The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-25

in Colby, in May, 1890, will recall the
doings and the result of the work of
that convention Ghe active candidates
in that convention were E. ]. Turner,
of Sheridan county. who was seeking
a denomination. Lew Hanback,, of
Osborne county. who had served two
terms in congress, John F. Hamilton,
of Norton county, and Webb McNall,
of Smith county. Turner and his
friends were confident he was going
to win the nomination. He said to
your correspondent at midnight before
the nomination was made that after
giving the opposition all they asked
for he could then win easily He gave
them too much, and in the appoint
ment of the credentials committee the
majority were anti-Turner. The OPP
position had learned that in order to
defeat Turner some of the regular
elected Turner delegates must be I'M
seated, and this the credentials COM
mittee acquiesced in. The regular
elected delegates from Sherman county
were contested the week of the con-
vention, and their places given to anti
Turner men. At this the regular dele
gates gave Up their seats draped them
in black, and as they left the hall one
Of them addressing the convention
said: IF we can't get justice here
we will at the polls" Contests were
also held in Mitchell, Cove. Wallace.
Rocks ard Logan counties. The ma
chinery of the convention was anti
Turner The committee was more
fair with Mitchell county. for it al
lowed the delegates one-half vote
each. OF the contests in Cove and
Sherman counties the Beloit Courier
whose editor. Maj. w. H. Caldwell,
was a delegate, said in his paper:
I'm the contests in these two counties
the evidence is SO overwhelmingly
against the committee thatNthey didn't
have the moral courage to even try
to defend their report" Again. the
Courier said in another issue: IF the
methods adopted and carried out in
the Colby convention are Republican
we never was and never will be a Re
publican" There was 50 ballots cast
McNall winning on the final one. For
several issues of his paper the Courier
refused to carry the full COMPRESSION
al ticket at the head of the editorial
page, but did give space to one-half
For a time the paper refused to hoist
the name at all. but a month or two
before the election that paper hoisted
the name of Webb McNall. for con-
gress. From the time of adjournment
of the convention the Populist party
ton that party swept the platter
clean, and McNall was beaten by a
big vote by Vim. Baker, of Lincoln
county, the vote standing: McNall,
lz,1JOg ana w. ttJs III the
election McNan carried only Cove
county out OF the % in the district,
by, a vote of 272 and Baker received
243 votes. There was a tie in Thomas
county, each candidate receiving ESQ
votes. In the same election Tully
Scott, Democrat, received 29S scat
tering votes. The same year the Re
publican state ticket was elected
Humphrey for governor, receiving
115,025 votes; Willis, Populist, 1906
972, and Robinson, Democrat, 1851.
The result of this Colby convention
helped to recruit the Populist organ
ization as it helped to bring about
the Kansas primary law. There was
enough beer and whisky consumed in
Colby during the week of that con-
vention, which, if it could have been
dumped into the gutter, would have
floated a steamer. The writer of
Sixth district items was a looker-on
at this convention. OF the four con-
testants seeking the nomination, Ham
ilton, Hanback, and McNall are dead,
and Turner is living on the Pacific
coast. This item is only reminiscent,
and will show the old convention way
of doing things.
Jennings is the second town of i'm
portance in Decatur county. There
was no town of that name until the
building of the Rock Island road thru
office named Slab City, which old pio-
neers will remember, when they were
on their way to- take up HON esteads.
Warren Jennings, after whom Jen-
nings was famed, was the first post
master He was succeeded by his
daughter Mrs. John Green, who re-
tanned the office until the election of
Cleveland as president. Politics COM
menced to play a part, and John
Squires, confederate soldier, was
appointed. Those who knew him best
often spoke of him as a grand old man, |
who kept the office on his homestead |
a few miles from where Jennings |
now is. When the administration |
changed, and Harrison was elected |
president, D. J. Barnett, Republican, |
was appointed, serving four years. I
Cleveland was again elected four years |
later and Squires was again appointed, |
holding the office for another four
years. When Mckinley was elected |
Geo. W. Shook, editor of the Echo, |
was appointed and served eight |
years. E. ]. Taylor, an old soldier. !
succeeded Shook, and held it four
years, or until he died. His daughter
succeeded him. While in office she !
married, her brother, c. A. Taylor, |
succeeding her, President Wilson's ad- !
ministration came in, and he was sue |
ceeded by Miss Lottie BoulPs, and |
after holding it four years she re-
signed in favor of Mrs. Osburn. |
Democrat. in 1921 another change
was made, and the office is now con- i
Quoted by a Civil war veteran, and a |
Republican. Since Slab City went out l
of existence Jennings has built up and |
prospered.
Your correspondent met H. A. |
Spiher, of Cove City, in Topeka this |
week. He was attending the Masonic |
meetings He is a Democrat, and staid |
over SO Cove county would have a |
representation in the state meetings, !
February q. Spiher was one of the /
early timers to that county, locating in
Cove City in 1885. That year he built
the court house, which was the sec
ond building erected on the townsite.
The town company had been organ
lied with H. H. Benson, president, and
NJ. J. Jones, secretary. The company
had some wealth. there being