Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-07-05
Our Candidates.
w. j. BAILEY.

Willis ]. Bailey was born on his
fathers farm in Carroll county, Ills,
October II, 1854. His father was a
pioneer settler of the county, having
located there in 1887. The family is
of New York state origin. The boy
was educated in the common schools
and in the high school of Mt. Carroll,
afterwards graduated from the Illi-
nOis State university. He was in
tended for the law and had planned
to take the law course in Harvard,
but his father owned a body of land in
Nemaha county, Kansas, and it was
decided that the young man should
come west and manage it. According
ly he abandoned his professional am
bition and became Kansas farmer
He drove from Illinois to Kansas in
buggy crossing the Mississippi river
at White Cloud, reaching what after
ward became Baileyville, July /, 1879,
There were only two houses in sight,
and so that night he LITERALLY ''drove
his stakes" to which he picketed his
horses. His own bed was blanket
on the native prairie sod, and his roof
the broad canopy of heaven. He at
once erected habitatiOn for himself
and set up ''bachelor's hail." and to
this day he remains bachelor. Hav-
ing provided shelter for himself and
stock, his next step was to subject the
soil to his uses. He built comfort
able home, barn, granaries, windmill
and set apart ten acres for a grove of
trees He broke land for wheat and
corn and in time added tame grasses.
In year the postoffie of Bayleyville
came and then a railroad siding. He
brought Shorthorn cattle from Hi.
nois and established a feed lot of for
ty acres on the farm. In 1890 he es-
tablished the town of Baileyville. His
people are BaptistS and he built a
house of worship for neighbors of that
faith. A Presbyterian church also
came. A town hall was built largely
lished the Baileyville State bank, of
which he was made president, and he
has held the office ever since. From
1888 to 1895 he fed C..UJle in Smith
county, taking them there by the
train load. He is man of resolute
courage and far-seeing sagacity and,
out of all the enterprises he has es-
tablished he has made money. He
was in the legislature of 1899 and tried
it again two wears later, but the
Farmers Alliance swept him under.
In 1890 he was elected president of
the republican state league and in I'll e
campaign that year established re-
putation for public speaking. In the
same year he was a candidate for con-
gress but lost the nomination. He
was candidate in 1896 and 1898 and
lost again. In 1898 the famous ssHor-
ton agreement" was made, by which
in written terms, the friends of
Charles Curtis promised that if Bailey
would retire that year Curtis would
not be a candidate in 1900. BY this
arrangement Curtis was nominated
and Bailey was given the nomination
for congressman-at-large In 1900
Bailey set up his claim for the nomin-
alton in the First district, but Cur
tbs repudiated the agreement made
for him at Horton in 1898 and after a
hard-fought canvas, defeated Bailey
and was renominated. Bailey declin-
ed to run for congressman-at-larg
One term of that Office was enough
for man of his energy and force OF
character He was in congress, but
still out of it, for he had no patronage
of his own and what little his col
leagues accorded him was like crumf
from somebody else table. He wanted
to be representative of his district OIL
nothing, and when he lost in the pri.
maries of 1900 he returned to his farm
and private affairs. He went into the
campaign that year and was one Of
the most effective speakers.
ID. ]. HANNA.
Like w. J. Bailey, D. ]. Hanna,