The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-14
JOE BR|STOV.
BOY AND MN
Ralph Faxon Writes Sketch
of Kansas Pride
WAS BORN IN KENTUCKY
First Political Job Was Clerk
of District Court
WAS BORN IN KENTUCKY
Written for The Sunday Eagle.

Occasionally there appears in high pub
lie position a man whose standard OF
morals IS so lax that he either wilfully
or indifferently suffers the loosest meth
DDS to obtain among his subordinates and
about his office. This shortening may
not be criminal, but usually is. Occasion
ally there also appears d man in SINH
lar position whose character is what is
usually termed Puritan" meaning whose
official uprightness and rigid official man
ner strikes terror in the hearts of all who
come in contact with him; whose indie
fatigable zeal amounts to frenzy; and
whose moral makeup nearly approaches
that of those who burned witches at the
stake l., old New England days.
OF neither of these two classes, hap
PLY, is one high public official whose name
now appears many times per day in the
public prints. And yet Joseph l.. Bristow,
the fourth assistant postmaster general,
comes as near the latter class as 1t is
good for any man to do. He is a zealot-
but he is good natured one; he is rigid,
tense and precise-but he has an appre-
citation OF humOr, and is even kindly dur
ing Office hours.
The work of this MANN Kansas he is
Just Joe" Bristow-is filled with results,
always. He never in his life set out to do
q thing that he did not conclude just
about as he had intended in the begin
ming, and with credit to himself. The Sc
cret of his success has been his rigidness
OF principle and action; and his absolute
honesty and extreme scrupulousness; his
ilimitable capacity for work For Bris-
tow would rather work than eat or sleep.
lie has perhaps been more bittedly cen
surcd and assailed by newspapers and
statesmen than any other one man outside
OF the president This has only stimu-
lated him TO greater energy and the sue
cessful performance of greater tasks. His
tenor in Office, more than six years, has
been d most stormy one, and various gen
tlemen accredited with pulls have
camped day and night on this Kansans
trail. to no avail. The press of the coun-
try has had Bristow removed" more
times in a given period than it has thus
honored any other official. And still
Bristow sticks Most of all, and what is
more to the point the president seems to
think he viii continue TO stick
Joseph l.. Bristow is a native of Ken
lucky. In Kansas, that was never laid up
against him. For his parents had the ex-
cellent judgment to bring him 10 the Sun
flower state at a young and tender age.
His early life was like that of any other
boy OF a large family, the head of the
family not being in exactly affluent cir
cumstances. After public schools. the
young man some way or other got
through Baker University Baldwin. Kan
NH ha
turned out many bright men. Among its
alumni, besides Bristow, are; The Rev.
DIT ". A Quayle. now Of Indianapolis,
formerly of Kansas City, a pulpit orator
and writer or renown; Representative
Philip Pitt Campbell of the Third Kansas
district: Henry J. Allen of Ottawa. edi-
Tor. politician. wit and orator. who is
now contending for a congressional nom
ination in the Second Kansas district.
Bristow got into politics at early
age. He was elected clerk of the district
court in Douglas county, Kansas, in the
eighties. He served two terms and then
went to Salina. where he bought a small
paper. which he turned into a daily. in
1894 Kansas Republicans set about to rid
the state Of Populism. and inaugurated
early IN the year an aggressive prelim-
inary campaign. Bristow contended with
Wm. \. Calderhead of Marysville for the
congressional nomination in the Fifth
district. He lost it by one vote. which is
interesting One vote in a precinct of the
city of Concordia gave Calderhead the
precinct. which gave him the ward, which
gave him the city, which gave him Cloud
county. which nominated him. 1t was
hard luck. but Bristow only smiled.
This contest excited attention to the
young editor. and later, when Cyrus Le-
land was made chairman OF the Republi-
can state central committee, and needed a
first class secretary. J. l.. Bristow of Sa-
lima was chosen. All through that cam
paign with a never-haEging zeal. and
bearing the hardships incident to the posi-
ton he filled. Bristow worked for his
party at Topeka When it was all over
and Major z. \. Morrill, of Hiawatha,
former representative in congress from
The First district. was elected governor
he made the secretary of the state COM
mittee his secretary.
The writer hereof was a young reporter
and correspondent at the state house at
Topeka in these early days of 1895 when
Morrill, was governor and Bristow was
secretary 10 the governor. He has not
seen since such energy and application as
Bristow gave 10 the work before him.
II was amazing in the extreme. And
when the memorable campaign Of 1896
came on. with the presidential race, and
with Morrill, a candidate for reelection. |
with Populists and Democrats exultant
and united IN Kansas Bristow divided
his duties and became again secretary Of
the state committee. All through that
long siese-and nowhere WAS the cam
paign more bitterly fought out than in
hansas-his was the energy and force |
that directed and pushed il forward.
In 1897, Cyrus Leland. who had been
national committeeman from Kansas |
since 1884. and who was q member OF the |
executive committee and close to Presi- /
dent Mckinley and Chairman Hanna. |
went TO Washington. The state generally |
did not know Just what he was up TO. |
but one day came back TO the state the |
Information that the president had nom |
mated Joseph i. Bristow Of Kansas 10 be !
fourth assistant postmaster general
In Washington this caused some amaze |
ment. The bureau OF the fourth assistant /
postmaster general was a most import |
ant one 1t was the appointment. the in |
specuon, and. in measure, the execu- |
Give branch OF the postofice department.