The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-05
Harvey ParsOns's Blue Coated
Army ROuts the Enemy.
Burns His Quarters and De-
stroys Camp Equipage.
WAS GREATLY OUTNUMBERED
Victory Due to Superior Arms
and Equipment.
Retreating Cohorts Flee To-
ward the Setting Sun.

Topeka police and detectives
wrecked, pillaged and burned a town
yesterday afternoon.
They drove the inha bitants out at
the point of guns burned their resi-
dences and piled up their cooking
utensils and shot them full of holes
The only thing the fleeing popua-
ton was allowed to carry away was
provisions.
The police wrecked "bum town"
Yesterday. 1t is still early in the sea-
son but bum town" already had a
population of forty persons, all men or
wrecks of men. In few more days
the population would have increased
to 100 or more. Later than this last
spring it had population of IOO When
the police raided it.
Between the river and the Rock Is
land tracks. west of City park, is the
favorite camping place for the itin-
Grants who pass through Topeka in the
spring and again in the fall. 1t is
pleasant place with plenty of shade
and near to water The buns make
| a prolonged stay if given the oppor-
tunity, something they are going to
lack this year.
Reports have been coming in to
Harvey Parsons, chief of police, for
several days about the increasing pop
|
ernoon he picked up all the pare men
! he could find and started for the city
| limits.
| The first bunch of buns they locat-
| ed had just completed their week S
washing and had it scattered around
| over the willows. They had comfort
able quarters fixed up-a regular
house made out of grain doors, tin and
| brush. They had an assorted collec-
| ton of cooking utensils and plenty to
! eat.
| Told Them to Beat 1t.
| "CIear out" shouted Parsons, beat
| it,
| The members of the I'VE Won't
Work" order gathered in their wash
| ing and beat it, The police touched
a match TO the rude house and
watched it blaze. Then they piled the
deserted pans and kettles up and
amused themselves by making sleeves
| of all of them.
+ Il guess the next bunch of buns
will have hard work making any of
those pans hold water said S. A.
I Abbott.
| The police found the same condi-
/ lions all along the river bank. They
/ burned all the shacks and shot holes
in all the tinware.s- They herded the
4 buns ahead of them to the railroad
track and told them to follow the sun.
/ No Stop for Eats.
! lone crippled fellow" said Parsons
! picked up the meal he was cooking
coffee pot and all, and carried it off
| Every hundred feet or so he started
/ to sit down to drink his coffee and
eat his lunch. Every time he started
to sit down some policeman would yell
and he'd bob up again and hurry on
I He carried all that grub and coffee
clear out of sight and that's abou,
f. three miles,
The men chased out of town were OF
every description and every one who
| talked at all declared he was hunting
| work.
/ Yes" said one of the policemen tc
a spokesman, Il suppose you're look
ing for work in the harvest fields, and
| this fall when you come back through
you'll be looking for a job planting
| corn. Beat it,
And the motley crowd beat it to.
wards the setting sun. Mcfarland is
the next stop.