The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-07
His Presence at the Democratic
Banquet Assured.
Programme for the Event Has
Been Completed.
DILLARD TO PRESIDE.
There Will Be Speeches By Well
Known Democrats.
Work Of Reorganization to Date
From That Occasion.

If early enthusiasm counts for any
thing, the Democrats of Kansas win
make a fight in the campaign of next
fail which will surprise their Repub-
lican rivals. Activity of the most
strenuous sort is the watchword at
the headquarters of the Democratic
central committee. Plans are being
carefully laid for a most vigorous
campaign. And as a starter for it
arrangements have been completed for
a big rally of the Democrats here in
Topeka on February %, which will
eliminate with a dinner to be given
by the Democratic club of Kansas at
the Throop hotel, at which Governor
Joseph Folk of Missouri is to be the
principal speaker.
It is expected that on that date all
of the prominent Democrats of the
state will gather here, not merely for
the purpose of attending the BAN
quet but to take part in the deIibera-
lions of the central committee, a
meeting of which has been called for
that day by Col. William F. Sapp. At
this meeting plans for the state con-
vention viii be talked over, and it is
understood that the desires of most
of the committeeman are to hold the
convention this year at an earlier cate
than has been the custom in years
past so that the party will have it's
candidates and platform in the field
about as soon as the Republicans will
have theirs A meeting of the State
/ Democratic Editorial association has
been called for the same day, and be-
/ tween these two meetings and the
/ banquet there will be plenty of booms
| launched for candidates for nomina-
/ tons on the state ticket.
This banquet will be the second one
which has been given by the Demo-
cratic club of Kansas. This club was
! oragnlzed through the efforts of
! Colonel Sapp, the chairman of the
/ central committee, after the crushing
/ defeat which was administered to the
( Democrats in the last state campaign.
/ Hardly had the smoke of this disas-
| trous battle cleared away when
! Colonel Sapp thought it would be a
I good plan to. get the Democrats to-
| gether and talk over, not the failures
of the past but the prospects for the
future. He sounded the leaders
throughout the state on the PROPOSE
ton and got little encouragement
from them.
All of them thought that banquet
would be a good thing if it could be
arranged but they thought that the
time was hardly ripe for one Col.
Sapp- went ahead with his plans and
/ announced that there would be a
! banquet of the Democrats of the state
| on WaShingtOn'S birthday. When his
associates saw that he was bound to
get the Democrats together again
/ they put their shoulders to the wheel
and the result was that a banquet was
/ held then which was one of the most
history of the party and a great slim
ulatiOn to renewed activity in the face
of dire defeat. 1t was at this banquet
! that the Democratic club of Kansas
was organized and W. P billiard of
Fort Scott was elected its president.
More than three hundred good Demo-
Gratis sat down at this banquet and
| the reason that not more of them en-
1 joyed it was because there was no
room for them.
Mr.. billiard is to preside at the ban
quet next month and it promises to be
a more successful affair. if such a
/ thing were possible. than the one of
! last year. In arranging the list of
! toasts it has been the plan of those
| making the arrangementS.f for the ban
quet to select speakers from the
| younger element in the party, men
who have not before been given
| prominence at the gatherings of Dem
ocrats. In addition to Governor Folk
! the principal speaker, toasts will be
responded to by Dennis ]. Sheedy
president of the Democratic club at
the Kansas university. on young De-
mocracy;" G. E. Rugh of Abilene, on
1 The Dawning of an Era" W T.
! Dedrick of Wichita, on George
/ Washington" G. c. Smith of Ottawa
on 1.-The Independent Voter" and A
L. Majors Of Galena. who has not Sc
/ lected his subject as yet.
One of the means being employed
/ by Col. Sapp and his associates on the
I central committee to strengthen the
) cause of Democracy throughout the
state is in securing the allegiance of
newspapers. In looking for the
/ causes which led up to the defeat in
! the last campaign Col. Sapp discov-
cred that there We're forty counties in
I the state which were without d Demo-
cratic newspaper. This was a cOndi-
/ ton of affairs that needed to be
remedied and during the last year a
half dozen Democratic papers have
been started and this work is being
! prosecuted vigorously. An editor Of
one of these new Democratic papers
/ has done his share at least in furnish
ing the few Democrats in his locality
4 He is Henry Amick and runs the
/ Westmoreland Signal in PottawatOmie
| county. The Signal was a Republican
/ paper but was recently purchased and
] turned into Democratic sheet Mr..
Amick became the proud father the
other day of triplets, all of them boys.
and he Is receiving the hearty con-
CALCULATIONS of all his Democratic
] friends
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