The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-09-05
KELLY WON'T DO.
VI. M. Beck Not Satisfied With
the "Explanation.''
The Holton Recorder Takes
Down His Name.
LETTERS FROM MIAMI.
County Clerk Flanagan Has No
Doubt of Guilt.
He Examined the Records in the
Office.
LETTERS FROM MIAMI.

He Examined the Records in the
Office.
NJ M Beck, editor of the Holton Re
corder and one of the war horses Of the
Republican party of Kansas. has been
| for weeks asking for a satisfactory ex-
| PLANTATION from T.. T. Kelly. But the re-
| cent explanation made by Mr.. Kelly
does not satisfy Mr.. Beck any more than
| it does thousands of other Republicans
in Kansas In order to be certain that
| he was acting correctly he wrote to
| parties in Miami county whom he knew
he coule4 depend upon. He received their
replies this week. and as a result MI
Kelly's name is taken from the Record
| er's ticket this week and that paper will
| no longer support him. 1t says in regard
| to this action:
This week the name of T. T. Kelly is
i dropped from the Republican state
| ticket printed at the head of our edi-
torial page We waited patiently to
hear some satisfactory explanation
made in regard to the charges under
which Mr.. Kelly is laboring. Neither
| the statement of B. F. Simpson, his at
| torney, nor his own, were at all salts
factory as offsetting the official report
of the county commissioners of Miami
county. And yet we felt that we wanted
| further, and if possible, still more con-
| elusive evidence before we decided on
| the matter finally. To secure this we
| wrote to three responsible parties in
Paola in whose wisdom and Judgment
| we had the utmost confidence. men
| whom knew were not mixed up in
the political factional fights in that coun
ty. Responses have been received from
two of them, both of which unequivo-
cally condemn Mr.. Kelly, and say that
he is thought to be guilty by large
majority of the better class of people of
| Miami county This settles the matter
so far as the Recorder is concerned.
| This paper never has knowingly and
deliberately supported dishonest man
and it is too old and too well established
| to begin now. We regret that the
| writer's of these letters requested that
their names be not given to the public,
but we shall comply with their requests
to the letter. The following is one of the
letters with the name of the writer
omitted as per his request:
tPaOla, Kas., August 29. 1902.
IN NJ Beck Holton, Kan:
Dear Sir-yours in relation to T. T.
Kelly at hand. In reply would say:
q. The better class of people in Mi
ami county will not support T. T. Kelly
except some few who are blinded by per
sonal relations. do not believe that 10
per cent of the Republicans of this
county will support him.
"2. I do not think there has been any
wicked conspiracy to down Mr.. Kelly.
I presume it is true that certain Repub-
1icans will be benefited by his down.
fall, but that does not change the situ-
alton SO far as Mr. Kelly is concerned.
"3.> Personally do not for one mo-
ment think that Mr.. Kelly is worthy OF
support, and let me say In this connec-
ton that I am Republican, live in Mr..
Kelly's home town and ward, and have
always attended the caucuses. prina-
rieS. etc.
"A. This morning, after receiving your
letter, went to Mr.. A. L. Flanagan,
county clerk. and asked him this ques-
ton: Judging by the records in your
office, is there the least chance of Mr.
Kelly being innocent? His ready reply
was: No chance under the sum- Let it
be remembered that Mr.. Flanagan went
into the examina ton of the records
with the commissioners as believer in
| Mr. Kelly's innocence.
| Il believe I have answered the Ques-
tions you asked in your letter. You may
make whatever use of this letter you
see fit, kindly Withholding my name for
the present. But if it becomes abso-
lutely necessary you may use my name.
| VERY truly yours,
''The other writer is equally strong in
! his condemnation of Kelly. He forcibly
controverts Mr.. Kelly's intimation that
his enemies made sneak on him in
electing delegates and committeeman in
the late primary election in the follow
ing extract:
:" AS to supporting Mr. Kelly,
| can only refer you to the recent pri-
mary election when the issue was
squarely drawn. and drawn by Mr.
Kelly himself, who was present and
voted and worked for himself Wher,
each candidate for committeeman was
| Kelly or anti-Kelly, 10 anti-Kelly men
were elected in this county and the
others were elected by virtue of their
own personal popularity. Mr. Kelly also
tried to control the delegate convention
to the judicial convention, but failed,
and the resolutions which were passed
are known to YOU Mr.. Kelly's state
ments relative to that matter are in no.
wise in keeping with the facts
! Mr.. Beck also publishes another point
ed editorial on the Kelly matter. TAX
n
paper to s'waft till you know the facts"
before acting In the Kelly matter, the
Recorder says:
But how are we to get the facts and
! | know that they are facts after we get
t them? On the one side we have the
official report of an apparently thorough
! investigat ton signed by all three MEM
2 bers of the county board, all Republi-
! cans and two of whom were understood
! | originally to have belonged to the Kelly
! | faction, charging Mr. Kelly with appro-
] !! priating county funds to his own use.
| In this report the commissioners are
e careful to make the bill of particulars
SO plain and specific that Mr.. Kelly can
: have no excuse to say that he does not
know what they are charging In cor
z | roboration of these charges is the admit
j, | ted fact that Mr. Kelly refunded to the
Q county over 81 800. just the amount that
e was charged he appropriated. The
9 principal Republican paper of the coun-
! ty, the Miami Republican. edited by a
= financially responsible man, and a man
) | of standing and character, has printed
r these charges in the most direct and un-
equivoca1 manner and language, and If
| Mr.. Kelly is not guilty he would have
| an unquestfoned case of libel against
the Republican But for months he
i has lain under these charges without
: an attempt to vfndicate himself in the
v courts.
i ..At county Republican convention
composed of over two hundred delegates
q held a short time ago, resolutions com
Y plimenting and sustaining the county
he Eye1Ixy
a were passed by vote of 189 to %, tllir-
Z teen not voting Twenty or thirty o.
the leading Republican papers of the