Sight Has Been
Exhausted.
PLAN WAS A FAILURE.
Promissory Note Scheme Would
Not Work.
Candidates Assessed Heavily to
Meet Immediate Expenses.

If the Populist state committee main
tains headquarters until election day it
will be necessary to get hold Of more
money than there is now in sight. In
fact, the committee is in financial dis
tress and a special meeting of the execu-
tive committee, representing the state
committee. was called and held in To-
peka Friday, with the hope of devising
some means of raising money.
While the principal officials of the COM
mittee laugh at the suggestion that the
committee is in hard lines financially
yet the State Journal has information
from unquestionable authority that the
committee is now embarrassed, as it
never has been before, for the means of
carrying on the business of the cam
paign.
This '.crisis'' is due to the failure of
the plan to raise 100000 by the monthly
promissory note scheme evolved by Carl
Xrooman about the time he engineered
the removal of w T. Upton as secre-
fary of the state committee.
Mr. Nrooman placed before the state
committee the plan by which 'Coin"
Harvey raised 200 in Nebraska for
the presidential campaign four years
ago The so cents and 81 per month
pledges in the shape of prOmissory notes
from the membership OF the party sue
ceeded in Nebraska and the Populist
committee believed that it would go
well in Kansas.
In anticipation of the generous re-
sponse which was expected the commit
tee engaged in furnishing Populist
newspapers with plates and news ser
vice, prepared under the direction of the
state committee In this and other
channels large sums of money were
pledged before it was collected.
The responses were slow and the peo-
pie were not reused even after the nom
ination of the state ticket Money came
in very slowly. Nearly all of the sur
hppn H.
ed in defraying the newspaper plate ex-
penses, SO the committee is left with
practically no funds to carry on the
The executive committee in it's meet
ing yesterday was ready to take up the
financial problem but Chairman Ridgley
was not able to furnish the committee
with an estimate of the monthly ex-
pense of the headquarters. This was de-
Ierred until a meeting to be called at
an early date, at which the committee
will issue a confidential appeal for
funds.
The pressing expenses Of the campaign
will be met in the interval by an assess
ment to be made as follows:
John W. Breidenthal. hal...............$50 $500
lave 44aItlh -..--. ..........-...-.- 5OO
"A M Harvey a s-..........-........ 500
conway Marshall ...-..-..-....-..... 500
u. j. WeStgate 800
Hugh Farrelly Observation-Disclosures. 500
Abe Ffakes Observation-Disclosures. 500
NEepb McNan 500
. .
Rev. J. T. Botkin Observation-Disclosures. 500
This includes the nominees for gov
ernOr, associate Justice, lieutenant gov
ernor, state treasurer, state auditor at
torney general, secretary of state, super
antendent of inusrance, state superin-
tendent and congressman at large, in
the order named.
This will raise a total of $4,000 but
the state committee anticipates that
only part of this sum will be paid
in immediately However, upon the
candidates depends the maintenance of
the headquarters work at this time.
The Republican state committee has
on file a number of letters from ex-
Populists-so they claim to be at least
explaining that the Populist commit
tee is hard up" However, the oppo-
sition has not obtained possession of
any confidential circular letters calling
for funds
The information concerning the pres
ent shortage in Populist circles comes
from one OF the candidates, who is ex-
pected soon to hand over $500 for the
privilege of being the nominee and
also from a member OF the state COM
mittee.
Four years ago at this time the Pop
Mist committee was compelled to wait
for contributions to enable the pur-
chase of postage stamps with which to
mail campaign letters calling for funds.
That the committee is rapidly ap-
preaching this condition again is sur
missed from the fact that the utmost
efforts are now being directed towards
raising money with which to carry on
the work of the present
A member OF the state committee was
asked if the Populist national commit
tee was not sending money into Kan
Eas.
Why" was the reply, 'sthe national
committee is in the same boat that we
are. The national committee has no
money, and can't raise it,
When the Democrats moved to Kan
sas City it was said that this separa-
tion took place because the Populists
were expected to be financially en-