The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-16

fuse an invitation to Hon. James Wat
son of Indiana, and finally that used
$4,000 of the clubs funds in postage.
kilograms and telephone calls in my
effort to pack the meeting for Gov
ernor Stubs. These are the conclu-
sions the Journal correspondent has
drawn from my statement of .expendi-
lures, which L presume was furnished
him by one of the new. officers of the
club. They are not only very unfair,
but are wholly false.
After President Waters had been
decided on as a speaker, was in
Structed to invite him by a majority
of the executive committee of the
club, in spite of the statements as to
his politics made by the Kansas City
Journal. I waited until could see
away the disagreeable impression the
Journal tried to give, and 1 met him
in the governors office, and rendered
him the invitation. AS to Mr. Whed-
on. seven other men were invited be-
fore his name was considered, and
bers of the executive committee of the
club. we invited him because we
thought he was the best and most
available outside speaker we could
get. Subsequent events have not al
tered that opinion. Mr.. Watson was
far down in the list of speakers, and
as our time was limited, we did not
invite him. However, I think some
one invited him. without authority
from the club, for about week be-
fore the banquet, a Topeka politician,
a federal office holder called on me
and urged me to wire Mr.. Watson at
once. He stated that he was sure the
gentleman had no previous engage
ment, and assured me that the club
would not have to bear one cent of
the expense of bringing him here.
Congressman McKinlay was invited at
the urgent Geographic request of
fEr,vrr D rI-<.
ed me McKinlay's speaking dates in
Missouri, and who also obtained the
consent of the national committee to
change of date from Missouri,
where he was needed badly, to Kan
sas, where he was needed worse, by
the stand-patters.
Zone thousand invitations were
sent to former members of the club,
to state senators and representatives,
to postmasters, and to the Republican
name and address. One of the Kan
sas City Journal correspondents gave
me few names himself. 1 sent in
vitatfons to Sam Fitzpatrick. Bill
Hackney and Col. J. H. Richards At
the request of Col. Richards. also
sent invitations to two Missouri Pa
cific officials at st. Louis. The Jour
nal correspondent knows this, for it
was through him that Col. Richards
made this request. David Leahy, the
me a few names of Wichita Republi-
cans to whom invitations were sent,
including Judge Wilson, who intro
duced the Taft resolution that Hack
ney spoke in favor of.
LAS to the postage bill, etc. will
only say that aside from $1,000 spent
for postage on the invitations men
toned above, not one cent was spent
for postage, for kilograms, or tele-
phone calls, that had anything to do,
in any way, with the sale or purchase
of tickets, or with an effort to pack
the meeting for any particular faction
of the Republican party. I had con-
siderable correspondence with the
speakers. with the other members of
the executive committee, and with all
the candidates for state and congress
sional offices, about fifty in number,
and with the Kansas representatives
in Washington. to each of whom I
sent an invitation and a request for
an expression of their candidacy for
denomination. My only effort and de-
sire in the month or so preceding the
banquet was to arouse interest and
get a large attendance. worked
hard and earnestly along that line,
with some degree of success. and am
inclined to resent any unjust criti-
ciSm."