Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1908-02-01
Politics in Short Grass Country Twenty
Years Ago and More.
From Topeka Capital

Work the year fOunu. cldlLl
the short grass" country,
known as Western Kansas, has
for more than twenty years
stood at the head of the list, says
Judge S. j. Osborn in the Coffey-
vile Record In those days
there were no more holy than
thou" IDEAL out there), and when
some fellow tried to claim for
himself, greater wisdom. greater
knowledge of right and wrong
than he conceded to his neighbor,
the boys all turned "agin" him.
| They knew he was a faker, and
he had to Succumb or hunt more
congenial fields. Whenever
some fellow took stack of chips
in the game, he was so closely
watched that he had to deal
squarely or get out. The boys
were all good loo1outs. and each
and every one of them knew the
mechanism of a political machine
and could tell whether it would
work right at a glance.
! 1t was an unwritten law,
thoroughly established, that a
man to be a politician in that
country, must be we'll up on
! these things; he was required to
be able to tell at glance the diff
ference between demagogue
and true man. They never
squealed when beaten, but took
! their medicine like men and i'm
mediately began getting ready
for another political campaign or
convention.
In those days we had a cam
paign every year and separate
conventions for township, coun-
ty, district and state officers.
Every man west of the sixth
principal meridian was a politi
clan. He knew every other voter
in his township, city or county.
The candidates knew the voters
likes and dislikeS; knew whether
he was a prohibitioniSt or other
wise; whether he belonged to the
church or to the world; knew
whctner he needed bread, drink
or money, and he went prepared
for either emergency. He was
compelled to build churches, pay
the preacher and contribute to
the poor and needy; and he al
ways came to the front with d
smile. If he went to church on
Sunday, he bowed his head dur
ing prayer; he never looked up
at the ceiling when the contribu-
ton box came round, and when
the benediction was pronounced
he said "Amen.' When a cam
paign reached white heat no baby
had a face too dirty for him to
kiss, and if it had been good poll
tics to do so, he would have will
ingly kissed the mother. When it
came to running a convention
they all knew how to do that.
Nine-tenths of the men in that
county could preside over a con
vention with credit to themselves
and honor to the people.
That was qrior to the enact
ment of the Australian ballot
law. On election day each voter
took single ballot and voted just
as he pleased. providing the
other fellows let him do so.
Ellis county is one of the
short grass counties. More
than thirty years ago the Rus
slams began settling that county.
While they were farmers and
great wheat growers. they built
little towns and lived in these
towns with their families. They
were Democrats, and Ellis coun
ty was a Democratic county
Many of these Russians could
not read or write English Char
ley Miller, a German, who fo1
1 several years was sheriff of that
county, and Jehn Schlyer, a mar
I who has been noted as a Demo
cratic politician in that county
were the general advisors o-
! these Russians, and told then
| how to vote. 1t, therefore, be
hooved the candidates for office
, to get next to Schlyer and Miller
AS result Schlyer and Miller
: would sometimes get on opposite
sides lowing to- previous arrange
ments) and then the fur would
fly 1t was rumored that thest
two men were quite prosperous
However the Russians caught OF
in few years and demanded
{ that the candidates do bushes:
7 with them direct, and these tw'
2 local advisers lost their job.
Ii 10 l1.4