The Topeka state journal., 1902-10-09
Says He Will Sue Him If He
Fails to DO So.
STORY OF THE TROUBLE
Controversy Arose Over Sup
port of T. L. Kelly.
PaoIa Editor Called Allen
Blathering BOOdler.

H. J. Allen, chairman of the state
board of charities, and one of the prin-
cipal speakers for the Republicans in
the present campaign, will shortly be-
gin action for libed against B. J. Sheri-
dan, editor of the Western Spirit at
Paola, unless the latter retracts a state
ment made about Mr.. Allen in his paper
last week. He has already served legal
notice upon Mr.. Sheridan to retract,
under the provisions of the new libel
law.
The trouble grows out of the refusal
of Mr.. Allen to support I. T. Kelly and
the anxiety of Sheridan in Kelleys be-
half although the latter runs a Demo-
cratic paper. The following from the
Miami County Republican gives the
history of the trouble:
.sThe Ottawa Herald, whose editor is
Henry J. Allen, chairman of the state
board of charities, has deemed it no part
of it's obligation to the Republican party
to support a man of the corrupt char
acter of Thomas T. Kelly for state
treasurer and has vigorously demanded
of Kelly that he clear up his record or
get off the ticket. This course has
brought down upon Mr.. Allen, editor of
the Herald, the condemnation and
abuse of the Democratic Western Spirit
of Paola, which is Kelly's personal and
political organ. Ia reply thereto, Mr.
Allen published the following in a recent
issue of the Herald:
BARNEY 0i0ElQdu mas DSSU DdN1ilS
considerable attention during the past
few weeks to the editor of the Herald,
accusing him of several crimes, the
chief being that the editor of this paper
is pretentfOuS hypOcrite and a bad
egg generally. We wouldn't deny these
things, but we're glad of one fact We've
never been a supporter of thieves We
have never 1olked ON and seen our coun-
ty robbed by a friend We are not III
the position of veteran fraud who has
run a paper for twenty-five years in a
community and Is obliged to admit that
there have been several years of rotten
period and that our friendships past
office holding and other embarrassments
in the same county made it necessary
for us to play the part of a coward and
poltroon in reference to these robberies.'
Last week the Spirit copied the fore
going and commented as follows. under
the heading Tit for Tat:
8 The difference is. you're not sup
porter of thieves but partner; and
you never looked on and saw the county
robbed by a friend because you never
gave your friend a chance when there
was robbing to be done-you did the job
yourself No Ottawa men or firms hav-
| ing Dig contracts today from the state
| board of charities were the lowest bid
ders; they got them on a deal with the
chairman of the board, Henry J. Allen,
who happens to be the editor of the
| Herald.
And vet this same Henry j. Allen re-
| lated on two different occasions to the
writer that the reason Franklin county
went SO strongly Populist in wears past
| was because all the old Republicans of
| that county who managed the party there
were corrupt and that ne. assisted by Joe
| Bristow. went into the Herald to purity
| the party.
Purify. indeedt High ideals and clean
| methods, by Henry Allen, who has
| cleaned up 81 600 or $500 in a few months
on the board of charities, Verify, charity
begins at home with this blathering bood-
| ler.
THE Spirits comments are defamatoTy
and lfbelous, and Tuesday morning the
| editor. B. J. Sheridan. was served by Sher-
! if Jelly of Paola with a notice of action
| for libel begun by Mr.. Allen. The first
process under The present libel law is a
| demand for cAnplete retract1cn, which
Mr. Sheridan must comply with in the
next issue of his paper. forfeit all
rights under this section of the law.
/, Henry Allen is one of the most reputa-
! bls men in Karsa honorable. conscien-
tious and of absolute integrity. He is in
| no sense either a thief or boodler, and Mr..
| Sheridan has stirred up the wrong Gus
| toner in applying his regular vocabulary
| of eDithetS to him.
What a contrast the action of Mr. Al
| len to that of Tom Kellyi The latter has
| been boldly proclaimed thief for months
| by more than fifty newspap apers in Kansas
| yet he dares not demand retraction from
| any of them. 1t is the contrast between
| innocence and guilt