The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-22
Effort Made to Discredit State Journal
Interview.

The Capital this morning printed {
| statement from r. c. Strain of Conan
| che county denying one feature of tbs
interview with Mr. Strain published II
1 the State Journal October II.
| The Capital calls it "a Journal false
hood" and prints the card which is as
/ follows:
To the Editor of the Capital:
The Topeka State Journal of Octo-
Der IA, 1904, published an article re-
lating to the Comanche county bond
| DEAL" using my name as authority
for several statements relative to said
bonds and to the valuation of this
(Comanche) county. In that article
the Journal quotes me as stating that
Comanche county is not worth $123,-
600, the face of the bonds in question.
desire to state right here that 1
made no such statement. 1 consider
the land in Comanche county alone
worth over 100000, and her live
stock worth nearly a million dollars
more. r. A. STRAIN,
Coldwater. Kan, Oct. 10.
The State Journal reporter who inter
viewed Mr.. Strain is in a position to
prove that Mr.. Strain said Just what he
was quoted as saying. In addition he
said other things which were printed in
the State Journal as follows:
The deal has an ugly look and the
people who are familiar with it do not
like it. 1t looks rather funny when a
stranger can draw $4,000 from :he
county for engineering the deal The
people of Comanche county have to
pay this money If il is paid and they
naturally do not like It. They believe
that some one in the county got a part
of the money for helping to put the
deal through
DO you think that s123. 900 is a pretty
heavy debt for Comanche county?" was
asked.
why that is more than Comanche
county is WORTH said Mr.. Strain,
laughing.
How do the people of the county
feel about the bonds?"
They are rather bitter about them.
The county has never had straw's
worth of benefit from these bonds. They
were issued at a time when there were
no people in the county, Cor there may
have been one mani, and not a penny
has the county ever had in return for
the bonds. The people have given up
trying to beat the bonds and the best
they can hope for now is a compromise
of some sort-perhaps that can be made
now that the state holds the bonds"
What is the population of Conan
che county ?"
ut is about 1900 people and this
Indebtedness bears down pretty heav-
lily upon them especially since they
have never received any benefit from
it"
What is land worth in your coun-
typ"
There is very little changing hands
now but I believe that some sales have
been made at from SIS to IS per acre.
Five years ago a great deal of land
was sold for 81 an acre and it was
nearly all bought up by cattle men.
The mortgage companies then held
nearly all the land"
Where do these cattlemen live now?"
They are nearly all residents of CO.
manche county and all their interests
are there"
How long have you lived in Comanche
cOunty?'
Il have lived there 20 years and for six
years L have been clerk of the court.
was not in Comanche county when the
bonds were issued and for that matter
there is not a resident of Comanche coun-
ty now who was there at that time be-
cause there was no one there and that is
why it Is so hard for us to shoulder the
debt. : don't believe that people could
blame us for not looking with favor upon
these bonds