The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-28

instance. when he was trying to defeat
Burton in the fall and early winter of
1900, he cast out of his favor old friends
who would not join him in an abusive
newspaper fight on Burton. In this way
Leland often ~alienateS valuable friends
and some of them he loses forever He
is a man, too. who makes concessions
grudgingly. He always wants to fight
a question out, and a drawn battle, Or
a compromise, vexes him. He believes
that every question upon which there is
a division of opinion must ultimately be
settled by a collision of forces. He is a
man who likes to follow the beaten
path. He believes in traditions. The
old way is good enough for him. So in
1882, when St. John was trying to en-
force prohibition and had committed
the Republican party to the third term
idea, Leland revolted and, still fighting
within party lines, supported George w.
was h county chairman of the Re
publican party, but that did not deter
him. He and his committee, when Click
was billed to address a Democratic
meeting at Troy, met the candidate at
the railroad station and afterward sat
on the platform while Click made his
speech. Wien the votes We're counted
that fall Click had 1000 majority in
Doniphan. county. Two years after
ward Leland was in the harness again
and the county gave John A. Martin
200 majority over the same George w
Click. Tse other name for a maj of
that character is Force.
Leland believes in the doctrine of re-
wards and punishments and in the Sow
ereign authority of the machine. He
never fails to reward. he never fails to
punish, and he always obeyS orders if
if he has a hand in giving HEM He is
a modest man and likes to have the
counsel of others, but he has the ut
most confidence in his own judgment
His followers have implicit faith in
him. While he has been in politics ever
since he came out Of the army, he has
fn1rnd finra 70 n Ea a fortune an6 nf
his he gives freely. If one
of his delegates is not we'll fixed fnan-
cially, Leland sees that his hotel bill is
paid and that he gets railroad transport
tation- He does these things, too, with
out display. In this way he ties friends
to him, and he has been doing it in
DOniphan county so long that al the
people of Republican faith are his
Republican majorities when fusion was
sweeping the rest of the state.
ALREADY DIGGING OUT.
Leland is a man who. when he falls
in a hole, does not sit down and bewail
his bad luck. or laysit upon others. His
QUIT and so he already has begun to
devise ways and means of retrieving
his political He will be in the
next state convention and will have a
following. Unless all signs fail. he will
have the old soldiers behind him. He
was not the choice of all of them for
pension agent, but they all were oppos-
ed to taking the office away from them,
and so since it was a choice between
him and a young soldier they support
ed him. His loss of tie office will not
break his influence among his old fol-
lowers. If his friend. w. j. Bailey,
stays by him be will be made u
member of the state committee
again next year, for Nemaha
and Doniphan can control the Sc.
lection for that judicial district. So Lee
land is not likely to be put out of touch
with the party machine, even should the
Mulvane faction remain in control of It,
and that will be the fight next year. His
enemies are in possession now and Sen
ator Burton has control of the federal
patronage. This is a powerful advant-
age, but Leland will fight for restora-
ton to authority. 1t is his only choice.
He must either fight, or retire, and he
has been in the thick of the fight so
long that he can't keep out now. he
would rather fight and lose, than fight
self, but it is easy for men who know
him to predict in. a general way what
he will do after this last defeat.
For the present he will continue TO
live in Topeka, where his two younger
children are in school,, but in a year or
two he will resume his residence in
Doniphan county, where he has two
country stores, a butcher shop, a SINAI
elevator. two farms, bank stock, race
horses, cattle and other investments.
The loss of the pension agency will not
make an idle man of him.
MAY BRING GOOD TO CURTIS.
Leland, proiting by past mistakes and
experience, will go slow. He needs re-
cruits. He especially needs to add
strong men to his staff, and h needs
some men who do acknowledge his
leadership; men who believe a mistake
has been made in turning him down.
Among these is Marcus A Low, who IS
a man who wears nobody'S label When
Low took up Leland's cause before the
president he fOrgave Leland's fight in
1886, and Leland will cultivate him. Le-
land will even join Lows crowd if he
can see his way clear. For his reason
Leland is not likely to fight so a for
Chester 1 Long, or w. E. Stanley, for
senator next year that he can't acqui-
esce in the possible election of Charles
Curtis
Leland and Curtis would be a TRANCE
partnership, but the whirligig of poll
ties does that sort of thing sometimes.
Leland knows well enough that if Cur
tbs goes to the senate ne will control
the federal patronage, or fight it out
with Burton, and that's what Leland
wants-a fight on Burton.
IN THE NEW FOLLOWING.
Leland will lose some of his following,
for a political. party contains many
camp-followers, who go where the fed
eral patronage is, but he will hold the
stronger men, who have been with him
in the past. Among these men are Nor
ton Albaugh, H. j. Allen, j. l. Bristow,
Grant Hornaday, Frank Vincent, w. Y.
Morgan, Chester 1. Long, w. A. Calder
head. J. D.. Bowersock, Nat Barnes,
Calvin Hood, l. E. Lambert, H. ]. Bone.
Many others might be named, and in
addition George A Clark, r.. r. Rees,
S. J.. Osborn, George w. Ffndlay, J. B
Tomlinson and other original Burton
men, who have become alienated from
him.