The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-02-07
IMR. PURCELL
DENIES CHARGE
Asserts That He Never Filed
Alleged Charges.
WROTE so ME-. PIECE S
Sent His Paper With Editorials
to Department.

! Enid, O. r, Feb 6.-With refereSce to
| alleged charge shaving been filed by him
! against Governor Ferguson, Secretary
! Grimes and Auditor Baxter, as members
/ of the school land leasing board, Editor
/ Everett Purcell of the Enid Events made
the following statement to a correspond
/ ent of the EagIe today:
L note with a great deal of interest
! that a new sensation has been sprung by
! the very accommodating and imaginative
/ press bureau at Guthrie, where in it is
alleged that I filed charges against Gov
| ernor Ferguson and members of the
school land board relative to the Houston
matter, which. resulted in the resignation
of Secretary Houston from the school
land board. II is noticed. however, tn t
no excerpts of parts OF the presumed
charges are published. It is usually GUS
tomary, l believe to publish at least a
part of the charges. if they are found
worthy of such extensive publication as
has been indulged in regarding the pre-
sumed charges filed by me. But the fact
is [ filed no charges. | was interested,
however, in the removal Of Houston from
the school land board, as 1 believed his
official conduct warranted his removal.
And l stated my convictions and beliefs
about the matter in the Events, editorial
iy The papers containing those editor
ials were sent to the department at
Washington. 1t seems that some way or
other the attention OF the president was
called TO them, and the department took
some action regarding the matter. What
ever the department did was based upon
a mere reading of the editorials mention
ed So far as charges being filed, the
idea is ridiculous, and the sensation
sprung at this late day simply and purely
bv political enemies who desire to stir up
strife in the party. The president or the
department, or any man of sound JudS-
ment could not. nor would. construe edi-
torials appearing in a public newspaper
as charges. The editorials set forth
state of presumed fact, and the president
and the secretary read them Of they dld
read lhem) just like they would read any
other newspaper whose columns they de-
sired to peruse Because they acted upon
the editorials written does not signify
that the editorials We're formal charges
But neither the president nor the de-
partrnenU considered the editorials in the
light of charges. and it is presumption or
bare-faced ignorance to attempt 10 set
forth that the department would con-
slider editorials pertaining to a public
matter in the light of charges.
1T is said that the charges were not
made known to parties in oklahoma IN
til last December, though thcy were pre-
sumably fled in July. The question arises
why were they made known at all? What
is all this hubbub about? There seems
to be a coIored man in the wood pile
somewhere for TO my mind. it Is a queer
proposition that the department at Wash
iugton would keep editorials on file for
six months and then transmit them 10
oklahoma with the information that they
didn't amount to anything and for nobody
TO nav any attention to them. Such n
presumption belittles the department.. II
the editorials have been the meP rs CT
erlfehtenine the department at Washing
ton relative to Oklahoma matters. all well
and good: but L most emDhaucaiiE deny
having filed charges against anybody.
NV naper has always been staunch
supporter Of Governor Ferguson and his
administration. 1t is a Republican ad-
ministration. and I have supported
as a Repuhlican. have always been an
adnlirer Of Governor Ferguson have rel
dered him newspaper assistance on vari-
Gus occasions. and commended every act
nf his calculated to good government,
and especially commended him when ne
invited Secretary Houston TO aedlcate
his trunks. And [ consider that this Dis
turbance and misrepresentation relative
TO editorials appearing in my paper
which were read in Washington has been
fomented by parties desirous Of creating
a breach in the frcndliness heretofore
existing between the governor and my