The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-24
BRING 1T HOME.

Standards the Topeka Capital says:
even the heart of the masses is
sometimes corrupted, in spots. rake
what has just occurred within week
at Boston. for instance. An alderman
impersonated an ignorant ward heeler
at a civil service examination, passing
the examination for him and thus i'm
posing on the government he was
tired and sentenced to months serV-
ice in Jail. And last week While SerV-
ing his sentence he was reelected by
his constituents. That could occur
probably only in one OF the corrupt
wards of a large city. Alderman darp
of Buffalo the other day was acquitted
on a charge of boodling, the evidence
being so overwhelming that the YER
dict is denounced by the newspapers as
an outrage Says the Buffalo Cour-
Ter, If in Buffalo juries cannot pc Sc
cured to convict grafters, it should be
the leagues desire early to learn why
"a desire that ought to be strengthen
ed by the recent miscarr1ages OF JUS
tice.' These cannot be called typical
instances, except as to the larger cities.
But corruption and graft in municipal
government could not exist and go on
from year to year as they do but Tor
the indifference of the voters. the
corruption in cities which begins at
the top, among rich and successful
men who ought to be leading lights in
their communities, extends downward,
and it has a demoraliZing influence on
all classes OF people ana Oh Tie W4IOAC
country. Tt is the glaring evil of our
times; a poison that if not checked is
capable of extending until moral stan
dards are infected among the people"
But why does the Capital go so far
from home and pick such insignificant
officials for its illustrations? Does 1T
not remember state official of Kansas
who was recently reelected to the
most responsible financial Office in the
that he had committed embezzlement
by Ioaning $123,0O0 of the states
money entrusted to his keeping to a
private individual to carry through g.
shady bond deal to the detriment of
the state? Even after thousands of
dollars of shortages had been traced
to his door, concerning one of which
the Capital, his friend, itself said that
it was up to Kelly to produce the mys-
terious A. R. Brown. else the public
would be justified in believing him a
thief-and A. R. Brown has never
been produced? Even after the peo-
pie of his home county have repeated
ly repudiated him, believing him to be
corrupt, belief that Kelly justified by
paying back to the county over $1,000
which he had taken from it while
county clerk-paying it back when
confronted with the positive evidence
of his crime?
Why did not the Capital use this
illustration of its point? Possibly be-
cause corruption begins among rich
and successful men who ought to be
the leading lights of their communi-
ties"
To be sure, the prevailing moral
standard" in Kansas is not so low as
it may seem, for the majority of the
voters in Kansas did not cast their
ballots for Kelly in the recent election,
but inasmuch as many thousands fail
ed to vote for his opponent, Kelly was
elected. The Buffalo instance of the
miscarriage of justice is not more glar-
ing than the case of T. T. Kelly, who
escaped the consequences of his Miami
county crimes because of the statute
of limitations. and who now seems to
have so much power over the attorney
general of the state that the latter
officer will not prosecute him, even
though he has the positive evidence of
the shortages in the state treasury.