The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-04
POLITICAL GOSSIP
Wichita People viii Ratify
MurdOck Nomination.
Peerless Princess Is Very Proud
Of Her Son.
HIS HOME COMING.
WAS Welcomed at Depot by
Cheering Thousands.
Dave Leahy and His Interest in
His Fellow Worker.

Wichita, Sedgwick codnty and the
Seventh district generally viii "ratify'
at Wichita tonight. Senator Long and
many of the defeated congressional can
didates win be there and make speeches
Special trains may be run in from the
west in order to bring in the people who
will want to attend.
Victor Murdock is Wichitas first coH-
gressional candidate to be practically
sure of election and the Peerless Prin-
cess is very proud of him. Everybody
in Wichita is his friend and Democrats
as wen as Republicans viii do him
honor. Few candidates for political
honors ever received an ovation like that
accorded to Mr.. Murdock when the Mis-
souri, Pacific train bearing him and the.
Wichita delegation arrived from Great
Bend Friday AS the train approached
the town the whistles began to blow
and for a few minutes there was d reg
ular pandemonium of whistles Around
the Missouri Pacific depot was a perfect
sea Of humanity. Two bands played
patriotic airs and every body cheered.
Such was Victor Murdocks home
coming. 1t was his hour of glory.
Hardly had he stepped off The plat
form when he was carried on the
shoulders of strong men to where his
wife. his mother and his father stood.
After an affecting greeting the big
crowd headed by Victor. wended its
way to the Eagle office From an up
stairs window. Mr.. Murdock made
short talk He said. Il could talk to
you a thousand years and ali I could
say would be thank you. thank yon,
thank you L have grown up here .n
Wichita, and by this reception 1 feel
that 1 am nearer you than have ever
been before. That makes me happy
The ratification meeting tonight win
he held in the Toler auditorium. the hall
where Bailey was nominated for COVER
nor last spring. 1t win not begin to
be large enough to hold the people, but
it is the biggest han in the southwest
Besides Senator Long those who are
scheduled for speeches are c. E-Branine
of Newton j. A Banta of Great Bend
ID. w Blaine of Pratt. Judge F. G.
Price of Ashland. c. =. Chandler of
Medicine Lodge, A. A. Richards of Wei
hngton. and W. NJ. Wallace of King
man.
Much of the credit for the nomination
Of Mr. Murdock is due to David d.
Leahy. his fellow worker on the Wichita
Eagle who was referred to as that
Irishman' by the elder MurdOck. Victor
has no more ardent admirer i'm the world
than Dave" Leahy. who has watched
him grow up from manhood. and who
managed the newspaper end of his boom
through the Eagle At Great Bend
Leahy worked in season and out of sea-
son to bring about NictOrs nomination,
and no one watched developments with
more anxiety than he And when it was
over and Victor stood before the con-
Vention making his speech OF accept
ance that Irishman" sat down by the
press tab BILE. and the tears of JOY and
other newspaper workers who knew
Victor Murdock felt a good deal the
same way as they sat around that press
table.
The campaign in the Seventh district
will be "A very brief one. The Fopulisr
convention is meeting today at Hutch-
inson and the Democratic convention on
next Thursday at Dodge City.
Mr.. MurdOCk says that as far as he
IS concerned 1t will be a campaign of
handshaking and not of spellbinding
The election will be held on May IS
This will be a handshaking cam
paign," said Mr.. MurdOck In spea king
of his plans NO speechmaking goes,
with the Republican congressional NOM
inee at least ] know this win be a
radical departure in the district where
the people have always been used to
oratory-good and bad-but am going
to Try 1t once, just for luck. You know,
we newspaper men always contend that
oratory ism { In it with printers ink 1t
It now up to me to give demonstra-
AAbiA 30 II tue press DoyS over the dlS-
trict will help me out. and I believe
they will viii show 'em how the
power of the press overshadows the
power of "A spelbinder. / have another
reason also for breaking the precedent
/ am no orator"
There Will be "a great deal of ex-
planning as TO how the nomination OF
Mr. Murdoch was consun11natad at
Great Bend. Every body will claim =
hand in it except the Forsha. Price and
Richards forces Being on the inside.
w. " Morgan publishes the sorrow
ful but true story of how il happened
in the Hutchinson News as follows.
There were two underground innu-
ences in the convention Neither one
was large in numbers but each created
sentiment Most of the delegates were
not controlled by either and they were
bitterly hostile to each other One
was the Topeka influence. represented
by Dave Mulvane Tom Kelley and
Frank Grimes. The other was the in
fuence Of Morton Albaugh with judge
LOhdell and others as his friends
While each of these Influences had fa-
vorite candidates. each was deathly
afraid the other would name the man
The Mulvane influence was first for
Senator Smith. but il could not con-
troll to exceed twenty-five delega tes.
Albaughs influences was greater but
not compact. Smith could not win
but his twenty-five votes added to
nfurdock's twenty-ssven was morally
certain to start a stampede in that
and Mulvane would thus nominate
AIurdock. The result was that as each
side figured how the other might beat
them to it, the anxiety to be in the
band wagon upset the nerves of the
DoHticians and Forsha was between
the upper and the lower ail stones
He had delegates in other counties, but
they could not leave their local candf-
dates and could not be asked to do so
unless they had satisfied home obiga-