The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-03-11
BANDIT RUNS
FOR GOVERNOR.
Al Jennings Who Served Ten Years
In the Pen, ls Can
dldate In Okla
homa.
IS ONE OF SEVEN
Platform is the Shortest Of All and
His Campaign Will
be Hot
One.
s ONE OF SEVEN

& OKLAHOMA CITY, March IL
Announcing his platform in a state
ment that takes up barely ten lines
of single column printed matter, AL j.
Jennings, former head of the famous
Jennings gang of Indian territory out
laws, is taking first place among the
seven men who have already formally
entered the race for the democratic
nomination for governor of Oklahoma,
Jennings is being bitterly fought by
the so-called democratic machine. His
race, barely begun, promises to be one
of the most spectacular ever seen,
even In the politics-ridden state OF
Oklahoma.
The other candidates include a
Judge of the supreme court, Robert j.
Williams OF Durant; supreme court
commissioner, Judge J. B. A. Robert
son of Chandler; an attorney general,
Charles West of Enid; q secretary Of
state, Ben +. Harrison of Calvin; a.
state treasurer, r. l.. Dunlap of New
kirk; and ranchman-banker F. b.
Herring of Elk City. Rumor has 1t
that former governor and a United
States congressman may also decide
to enter the race.
Jennings says he is certain 10 win.
He believes as firmly as it is possible
for any man to believe anything that
he will be the next governor Of the
state where thirty years ago there
was price on his body, dead or alive,
In the last election Of Oklahoma
county, he ram for prosecuting attor-
ney. He secured the nomination on
the democratic ticket and lost the
election by only five hundred votes
with $4,000 cast. Jennings says tho
thigh up" criminals and the election
judges stole the Office from him. How
ever that may be, it Is evident that
the other candidates fear him above
any other one man. On returning
from the penitentiary, he renewed his
studies in law, was given back his
citizenship by President Roosevelt
and he has made good ip the profess
sion in big way. His enemies have
been unable to produce evidence that
he has not lived a straight life since
he was pardoned from the peniten,
tiary.
A year ago he had a suite of rooms
in the State National bank building at
Oklahoma City. He had an income of
| So 900 a year. He was one of the
leading criminal lawyers Of the state
with all the business he could attend
| to. Clients came to him from all parts
of Oklahoma. Today he has two little
dark rooms in the back of an obscure
old brick building on North Broad
way. His neighbors are second rate
dentists and dressmakers. A creaky
old stairway leads the way from the
street to his office door, on which in
small letters is the sign "Al j. Jen-
nings." He has quit his law prac-
tice. He says man can't be exactly
on the square and practice law. Then,
It will take all his time to attend to
the coming campaign.
| Already the candidate has begun to
speak to the people of the state on
the race.
I'm going to visit every county In
/ Oklahoma and as many of the towns
las possible. The newspa pers won't
give me square deal. The largest
daily in the state and quarter OF
4 the smaller ones have been subsi
died by the men who will break the
law by spending more than $4,000 AL
lowed them to pay the expenses of the
race. If / should walk into the Office
of most OF them and offer them $25
they would support me just as zeal
ously as they are now supporting
some one else.
i But there are two reasons why
4 do not do this. In the first place,
/ haven't got the money, and in the
i second ] won't place myself on the
4 low plane of the men who get office
by buying themselves In.
THE old outlaw days that l have
: been trying so hard for the past fiji
teen years to forget were uncourn
they were sometimes savage ano
sometimes even murderous. But those
1 men were men, They never lied
There is no comparison between the
old outlaws who openly broke the law
and the public official who perjures
himself by swearing falsely to the
amount Of his election expenses.
"These men are criminals just the
same as the admitted outlaws who
are in Jail now. They are rarely worse
for they parade in Sleeps clothing.'
The question of raising the $4,000
right now for the expense money i
not an easy one. True, Jennings soor
will have good income from stories
and books but he has debts to NEE
and he says he never expects to bt
more than comfortably well off.
He is already announcing his plat