The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-07-16
Former State Treasurer Caught
Between Cars.
Taken From New Mexico to His
Home at PaOla.
INJURIES ARE SERIOUS
Believed That He Won't Be Per.
manently Crippled.
Had Secured Insurance Cover
Ing Accidents Just in Time.

Thomas T. Kelly. former state treas
urer of Kansas, was badly hurt last
sunday by being caught between two
dump cars while at work on the Lantrv
contract in the Ration mountains. where
million dollar tunnel is being con-
slructed for the Santa Fe railway.
Two small cars. such as are used In
tunnel construction work, came togeth-
er ana caught Kelly between the bump
ers. His right leg was badly mashed
near the nip, the flesh being cut, but the
oone was not broken and there were no
internal injuries.
Mr. Kelly was at once taken from the
Tunnel, and his wounds dressed. He
tnen left for his home in Paola, arriving
there late Sunday night
MI. hellys wounds are all flesh
WOUNDS, and though of a serious nature.
| tney VIII not permanently cripple him.
nor are they considered dangerous.
Kelly has always been considered
] marvellous lucky in his business and
pohtlcaI affairs, and the present AFFAIR
Is no exception. A few days before he
lert Paola to begin work on his Ration
| contract, friend of his approached him
and wanted him to take some accident
| insurance. Kelly said he didn't need
accident insurance, as he never expected
to get hurt However, the solicitor was
| persistent, and finally Mr. Kelly allowed
him to write him an accident policy for
$4,000. Mr.. Kelly will therefore draw A
good fat salary from the insurance COM
pany for all the time that he is unable
to work on the railroad job
Another story which is told to illus
trate Kelly's marvellous luck is that
when his company was figuring on its
1 bid on the Ration mountain Job one of
| the chief items of expense was coal fer
! the steam shovels and other machinery.
\ 1t was necessary for the bidders to make
| large allowance for the cost of fuel
| However, the work on the excavation OF
the tunnel had hardly commenced be-
fore the contractors dug into a fine vein
| of coal, and are now using the coal
which they dig out of the tunnel to fire
J the engines which do the digging.
You might run a freight train over
! Tom Kelly said friend of his todav
| in discussing the accident, land he
would climb out from under the train.
without a speck of dust on his clothes
and with a thousand dollar bill in each
| hand"
Tom Kelly also has a wonderful
record of luck in political affairs.
Though he was mixed up in some de-
| cidedly queer deals while county Of
| ficer of Miami county, he was nomi-
mated and elected state treasurer to
succeed Frank Grimes. after serving
as Mr.. Grimes assistant for several
years. He became the political and
| financial ally of Charles J. Devlin, and
at the time Kelly was considering tho
advisability of running for state
treasurer. Devlin was trying to per-
suade him to quit politics and take
| position in his bank at a much larger
salary than the state job paid Kelly
preferred to go with Devlin, but his
political friends were dragging him
into the fight for the treasurerskip
because they believed he was the man
who would cement the machine
most solidly Kelly's enemies mean
time were attacking him 1ercely. and
| his Miami county record was being
ventilated vigorously. Finally some Of
| Kelly's associates went to Devlin ana
asked him If Kelly's running for office
would make him in any way un-
| desirab BILE as an assistant for Mr.. Dew
lin at the expiration of his term. Dew
| lin is said to have replied that nothing
would prejudice MIN against Kelly ex-
| cept to see Kelly lay down and be
gutter in the fight which had been
started. That gave Kelly his cue to
run for the office of state treasurer.
Had Devlin insisted that Kelly stay
out of politics. it would have made
some vast differences in Kansas poll
tics.
However, the grand catastrophe of the
Kelly administration came when the
Devlin bank failed, and carried down
with it $550,000 of the states money,
which Kelly had deposited there in
wild effort to save his friends bank
from ruin.
But through all this maze of scandal
and irregularity Kelly managed to crawl
without any financial loss to himself.
and apparently was a wealthy man
when ne finished his term as state treas
urer He had hardly finished his term
as state treasurer when he formed a
partnership with B. Lantry Sons OF
Strong City in the railroad contracting
business and while engaged as field
manager for this concern he received
the injuries ast Sunday. Kelly is MAX
ing good as a railroad contractor. He
has a great faculty for managing and
is able to turn these talents to better
results in the railroad contracting busi-
ness than in any other field which he
has ever undertaken.
statement From Brother.
Kansas City. Mo, July 16.-"My
brother, T. T. Kelly, was not seriously
injured as was first reported" the Rev.
Father w. H. Kelly, of Edgerton, Kan,
said today at the Hotel Baltimore here.
MY information is that he will be able
to be out in a few days. / expected him
to come to Kansas City, but instead h
went direct to his home in Paola. He
has been engaged in railway construc-
tion.
ARaaFN RR RAENAHn