The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-07-11
AN OPEN LETTER.

LETOm the stare journal July Stl.
To c. c. Coleman:
Your position at the head of the legal
department of the state government
makes your attitude in the present crisis
in the affairs of the state of Kansas a
matter of great public concern. So far
as the public can Judge, you are and
have been for many months, in close
league with man who is known to be
law breaker. Up to the present time
you have never done a single act to
indicate otherwise, and as this law
breaker has now brought upon the
state, apparently a tremendous loss OF
funds entrusted to his care, the people
OF Kansas are DESTROYS of knowing Just
what your attitude is towards him.
Are you, or are you not, SO closely
tied up with T. T. Kelly, politically or
otherwise, that he exercises absolute
dominion over you and your acts2
Why is it, when anyone suggests the
prosecution of Kelly for his crimes, that
you apparently play for time in Keliy's
behalf? In the present crisis for IN
stance, why have you FASTENED TO ask
County Attorney Hungats not to issue /,
a warrant for Kelly's arrest unless you
were first consulted?
Have you not in your possession, ana
have you not had for more than SIX
months, a report and data showing that
there is a shortage in the state treasury
of Kansas amounting to many thou
sands of dollars-data which prove abb
SOlutely that more than fourteen InOu-
sand dollars has been stolen from the
school fund of the state of Kansas?
Did not Governor Bailey, nearly a
| year ago, place in your hands conclus-
| i've evidence that shortage existed in
the state treasury, and give you instruc-
| tons to bring suit to recover the short
age from those civilly responsible for
| it, and to take steps to bring to justice
| the thief?
Have YOU ever taken a. step in that
direction. Mr.. Coleman?
Did you not, on the contrary. trump
up every excuse possible to delay mat
ters? Did you not take advantage OF
every subterfuge you could find to
avoid doing anything about the state
treasury shortages?
| And, Mr.. Coleman. did or did you
not, after every conference you had
with Governor Bailey, communicate
with Kelly as soon as possible. keep
ing him posted as to what Governor
Bailey had discovered, and what he
/ proposed to do?
What knowledge, Mr.. Coleman, did
you have of Kellys endorsement of
$12S,000 with which he purchased the
note of your friend, A. A. GODDARD,
something less than a year ago? This
embezzlement, you will remember, Mr..
Coleman, was to enable GODDARD to un-
load upon the state school fund those
notorious Comanche county bonds,
bonds that the people of Conanche
county are no more morally bound to
pay than you area deal in which you
! had part, not only by voting to pur-
chase the bonds at 4 Y per cent when
| they had been offered to the
state at 6 per cent, but also by giving
an unheard of opinion to enable the
purchase to be made at all.
Did you, Mr.. Coleman, know any,
thing about that embezzlenent2
Did you not know of it as long ago
as nine months, at any rate, when the
sworn testimony was made public
proving it to absolute certainty?
Why did you not prosecute Kelly at
that time, Mr.. Coleman?
And why, Mr.. Coleman, in this cli-
max in the states affairs do you OBJ
ject to the prosecution of Kelly? Why.
do you request the county attorney of
Shawnee county not to issue a war
rant for Kel1y's arrest without your
Iconsent?
+ Mr.. Coleman, why are you so anx-
iious to protect this criminal. Kelly?
Has he some sort of a hold on you
that you dare not move against him
yourself or allow any other officer
to do so?
The people of Kansas are interested
in these things. Mr.. Coleman This
man Kelly has been breaking the laws
of the state under your very nose for
months, and you not only have not
lifted your finger against it, but you
have apparently protected him in it.
Even aside from your connection
with Kelly, Mr.. Coleman, you have
OeGH the most ldnGntdD16 failure dS
an attorney general that the present
generation of Kansans have seen.
Don't you think, Mr.. Coleman, you
could serve your state best by step
ping aside and allowing some one
else to be a real attorney general?
Coleman's Reply.
ITO F. P. MacLennan, Editor State
THE charges you make against me.
some direct and some by innuendo, are
such that Gods law, as well as the law
of men, forbids me to answer in the
manner that your crime deserves. Your
newspaper is your weapon in the as
Sault made by you. Such a weapon is
not possessed nor controlled by me,
and, if it were, the law forbids me to
use the language that would properly
characterize you and your base mo-
tives in your attack upon me. The one
place where we can meet with equal
rights is in the courts. If you believe
the charges you have made against
me, you are a traitor to your country
if you fail to prosecute me in the
courts; You have not done SO, nor Of
fered to do SO. On the other hand,
have heretofore brought suit against
you for libel and SANDER, and the suit
has been pending for nearly year,
and you have not dared to meet me in
the trial You have evaded trial upon
the f1imsy excuse that one of your
many lawyers had rheumatism. have
invited you to contest in forum
where our riSHtS are cdudl anu Jul
weapons matched. You refuse to
come, and insist upon staying where
you alone may use lash. None but
coward would do that If the issues
rendered to you in the suit which I
have brought are not to your liking,
the courts are open for you to prose-
cute me upon the charges you make,
and If you believe them to be true it is
your duty to prosecute me.
t'In replying to you that your charges
and innuendos against me are false and
wickedly false, hurl back to you all
the defiance that one man can express
to another; and say to you that, having
made the charges you have against me.
| Won are both a traitor and a coward If