Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-09-20
Kansas Politics
APPOINTMENT OF SOLDIERS.
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APPOINTMENT OF SOLDIERS.
Early in the campaign Mr.. Grad
dock, democratic candidate for gov
ernor, attempted to cast discredit
upon the republican party by stating
that the present state administration
had ignored the old soldiers in MAX
ing appointments. As in most mat
tiers, Mr.. Craddock has gotten his
party into trouble by his hasty state
ment- An investigation shows that
the democratic platform contains no
reference whatever to the old sol
der while the republican platform
pledges them the most generous
treatment
In the matter of appointments,
Gov. Stanley has taken the wind out
of Mr.. Craddock's position in an in
terview in which he says: ''The first
objection he makes to the state adj
ministration is that the old soldiers
have not been recognized. After the
present administration had been in
stalled for some time and the APP
pointments had been made, this same
charge was made and the Western
Veteran, in answer to that charge,
made a showing of the soldiers APP
pointed at the time. This statement
called attention to the fact that the
first appointments made were the
four members of the board of char
tiles, three of whom were old sol
diers; that the next appointment was
member of the board of managers
of the Hutchinson reformatory, an
old soldier. On February 20, 1899,
gave the board of charities directions
in writing to the course / desired
them to pursue, and one of these
directions was, all other things being
equal, to give preference to the sur
wing soldiers and sailors of the civil
war. Acting in pursuance of this
suggestion, this board alone appoint
ed 50 veterans of the civil war, 9S
daughters and SO sons and three
widows of veterans, 20 soldiers of the
Spanish war and one widow of the
Spanish war, making more than $50
appointments of old soldiers and
their sons and daughters under one
board alone At the penitentiary 2I
veterans and 25 sons of veterans held
places.
The article might have gone far
Their, and shown that not only the
board of charities, which had more
patronage than any other board in
the state, was composed of a major
llN Oh OIu Oub IHS SAME ICC-
ognition was given on every other
board. An old soldier is chairman of
the board of directors of the peni-
Tertiary, another is chairman of the
board of managers of the reforma-
tory, another is chairman of the ST.
Louis exposition commission, and old
soldiers have representatives on the
boards of regents of the agricultural
college, university and normal school.
They comprise the entire board of
managers of the State Soldiers
Home, and this is true of the otf .r
boards. An old soldier is assistant in
the office of the secretary of state,
chief clerk in the office of state aud
itor, custodian at the state house and
old soldiers have many subordinate
positions. The director of free en-
ployment is an old soldier, the adju-
tant general and quartermaster gen
eral are both old soldiers and the
clerk in that office is the daughter
of a veteran. When the court of Wis
itation was created, the positions to
be filled on this court were the most
important in the gift of the admin
istration at that time, and two of
the three places were given to old
soldiers.
When the law was passed increas-
ing the number of judges of the SUI
preme court and the four appoint
ments were to be made by the gov
ernor, two of the four places were
given to old soldiers, and so it runs
all through the administration from
first to last
Mr. Craddock will find that the old
soldiers of Kansas are very well
pleased with Gov. Stanley's admins
tration, and the republican party will
be very willing to have a comparison
made between the treatment accord
ed the old soldiers by Gov. Stanley
and that accorded them by the pres
ent mayor of Kansas City, Kan