The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-08-08

can We have no desire to blow in
our entire assets in bucklng libel slot
machine. Besides, the record of the
trusts, and of this trust among them.
is black enough, heaven knows, without
having uncommitted sins to answer for
to a public growing dangerously weary
as it is We have no disposition to pub
lish anything untrue or unprovable Of
even a trust We are eager to retract.
Then follows discussion of the minor
charges and then the following concern
ing the principal charges made:
For the reasons to be given present.
ly, We retract absolutely and without
any equivocation whatever, the follow
ing statement:
Before the board met more than
one member of the commission was Of.
fered sums up to as high as $4,000 for
a vote in favor OK the American Book
company's series of text books, consist
ing of readers. etc After the book
commission was organized and ready
for business co a representative of the
American Book company went to the
Central bank of Topeka at the corner
of Seventh street and Kansas avenue
and drew out in currency $4,000 The
| date of the drawing of this sum and the
person in whose name 1t was drawn are
| too well known in certain circles to adj
init of dispute or to be obliterated by
destruction or falSifcatiOn of that
! banks books. It is known within this
circle that $4,000 each was paid to five
| tllSIuDtIS OIL IulS COMMISSION ana lndL
the Appleton readers, were promptly
adopted
I'VE have two reasons for this re-
| traction. We copied the communication
| in good faith, because it appeared in a
reputable paper; but we have been I'M
able to find that its author had any evil
dence producible in any court to sub
stantiate the charges thus made. Fur
| thermore for the following reason we
do not believe the charges can be true
We are informed that the executive
] council of Kansas paid from the state
treasury the cost of printing the circu-
lar sent out by the Grand Army man
ayers to get the old soldiers to get
| angry at the history being used in the
schools SO that they might be induced
to fight the text book law and get rid
Of lt-a contamination the publishers
of outside books devoutly wished; and
to US 1T is unthinkable that the Ameri
can Book company would have permit
ted the state to thus pay for an attack
upon one of its own books had that
company been so "forehanded" as the
above retracted statement would seem
to imply. We frankly state that upon
the best investigation we have been
able to make, the statement that the
American Book company or its repre-
sentative drew $4,000 from a hank in
Topeka and with it paid $40, 900 each to
five members of the commission. and
the statement that before the commits
sion met a member of it was offered
sums up to as nigh as $4,000 for his
vote for the American Book company
are not true. We can discover no evil
dence that such things happened The
story seems to be proper material for
another essay by some future Disraeli
on Events That Never Took Place
I'VE might also add that the price al
legged to have been paid the five COM
missionerS Is too extravagant to be
credited, according to the regular mar
ket rate of commissioners then prevail
| ing, as we have understood.
80 ends this chapter We have tried
| to be fair and just. We willingly re-
! tract what we believe to be untrue We
shall not retract anything else let the
| consequences Of refusal be what they
| may"