The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1918-09-19
MORE ABOUT PROSECUTION
AND PERSECUTION


article under the heading "Prosecu-
tion VS. Persecution" two weeks ago
we had not the slightest idea that be-
cause of it we would come in for a
personal attack at the hands of the
News, and we were considerably sur
prised that such was the case.
We had understood that the News
was friendly to Mr.. Holland, and
was about of the same opinion as
ourself, and accordingly called on
the editor of that paper and talked
with him on the subject. We made no
secret of the fact that we thought
Mr.. Light was acting ill advisedly in
the case and that we intended to
land on him. To everything we said
the News man seemed to agree, and
never uttered a word in opposition
or made a single argument against,
and his words led us to believe that
he would also come out with an
article along the same line.
However the fact that he has seen
fit to take the other side means moth
ing to this writer. We believed it
our patriotic duty to defend Mr..
Holland and should every paper in
Western Kansas come out adversely
it would make no difference with us.
We have said what we believed to be
the truth, and given the facts as we
found them, and we have nothing to
retract, nothing on which to back up
and nothing for which we feel that
we owe an apology to the News, Mr..
Light or old disloyal Oldham. We
are standing squarely where we took
our stand, and the cry of "stop thief"
disguised as "politics" cannot fright
en- us or swerve us from our purpose
in defending loyal citizen as against
proven disloyal man, and county
attorney who for some unknown rea-
son has arisen to keen sense of
"duty."
We detest newspaper fights and
have no desire to engage in one at
this time, but since we have been at
tackled and charged with many differ
ent brands of crime, we feel that it
is only fair that we should be allowed
to refute the charges brought against
us.
The first positive statement of the
News after bringing out its collec-
ton of big words, Piute Indians and
buzzards, which it keeps for such
occasions, was that our article was in
spired wholly by politics.
There could be nothing further
from the truth than this. Had we
wished to have made fight for po-
htical reasons we had-a much better
opportunity before this. The News
knew this statement was untrue.
The editor knows us well enough DO
know that we have never used such
methods in political campaign, and
that we have always stood for clean
politics. The Republicans in this
country who have known us a great
deal longer than the News man know
that we have never been radical in
political way. 1t may not be gener-
ally known that we used our influ-
ence that no candidate be brought
out for County Clerk and County
Treasurer this year, but such is the
fact, and we made no secret of the
fact that we would like to see all the
county officers go through without
opposition and save the time and ex-
pense of a campaign, and could we
have had our way, this is the way it
would have been. Those who know
us and know how we feel about poll
tics in county offices know that there
was something more than politics in
our attack on Mr.. Light.
All through the article the News
seeks to befog the situation. The
article reads as though Holland, be-
coming angry at Oldham, sneaked up
behind him and shot him in the back,
and that the sale of War Savings
Stamps had nothing to do with the
case-just a little personal quarrel,
in which the public had no interest
other than that the perpetrator of the
crime be punished.
Now anyone who knows Quincy
Holland knows better than that. The
News cannot get away with that kind
of dope, for we have talked to many
of Hollands neighbors, and mighty
good Republicans, too, who are with
Holland from the word go, and many
of the best and most substantial bus
Mess men of Liberal, who have known
him for years, and know that he is
not that kind of a cheap criminal.
The News knew it was doing Hol-
land an injustice, but that paper,
while talking about "politics" in the
Democrat, makes no secret of the
fact that it is ready and willing to
support any nominee on the Repub-
lican ticket, regardless of who or
what, and thereby leads one to be-
lieve that a man who is fortunate
enough to be Republican can do no
wrong.
According to that article one would
be led to think that Holland sought
to punish Oldham for making dis
loyal statements. The truth Of the
matter, that Oldham had threatened
to kill Holland and he believed he
would make his threat good when he
started at him, does not enter into the
case, according to the News.
And another version as stated by
that paper would be that Holland and
the men on the ranch conspired to
get Oldham out Of the way, so framed
up and took him out and shot him.
What preposterous proposition to
even hint at. What crimes some
- = Il H~ll N