The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-08-07
RAMSEY IS ANGRY
Sanitary Sergeant Declares War
on s'MySteriOuS Stranger"
j. Will Kelley acd ID. A. Els
worth as PeacemakerS.

War has been declared between D.
A. Ellsworth, editor of the Kansas
Teacher, and j. A Ramsey, city SAM
tary sergeant. j. Will Kelley, secre-
tary CT the Topeka Commercial club,
attempted to act as an intermediary
OF peace, and failed, and now 1t is war
TO the h1lt or to the very last word in
an exchange of notes or whatever it
is which is the extreme utmost in
modern warfare
Anyway the guardian of the city's
health and loyal knight valiant in de-
Tense of TOpeka's fair name, and the
guardian of the Kansas state teachers
have claShed.
Floyd B. Lee, the mysterious
stranger" whose Homeric wanderings
in strange cities in the state of Kansas
in search of undesirable places and
conditions were exploited in some
newspapers, is the cause of the trou-
BILE.
Lee took some pictures in Topeka.
Ramsey claims he failed to find con-
ditions sufficiently bad in Topeka to
serve his purpose and for this reason
resorted to the eXpedient of doctor
ing his scenes to make them appear
as bad as possible. To be exact Ram
sey names the date, place and manner
in which he alleges the late DR.. COOK
stranger in his Topeka explorations
The sanitary sergeant made these
allegations in formal charges against
Lee presented to the three members
of the state board of adminiStra ton of
education. He claims that Lee went
to the home of a co1ored washerwo-
man in the east part of the city while
the woman was away. The washer
womans home was located on the
banks of the Shunganunga. The creek
had flooded the place just a week be-
fore. The week before that the
woman's husband had died after a
long illness
Condition Misrepresented.
lie nd G h
tub to keep the colored woman busy
she had little time for landscape gar
dening and what Lee found was not
very pretty to look upon Driftwood
But Ramsey makes no complaint
about conditions actually found there
He is ''riled' because he says Lee in
duced a small colored boy 20 permit
the crown CT his straw hat to be torn
out by the investigator and that the
man then thrust the b-im down over
the boys head and around his neck
and caused him to pose as part OF
the conditions" the stranger had
discovered.
Ramsey made the complaint to the
state board because he was informed
that Lee had been engaged to teacn
at the Hays State Normal. He con
tends that a man who misrepresents
things should not be employed to in
struct the youth of the state.
Ramsey's charges evidently are re-
ceiVing attention.
Thursday afternoon Ellsworth tele-
phoned to Ramsey. Ramsey says
Ellsworth wanted the charges with
drawn.
81 refused and then Ellsworth
threatened me- says Ramsey
Just wait until the next issue of the
State Teacher comes out and 1 will
have fifteen thousand teachers on
your back" Ramsey says Ellsworth
told him.
Il told him I had been a member
of the Kansas State Teachers asso-
citation as long as any person in the
state says Ramsey, land told him L
was taking his paper, not because
want to, but because since he became
editor every member of the asSOcia-'
ton is compelled to pay him fifty
cents to retain membership. l also
told him he was in a poor position to
start a fight when practically every
page of his paper is devoted to OPP
position to the state law providing un-
iformity of text books"
Ramsey also says he said other
things.
J. Will Kelley, secretary of the
Commercial club, telephoned to Ram
sey apparently in the interest of har-
mony. Kelley received a hot retort.
This man Lee has deliberately mis-
and slandered our city
the city which pays you living-and
instead of interceding for this man
you should be taking steps to have the
false impressions corrected, said
Ramsey