Meade County news., 1914-10-01
ST|RS UP STATE
WITH STARTLING
CAPPER LETTER
S. 7. Seaton Writes Singing
Rebuke to Topeka Candi-
date Publisher.
TELLS OF IMMORAL ADS
IN CAPPER PUBLICATIONS
Political Exposure of personal Guar
anteed' Advertisements Appear.
ing in Topeka Papers and
Magazines.

One OF the most sensational pieces
of correspondence that has passed be
tween Kansas politicians in years is
stirring up party supporters this weeI
in the form of a letter written by S
t. Seaton, the governors pardon clerk
to Arthur Capper, the Topeka pub
Usher and Republican candidate fol
governor.
The Seaton letter, directed at Cap
per because of the latter's public re-
fusal to guarantee Democratic ad
vertisement which appeared in the To
peka Capital of September 21, dis
closes in singing detail the class OF
advertisements carrie by the Capper
publications in recent months and lays
open to ridicule the advertising mat
ter accepted by the Topekan's papers
and magazines in the past.
The Seaton letter in part reads:
Topeka, Sept. %, 1914.
Mr.. Arthur Capper, Topeka, Kas.
Ny Dear Sir: Monday morning.
Sept q, 1914, you published in tbs
Topeka Capital, over my signature, g
political advertisement in the interest
CT Governor Hodges.
Notwithstanding your invitation e.,
tended some time ago, over your ON
signature, offering your columns E..
the governor to make any explanation
he might desire as to matters in viii
he has publicly charged you with mis-
representing him, We discovered thai
your liberality in thPt mater mean
space, at top rate advertising prices.
II am not complaining of that, how.
ever. What want to call your atten-
ton to Is the following statement
which l find in the seventh column,
on page of the same issue of your
paper, to-wit:
THE Topeka Daily Capital has for
years guaranteed the truthfulness of
the advertisements admitted to its
columns. Today for the first time in
it's history the guarantee is waived on
one advertisement The Capital does
not guarantee the accuracy of the
statements made in the advertisement
on page of this mornings paper
Now, my dear Mr. Capper, you were
not asked to guarantee the correctness
Of any statement contained in my ar
ticle. l suppose that no one ever
asked you to guarantee the correct
ness of political advertisement. If
you guaranteed or admitted the cor
rectness of the statements in my ar
ticle you would be admitting your
case away.
l desire to call your especial atten.
tion also to the fact that in the same
issue of your paper you printed po-
litical advertisement for Republican
State Chairman Gafford-who appears
to be your special spokesman in this
campaign. | am only too glad that
your readers have an opportunity OF
reading and comparing the two arti-
cles in the same issue Of your paper.
Most of them will doubtless note the
fact that although Mr.. Gafford ram.
bles through seven columns, he does
not in single instance undertake to
dispute the correctness of my figures,
and nowhere controverts the truthful
ness of a single statement | have
made.
THE real inspiration, however, for
this letter Is not so much the pros
and cons of finance as of 'guaran-
teed advertising Now, Mr.. Capper,
there is nothing immoral in my ar
ticle, nothing intended to deceive or
defraud anyone, and ct you withhold
that sacred guaranty which you
placed upon the advertisement of the
Independent Harvester Company,
whose worthless stock is held by hun
dreds of Kansas farmers today. Tell
me, pray, have you made good the
losses of those who bought stock on
the strength Of your guaranteed ad-
vertisements, and your editorial in
dorsement of that ccmpany's stock as
a good investment?
You refuse your famous guaranty
to my truthful story. although you
gave the sanction of honesty to the
full page advertisement of that Won
derful Chinese Herbalist,' DR.. Lee X.
Chin, who recently plead guilty in a
federal court in California to violating
the federal postal laws, and whose ar.
rest and conviction was brought about
mainly by the advertisement con,
tanned in your paper.
'It was Henry Allen, believe, who
said:
THAT any man should SO far for
get the moral obligations which rest
upon him as to seek to make money
by publications such as these, is sad
beyond expression The jointist has a
better business than his. He strikes
generally at the adult male. The man
who provides a sewer through which
the horde of sharks and patent medi
cine quacks can reach and poison all
members OF the family is a vampire
compared with whom the joint keeper
becomes respectable, The man whose
greed for money leads him into
businss like this, may make an effort
to keep his responsibility by getting
out a publication which makes pre-
tensions to decency; he may even pre-
tend to be a reformer, but he is ar
enemy to society anC no amount o.
sham or hypocrisy will prevent the
public from eventually reaching a Just
conclusion in this case
Verify, Mr., Capper, am glad tina
you have not put your famous guar
anty' upon my article. ! am quite sure
Slso, that there is nothing in it which
Will ever cause anyone to call you
human vampire.
"Yours very truly,
IS. T. SEAToN-