The Topeka state journal., 1900-01-24
HELP FOR CURTIS
Grand Army Would Endorse
His Candidacy.
Hay Be Checkmated by an Early
Convention.
BAILEY'S FRIENDS
Believed to Have a Majority Of
the Committee.
This Means Question Will Soon
Be Settled.

Should the First congressional dis
trict committee. which meets in To-
peka next Monday, call the convention
prior to the latter part of April. the
.. A. r. department Of Kansas viii be
deprived of the opportunity to officially
endorse the candidacy of Charlie Curtis
Tor congress in the First district, at
least before he is nominated.
The annual encampment of the or
ganizatiOn IS to be held in Holton du-
ring the latter part of April. If the
candidate has not been nominated the
organization viii officially endorse Mr..
Curtis, say the leaders. and will issue
an appeal to all mem bers Of the organ
ization and old soldiers who are not
members urging them to support Curtis.
Ih1s is one of the plans which the
veterans are considering as a reward
for the fight he has made against the
pension commissioner. Congressman
Curtis is the only member of congress
who has had the bOldness to fly into
the very face of the administration by
arraigning the pension commissioner
and his methods before the house of
representatives.
The Grand Army organizations of
several states have publicly denounced
the present pension commissioner, but
in the house of congress but one man,
curtis Of Kansas, is the only one who
has had sufficient backbone to call upon
the administration for an accounting in
its pension department.
For the first time in the history of
the G. A. r. in Kansas the organization
is taking a hand in the interests of
individuals in politics. The effort has
always been towards keeping politics
out of the order but the pension ques-
tiOn is one which is very near to the
average old soldier, and the bold stand
which Mr.. Curtis has taken causes the
membership to depart from the old ira
ditiOns and customs in order to help
the man who has aided them.
The Bailey forces are we'll warned of
this movement and will probably call
the convention to nominate a congress-
man the latter part of March or early
in April. The Bailey people control the
congressional committee and will run
things to suit themselves in the meet
ing next Monday. Because of the over
Whelming majority controlled by those
forces the Curtis supporters on the com
mittee will have little to offer when the
committee meets.
If the state encampment of the old
soldiers organization is held subse-
quent to the congressional convention
then Mr.. Curtis, if he is nominated, viii
receive q cordial endorsement and the
veterans viii be urged to rally to his
support, regardless of party, because OF
his attitude on pension matters.
The political associations of q number
Of the leaders of the Grand Army at
this time, have been practically aban-
dOned during the controversy concern
ing pensions. The issue has been made
e15dl4loA Tie administration dL w dSflluS-
ton and some of the most vigorous sup
porters of Mckinley make bold to say
that unless he takes a reef in the pen
sion commissioners sails it is liable to
cost the president many old soldier
votes at the next national election which
is not very far in the future.
The G. A r. department has issued
an order which has been sent to the
Kansas members calling special atten-
tiOn to the resolution introduced in the
national congress by Mr.. Curtis con-
cerning the employment of old soldiers
in the pension bureau. This has been
accepted by the Bailey people as the
first evidence of an effort on the part
of the department headquarters to carry
out the plan to endorse Curtis in the
state encampment at HOlton.
Mr.. Leland, who is a member Of the
organization, has already gone to work
to checkmate this movement and says
that no such resolution will be adopt
ed, mo matter who proposes it. ''he said.
The G. A. R. Is not given to booming
individuals for office"