The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-07
TAKES NEW TURN
Controversy in the Thirty
second Judicial District.
Legislature Will BE Asked to
Investigate Affidavit.
CAN NOT FORGET 1T.
Defeat of Candidate for Judge
Bitter PHI.
Would Punish w. H. Thompson
Who Encompassed 1t.

Garden City, Jan. THE situation
in the Thirty-second judicial district
IS rapidly assuming the farcical char
acter or a comic opera The latest act
was given at Syracuse on Saturday
when the bar association of the dis
trict met at Syracuse after having
been carefully packed and passed a
resolution asking the legislature to in
Vestlgate the J. B. Moore AFFIDAVIT.
The now famous document known
pearance in the. campaign for district
judge. In brief it charged the Re-
publican candidate, w. r. Hopkins,
with taking advantage of a client
scented in the justice court a a prelim-
mary hearing on the charge of arson.
There is an old political ring in the
Judicial district and when the ring
decreed that w. r. Hopkins was to be
judge they thought that settled It,
They were not afraid of affidavits or
anything else because they had behind
their backs Republican majority of
over 500. They did not pay much at
tention when the Democrats nominal
ed young lawyer by the name
of w. H. Thompson to oppose Hop
kins. No one had ever dared defy the
mandates of the ring and while
Thompson was brilliant young law
yer he was new in the district and
might be pardoned because he was not
familiar with the situation. The Moore
affidavit therefore attracted but little
attention from Mr.. Hopkins and his
intimate friends when it was circulated
with other literature as campaign
article. But when the smoke of the
election had cleared away and it was
found that Thompson had been elected
by nearly 200 majority the situation
changed Straightway the Moore af-
hdaV1t became a document fraught
with terrible power Moore himself
was arrested for criminal libel in two
counties and plans were made to ar
rest thompson on the same charge.
This was afterward abandoned But
there must be terrible punishment
meted out to this young man who had
dared to fly in the face of tradition
Something had to be done to him but
what? He had been elected by such
decisive majority that contest would
have little weight 1t was evidently
the verdict of the people and it would
not do to go too far. But there was
that terrible affidavit. Judge VIM. E.
Hutchinson who was friendly to Hop
kins appointed a committee of the bar
association to investigate the affidavit
and no doubt quite by accident named
three of Hopkins most intimate friends
including the chairman of his judi
ciary committee. Thompson was ask
ed if he had any evidence to present
and he said that he did not desire to
be represented
The committee reported exonerat-
ing Hopkins from the charges con-
tanned in the affidavit and found that
he should not be disbarred and a few
who were not on the inside supposed
that was the end of it and Hopkins
and his friends would take their
medicine" Therefore the action OF
the bar association Saturday was
somewhat of a surprise for it indicates
that the Moore affidavit is to be taken
to the legislature and that body is to
be asked to investigate it. Hopkins
friends do not deny that Thompson
was elected by a good majority but
he may have profited by that affidavit
and the legislature must find out
about it. No such question has ever
been before the legislature before. Il
Thomps introduced eastern cam
paign methods into western Kansas"
(as one of Hopkins supporters
charged in an interview and thus Sc
cured his election as judge some
thing terrible ought to be done to
him. BY the time the Moore libel