The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-07-18
ATTACK ON LONG.
The Much Heralded Collier Ar.
ticle Is Out.
Contains Little That Is New in
Politics.
EXPOSE OF RICHARDS.
That Is Only Sensational Part
of the Article.
w. Y. Morgan Says 1t Doesn't
Come Up to Advertisement.

Golfers Weekly publishes in its is
sue of July IS, which reached Topeka
Friday, its long promised story about
Long of Kansas"
This story was written by ]. M Os-
kison, a New York newspaper man
who was raised in Oklahoma and edu-.
Gated at Leland Stanford university.
Oskison is a clever writer, but there
is nothing very startling about his
Long piece
The hottest" part of his article,
from a news and political standpoint,
is his expose OF Andy Richards of
Wellington, whom Long appointed to
$4,000 job in the land department
of the United States attorney generals
office. Speaking of Richards, the ar
ticle says:
This case of Andy Richards is typ
ical of Longs methods in more ways
than one, though the cases of Sunny
Jim Simpson, of Mort Albaugh, of
Billy Edwards, of Doc Moore, or of
Bill Mackey would do almost as well
to point the willingness of Long to
use. and pay, any man who can do his
work.
"Twenty-nine years ago Andy
Richards walked down from Wichita
to Wellington, carrying a gamblers
outfit, and rented space to open
game in Penn Yetters saloon. He was
a good sport'-when the band boys
need new suits, Andy set aside as
his contribution a certain percentage
of his winnings on one days play. You
can see how this would work out, ad-
vertised in advance. The band boys
got a good sum, and so did Andy.
kansas soon recovered from gam
bling and frontier license. Richards
then taught school for a. time at Ok
ford! Later he returned to Wellington
and started newspaper. He sold this
paper after running it a year or SO,
and took up what he called the
Doubtful Title Business 1t was sort
of legal Matchmaking game-when he
found piece of property with a flaw
in the title, he went to former own
er, who claimed nothing. and bought,
for a trivial sum, a quitclaim deed.
Then he went to the man in posses
sion, and showing his own quitclaim
deed forced the best settlement he
could. But he didn't last long at this
game-some Of the cases got into
court, and the judges spoke so plainly
about his methods that he was con-
strained to turn to more legitimate
business.
"'A. A. Richards. lawyer was his
next title, and here is the story of
how he acquired an office. D. N.
Caldwell of Wellington owned a lot
near the courthouse, against which
some claim stood. Richards heard that
CaldW6u was TO DrlnR q friendly suit
to clear the title, and offered to con-
duct the case without any fee. saying
that he meant to make speciality of
land-title litigation, and that he need
ed a case to give him prestige. Cald-
we'll turned the matter over to him,
and as soon as Richards obtained the
facts he secured q quitclaim deed
from the man who was to be made de-
PENDANT. One morning Caldwell was
surprised to find a small building on
the lot, with Richards OCCUPYING it as
a law office. Afterwards he was ousted
from the property.
"As q lawyer, Richards was not
success. He was a mortgage COM
pany'S attorney for a year or two
then gave up and moved to Oxford to
run a newspaper. Eighteen years ago
he returned again to Wellington and
started the newspaper that he man.
aged until Senator Long had him
sent to Washington few months ago
as a special assistant to the attorney
general, with general supervision of
land matters, and in charge of the
governments land fraud prosecu-
lions!
Richards does the dirty work for
Long That Is the way they put it in
Kansas. In 1896 Long. then a repre-
sentative in congress, tried to have
Richards made postmaster at Well
ington, but the volume of protest was
so loud that Senator Baker notified
Long that he would block the ap-
pointment in the senate If 1t was
made. At this time certain reputable
business men of Wellington an
nounced, in affidavit form, their in
tention in the event of Richards get
ting the office, of sending all their
important letters to be mailed on the
trains
"At least twice he has been i'm
peached as q witness In court; and in
another case. in which he was ex-
called to impeach him; but they were
not needed. On cross examination he
branded himself as liar. An attor-
ney In the case thus described him:
This man Richards is the most
circumstantial, the most cumulative
and corroborative liar I have ever
SEEM
at is this man Richards who has
been Longs trusted lieutenant in
Sumner county, and, in a way, his
political manager IN the state"
w. Y. Morgan, who looks after the
literary end of Senator Longs cam
paign, said today in discussing the
piece in Collier's:
1.-The article in Golfers is an Illus
tration of failure to come up to ad-
vertisement. When it was announced
some time ago that Golfers had been
secured by VIII White to go after
Senator Long, / admit that 1 thought
IL would be the big gun of the cam
piece. Mr.. Oskison, refused to let Sen
ator Longs friends present few facts