The Topeka state journal., 1906-03-13
MIR. sTRATToN EXPLAINS IT.
Tells How Calderhead Won in Clay
County Meeting.

Clay Center, Kas., March 10, 1906.
To the Editor OF the State Journal:
A meeting of Republicans was held
in the commissioners room at the
court house this afternoon, in re-
sponse to forty circular letters mailed
to prominent Republicans in the va
rious townships of the county and no
tees published in the Weekly Times
and Daily Dispatch. This meeting
was called at the request of some
twenty Republicans of this city who
are opposed to the denomination of
Mr.. Calderhead for congress. The in
tention was to get q number together
from different parts of the county for
consultation to ascertain the sentiment
of the county. No effort was made to
pack the meeting with anti-Calder-
head men or it could have been easily
done; in fact only four of the twenty
who were responsible for the meeting
being called were present. However,
few of the faithful Calderhead men
thought it was necessary to pack the
meeting with the faithful. and they
hustled hard through the rain and
snow and the result was a total of 33
present at the meeting. Twenty-one
were for Calderhead and u against
him. Fourteen were old soldiers, 10
being for and four against. Twelve of
those present were from the country,
IlNo LOT ana seven against III InE I'VE
that were for only two spoke, and they
said they were for CaIderhead be-
cause they were for Calderhead. Of
Lthe seven against six spoke. They
said they were against Calderhead be
cause he was not in harmony with
President Roosevelt on any PROPOSE
ton, because he was one of the two in
surgents from Kansas in the early part
of the present session, because he
/ spoke for and voted for the railroads
nd a cf he Ia
at every opportunity, and because he
has said that the government has no
/ more right to say what the railroads
shall charge for carrying freight than
it has to say what the farmer shall
charge for his corn. One of the six
said that twO-thirds of the Repub-
Iicans of his township were against
| him; another said he did not know but
one Republican in the township that
/ was for him, and he was In the room
and he requested him to name another
/ that was with him and he could not
/ do 1t, and admitted it.
Some three or four men spent sew
eral hours circulating papers stating
1 that the signers could not be present at
4 the meeting but they were for Calder
head and wanted to be counted as vot-
/ ing for him, 81 signatures t-ere obtain
! ed to these papers, and at least ten Of
1 those who signed it were present in
/ the meeting, and It IS Wen known
fact that several who signed it are
not for Mr. G. One man from the city
made the statement that with the same
| effort he could have secured twice the
number against Calderhead, several
from the country said they could have
/ secured the names of nearly every Re
publican in their townships against him
simply by seeing them.
Taken all in all 1t was a stormy meet
ing, and the discussion was hot for
nearly two hours. and seeing that the
meeting had been packed by the city
statesmen, quite a number left the room
before the vote was finally taken on the
motion to endorse Mr.. Calderhead, at
this point an effort was made to vote
the 50 who had signed the paper re-
4 ferred to- and quite a number who had
signed it and were pr sent were on their
feet insisting that the % should be
/ counted after they had voted. but it
was ruled out and the vote stood 19 for
and against the adoption of the mo-
| ton.
When the meeting was called to order
the chairman announced that he had
/ Just received a telephone message from
| Mr.. Hessin that he had withdrawn from
1 the race aad consequently there was no
candidate for the ants to line up for
and that it was very awkward to sim
ply be against.
One unfortunate thing happened n
the meeting that did injustice to an
! want to correct as far as can. In the
early stages Of the meeting. a gentle
man from the country asked If it was
possible to get Mr.. +. L. Williams to
enter the race for congressman, the