The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-03-15
LAUNDERING
OF FIGURES
Managers of Citizens Party
Deal in Over-Ripe Data,
UPSET THEIR OWN CASE
And Injure Their Own Man as
a Consequence,
AN ATTACK ON WOMEN
Is One of Regrettable Features
of Campaign.

Yesterday the managers of the Citizen s
party did very stupid thing-stupid to
an inconceivable extent While intending
TO attack the administration of Ben f.
Mclean they made still worse attack on
the preceding administration of Former
Mayor Ross. Very few men can make
comparisons without laundering; stupid
men never can. That's the reason that
comparisons are odious"
At a large expense to somebody's
poeketboOk the town was flooded with a
dooryard special edition of q local paper
1t contained q statement admitting that
the police administration under Mclean
collected from certain forms of vice in
fines, $ll,3o0 more in tWenty-three months
than the police administration under Mr.
Ross in the same length of time. And
In admitting this the writer said in rela-
ton TO the statement of the fact formerly
published in the Eagle, this statement
produced profound sensation in the COM
launity and put many good citizens to
thinking as they never thought before
To Offset the effect it had in many good
citizens the writer then went on to allege
that something like $4,000 additional
should have been collected under the Nc
Lean police administration. This looked
very fine TO the managers of the "Citi-
gems" campaign, but they never thought
for moment that anybody would ask
this question:
failed to collect $4,000, then didn't the
Ross administration fail to collect
s5l,3OO.''
This is the biggest blunder ever made
by campaign managers in this city and
while il was intended to De an attack
on Ben Mclean only it is a worse attack
on Finlay ROss-their own candidate. 1t
is injustice to both. The mayor who
would fail to collect $4,000 or $1,000 of
money rightfully due the city, under duly
accepted police regulations. would either
be fool or a knave." Neither Mr. Nc
Lean nor Mr.. Ross are either. The best
thing then the managers of the Citizens
campaign can do is to get out a second
coor-yard special edition" explaining the
first and defending their candidate
against the effect OF its blunder.
Most of the campaign managers of the
Citizens ticket fought Mr.. Ross so bit
terly four and six and eight years ago
when he was running for Office, that they
never became well acquainted with his
administration, or with the police regu-
lations and customs adopted by the police
RuthOrltleS under MIN. nat s the reason
the present managers of the Citizens
campaign do not know what they are
talking about when they make figures
They never heard of the sliding scale in
the assessment of fines adopted by the
police administration of Alr. Ross with
reference to saloons. 1t was practically
the same,system of equity as prevailed
under the old police commission. For in
stance. the police commissioners of the
past did not believe that a saloon in an
Cut-of-the-way place, with Indifferent
fixtures and a small beer trade, should
pay as much fine as 4 swell saloon in
the business center, with immense mir
rors. gilded or frescoed ceilings and a
fine whiskey trade; and accordingly the
fines were graded as follows: Class \,
$50: class B. So; class c. SO. That sys-
tenn prevails today, but the managers of
the Citizens campaign recklessly make
tabulated statement. in their article, plac-
ing all the thirty three saloons at $50 each
and asks Mayor Mclean TO account for
81 $50 per month This IS one of the ways
they figure out that Ben McLeau's adj
ministration should have collected $4,000
in twenty-three months more than ii did,
and fails to figure out why the admins
tratIol of Mr.. Ross. on the same reason