The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-14
POLITICAL GOSSIP.

contest and is the last move in the
Anthony-Cur case so far as state
courts are concerned. There is still
one phase of the case pending in the
United States supreme court, but it is
a long shot whether it amounts to
lanything-
Mr.. Allen says that this ends the
! contest over the nomination in the
Second district. but he does not say
that he will support Bowersock. He
| maintains that he had majority of
the legal delegates in the Garrett
| convention, and in his paper he
] ''apologizes' to Bowersock, the con-
test board and the supreme court for
supposing that majority of the legal
delegates entitled him to the nomina-
ton. Here is Mr.. Aliens editorial on
the decision:
The supreme court in its decision
today in the Allen-Bowersock case de-
| clines to open the case on its merits
1t decides that sufficient evidence has
not been produced to prove fraudulent
conduct on the part of the two mem
| bers of the contest board who voted
to give Mr.. Bowersock the certificate.
The effect of the decision, therefore.
is that the court will not go into the
facts, and that the finding of the con-
test board is final. This finding, it
will be remembered, was given last
April by Mr.. Coleman and Mr.. Bur-
row, members of the contest board
who decided that Mr.. Bowersock was
entitled to the certificate; Mr.. Wells.
L.
Allen was entitled to the certificate.
Mr.. Coleman admitted that Mr.. Wells
findings of fact, which were that
Allen was entitled to the certificate
on the ground of having a majority Of
the legal delegates to the Garnett con-
vention, were true. The fact that
Coleman made this admission was
proven by four witnesses. 1t seemed
little odd that a contest board could
justify its conduct in giving one can
dfdate the decision and another candi-
date the certificate. The supreme
court explains that this was due to
the theory which Mr.. Burrow and Mr..
Coleman had proceeded upon, which
was different from the theory which
Mr. Wells proceeded upon, although
all had agreed upon the facts. which
were that Allen had a majority of
the congressional delegates. In our
ignorance we thought that it was due
to the anxiety of Mr.. Burrow and Mr.
Coleman to give Mr.. Bowersock the
certificate independent of the merits
of the case.
THE supreme court says that this
is not SO, and shows uD the theory
business which. of course, makes it all
right and we are mighty sorry we
didn't think of this before. It's plain
enough when illuminated by the su-
preme court. As we understand it
now, the mere fact that candidate
has a majority of all the delegates
elected to a convention is not material
unless this fact is in harmony with
the theory of the contest board as to
who ought to have the nomination.
We are naturally chagrined not to
have thought of this simple explana-
ton ourselves instead of putting the
supreme court to the trouble and an
noyance of pointing 1t out The Re-
publicans of the district who have
been feeling a little sore over the fact
that Mr.. BOWersock was given the GER
tificate in the face of the fact that he
didn't have a majority of the delegates
will be pleased to have the matter ex-
planned in this conclusive way and
many of them will doubtless feel like
kicking themselves for not thinking of
it themselves. 1t is due MI Bower
sock to say that we are sorry we have
caused him all this trouble II he had
just explained to us that he intended
to make up. in 'theroy' what, he fell
short in delegates, we would have
nit that we were considerably short
in the 'theroy' necessary to win this
case. and we apologize here and now
to Mr.. Bowersock, to MeSsrS. Burrow
and Coleman and to the supreme court
for the foolish notion we had conceiv-
ed that all a man needed to win a
fight in a congressional convention
was a majority of the legally elected |
delegates"
The revolt among the Kansas silver
ties against the action of the St. Louis |
convention has commenced. Down at
bury and some other old-line Populists |
who have been about half Democrat, |
got together yesterday, formed a Tom |
Watson club and declared war on Par
ker Democracy. They propose to make |
the Bryan DEMOCRATS line up against /
the eastern Democracy or else there
will not be fusion on the county ticket. |
They propose to pledge the Democrats |
on the county ticket to Watson instead /
of Parker. They have also sent let
ter to Philip Goodreau of Cottonwood /
Falls, chairman of the Populist con-
greSSiOnal committee of the Fourth dis
trict, asking him to call the Populist
convention so that it will /
be interfered with by the Democrats.
News also comes from Belleville that
John NJ. Doyle, who left the RepublI-
can party on the silver issue in 1895
and has recently been acting as a DEM
ocrat, has resigned as delegate to the
month and will support Roosevelt for
president. Mr.. Doyle has been one of
the strongest opponents of the Repub-
leans in his section of the state. He
has served one term in the legislature
as a fusioniSt and was the fusion can
didate for state senator four years ago.
carrying his county although it is nat
urally Republican. and losing Cloud by
Just enough to defeat him.
A dispatch from Hill City states that
Governor D. ]. Hanna is
down with an attack of typhoid fever.
His condition is not considered danger
ous. although his fever has been up to
L01 degrees.
The revolt among the Bryan Demo-
Gratis of Kansas against the action of
The st. Louis convention has commence
I'd.
MRS. CLEVEIAND'S VISIT.
She Will Spend Some Days at the
Home of Joe Jefferson