Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1913-08-07
INVESTIGA-
T1ON---ROT!
Neeley Makes Feeble Effort
To Square Himself

One OF the IOLLeuSSt, mOol
dishonest and underhanded deals
ever perpetrated by men who
call themselves gentlemen, has
blackened the pages of the po-
lltical history of Meade, and
! is none other than the Meade
Post-ofice controversy and
nothing short of political steal.
Every one in Meade county is
aware of the fact that there
were four candidates for the
Meade post Office; that these
candidates were: ]. S. Price,
Tom Johnston w. w. Simpson,
and myself; that on March 31st
Mr.. Neeley wrote me:
"After due consideration of all the
different phases in the matter, have decid-
ed to recommend your appointment as post
mistress at Meade, subject to the confirm
alton of the Senate, etc.,
And that on April 9th, after, as
rumor has it, Neeley's politi-
cal boss, Sam Gray ybill, went to
Washington and told Mr.. Nee
ley that he had to give the post
afice to the Johnstons, that he
wired me the following message:
''Charges preferred you have en-
ployed Mr.. Sullivan to procure appointment
as postmstress for compensation and that he
solicited support for Finley for Congress
impel me hold up your appointment.
That when Mr.. Neeley was
asked who made the charges
that he wrote:
Yours of the 9th
instant relative to the Meade Post Office Just
received, apd in reply the charges preferred
against you were charges made by DR.. Fee
and are not of personal, but purely polit-
ical nature. note your statement upon your
honor, that you have not employed Mr..
Sullivan and have not promised directly or
indirectly 10 give him any compensation
whatsoever for his services, and your further
statement thatthe charges relative to his
supporting Finley are untrue. You may be
sure that will give your statement the Gre
dence IFS solemnity entities it to. In keep
ing with my past action in this matter,
shall endeavor TO be absolutely fair, but in
asmuch as they have made charges desire to
give them an opportunity to prove them. If
they fail to prove their charges, the fact of
their making them will do very little good. >"
Thanking you for your communication,
and assuring you that the matter will remain
as it is until everybody has had fair hear
ing, beg to remain
And that Mr.. Neeley admitted
that he had no record of the
charges and that he didn't know
who made them when he wrote:
Replying to yours of
the 25th ultimo, relative 10 the charges pre-
ferred against you, have recently been ad-
yised by Mr.. Tally of Meade that the charg-
es )were not preferred by DR.. Fee but by DR..
Simpson. My informant before stated that
DIR. Fee was the instigator of the matter, but
the later statement corrects that.
Hoping this will clear the matter up,
beg TO remain"
Everyone knows that Mildred
Johnston was not brought out as
candidate until her father had
been defeated. Meade Tamm-
any deny that they brought her
out, so either Neeley or his po-
litical boss is responsible. Mr..
Neeley has been cautious, lest
he explain this step IN the
scheme, which is evidence that
he must have been party to it.
Had Mr.. Neeley been unaware
of the campaign tactics of Meade
Tammany, he might be excused,
but he knew he was dealing with
a bipartisan ring, composed of
a few for-reyenue-only democrts
ahd a few republicans, one or
two of whom get under cover
and from there dictate, and fur
nIsh the brains for carrying out
Tammany's schemes; he KNEW
this, and his recent actions have
placed him on par with them.