The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-28
Mr.. Wolf DENIES
Tries to Explain His Peculiar
Actions.
Says That His Store Only Had
Flood Goods.
ABOUT THE JOINTS.
Says That a Few Are Running
Secretly.
The Real Facts as They Exist
Today.


denial" 1t keeps Mr. Wolf busy deny
ing things since people in the Third
ward commenced to become somewhat
acquainted with his record.
Wolf is evidently finding that his en-
thusiastic law and order support is
drifting away from him to a man who
is really a law and order man in prac-
tice as well as in theory.
This is Mr.. VOLTS official denial in
full:
Last spring I was asked to serve on
the relief committee during the flood. I
devoted two or three weeks of my time
to this work and did everything in my
power to help matters along.
When the work of giving orders for
supplies was first started Captain H.
M. Philips. who was then at the head
of the committee, said to the different
members that anything they could do
to help me and my firm would be per-
fectly right.
"'Wolf is a flood sufferer himself
said Philips, and his interests should be
looked after by the committee.
MY store in North Topeka, known as
the Sturgis Hardware company, suffer
ed a heavy loss at the time of the flood
and the committee probably gave me
more orders on that account than would
in no more of the orders than did any
of the other members, and did nothing
whatever that I did not have the au-
rhority to do.
"A little later Poor Commissioner Hale
asked me to come down and help him
out. I worked there for some time
1T has been said that my firm sup
piled more gasoline stoves, as an ex-
ample, than any other, and that we
charged more for them than any of the
other firms That ic firm RI No
price charged, and the only reason we
supplied more stoves, or more of any
thing else, for that matter, than the
other firms, was because we had the
goods, and they did not.
Every morning the chairman of the
committee made the rounds of the
hardware stores and ascertained the
number of gasoline stoves that each had
on hand. For instance. he would find
that Thompson had a certain number
OF stoves. Cougllin had a certain num-
Der, and so on for all the hardware
stores in the city. He would tell the
members of the committee who had the
issuing of orders in charge to issue or
ders on these stores as long as their
stoves lasted, and then to issue them on
my store, because we had the stoves.
1.-THE price charged by the different
firms fol their stoves was fixed by the
committee and no overcharges could be
made. We charged No more for a sim
liar grade of stove than did the other
firms, and not so, much as some of
them. In fact when the time of set
tlement arrived it was found that two
firms had made large overcharges for
stoves, and their claims were not al
lowed in full by the committee. We
charged Only what was allowed by the
committee, and our bills went through
without trouble
Il did nothing whatever in connection
with my work on the relief committee
that l am ashamed of. and there was
nothing in my conduct at that time
that my opponents can find to make
political capital of, if they will confine
themselves to the truth.
4 see that it is limited that 1 fire.
quent George Klauer's joint. I want to
say that 1 was neverin George Klauer's
joint in my life. and that 1 do not go
into such places.
Il would like to point out the fact
that the day that the story was
printed in an afternoon paper, charg
ing collision between the city officials
and the keepers of the joints, which of
course was directed al me, that man,
Plamondon, who was mentioned as
running the SWEETEST joint in town,
was fined $50 and given thirty days in
Jail, in the police court. 1t does not
seem to me that looks very much like
the collusion they talk about.
1T seems to me that we have given
the jointists some pretty hard knocks
since Mayor Bergundthal went into
office and 1 became a member of the
police committee. They have been
raided time after time and convictions
obtained in the police court. The fact
that many of the cases have been dis
missed in the district court is not the
fault of the chief of police, or the po-
lice committee. and they should not be
called upon to take the blame for the
actions of that tribunal
There are fewer joints running than
there were when A. E. McCollum was
appointed chief of police, and those
that are doing business are not run
ming wide open, as stated. Heretofore
they have made use of the hop tea
dodge to escape conviction in many
cases. but the policy of arresting them
under this ordinance is going to make
trouble for them along this line.
81 can say for myself and the other
members at the head of the police de-
partment that we have acted honestly
in this matter and have done every
thing in our power to enforce the state
laws and city ordinances.
Mr. Wolf makes this statement:
every morning the chairman of the
committee made the rounds OF the hard
ware stores and ascertained the number
Of gasoline stoves. The committee was
instructed to issue orders as long as
these stoves lasted, and then to issue
them on my store because we had the
stoves"
This is wholly false. One of the 1arg-
est firms in Topeka says that nobody
ever called on their firm about gaso
line stoves and that their firm had
number on hand all through the flood
excitement. No store in Topeka in ordi
nary times carries more than dozen
or two of the kind of gasoline stoves
furnished flood sufferers and the state
ment that Mr.. Wolf had them in his
store is absolutely untrue Wolf was
issuing orders on his store when he did
not have the goods and he ordered the
goods from eastern houses in order to
fill his own orders. It took him three
weeks after the relief committee dis
banded to fill his orders Some of the
stoves came by express. Any hardware
merchant in Topeka will corroborats
this statement and Furthermore any
hardware merchant in North Topeka,
and there were four or five of them,
could have filed these orders just as
well as Mr.. Wolf. No store was even