The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-09-10

( has not established a strong admira-
ton for the Columbus lawyer and a
decided confidence in his integrity.
! There isn't a man in the state who
has tangled with Williams in a law
suit or in political fight who hasn't
come out with most wholesome respect
for his resourcefulness and ability.
So when it was announced from Wash
ington recently that Al F. Williams, of
Columbus. was to become the new dis
trict attorney for Kansas, every man
and woman who knows the fight ing
Cherokee county lawyer smiled in an
ticipation of the things which may
happen in four years.
Does Not Look for Trouble.
Williams was never known to really
look for trouble. Neither was he ever
known to exactly run from it. In fact,
in a lawsuit or political battle he
would much rather fight than sit on
the side lines. No one ever knew
Williams to come out of the fight until
it was firmly and entirely settled,
either.
1t has been Al williams's bull dog
way of staying in the game until the
finish that has won him hundreds of
political friends. This same policy of
doing things has won many lawsuits
and is responsible for the gathering of
several first class legal and political
enemies. There hasn't been a fight in
3
liams hasn't been a positive, outstand-
ing character somewhere in the battle.
, He has won a great many more polit-
icaI fights and lawsuits than he has
lost. But above all he has won ad-
miration and friendships because he
wasn't afraid to fight and didn't quit
once he started. Williams never
4, picked out the popular side of a fight.
i Instead he usually climbed into a fight
/ because somewhere along the line his
friends had been drawn into it and he
J just simply had to take a stack of
chips with them.
Went to Republican Convention.
Five years ago Williams wanted to
! go to the Republican national conven-
ton. He won the election in the state
| convention without trouble. In Chi
cago he voted and yelled for Elihu
! Root from the time the nominating
! speeches began until Justice Hughes
| had won the nomination. Then he
came home and began making
| speeches for the nominee.
In political campaigns Williams has
been one of the strong platform men
| of his party in the state. He was for
| Taft in 1912 and he made a deter
mined fight against the Bull Moosers
when he went over to the Progressive
/ party. When the third party blew up
| Williams was of that rather mild but
determined minority which protested
against rewarding the leadership
whose crew had returned from a sink
| ing ship.
When the pre-convention fight
| came on last year. Williams was one
! of the powers in the organiza ton
which smashed Clyde NJ. Reeds ma
chine in the Third district. Williams
/ went to the state convention at Sa-
lima and to the national convention ir
| Chicago as one of the strong and eff
fective workers for election of D. w
| Mulvane for national committeeman
Several months ago when fedora
patronage came up for consideration
! in Kansas. a. Topeka newspaper mar
wrote a story about Williams as a pos.
sibiIity for the district attorneyship
Promptly a letter came from the Co.
lumbus lawyer. How do you get thai
way" he wrote good-naturedly. ""Tht
only interest I have in politics is tt
help the fellows-our fellows-ge
what they want
Boom Was Under Way.
But the Williams boom was under
way. He received scores of letters
u and a few weeks later agreed to en-