It won't be easy to get into the 3.1 machine, especially if it doesn't have an ethernet card, but it's possible. Some of those old desktops have an infrared port, which a lot of modern laptops have as well. Something to look for at least.
I don't know how damage to the monitor plug could prevent the keyboard from working, but I think the first step I'd take in that situation is to open up the case and reseat everything just in case. Most PCs won't boot up without a keyboard detected unless they've been set up specifically to allow it. Were these machines used for some kind of kiosk type service, with the keyboard locked out for security?
If that's the case you're going to have trouble accessing the bios to change the setting. The best way would be to find the bios reset jumper on your motherboard, but to do that you have to know the board's maker and find their website or a diagram of the motherboard (Or just be familiar with the mb type).
In any case, once you can type (Or have a compromise system you can live with, like copy/pasting from old documents) you can use a VNC based application like this (free) one:
http://www.tightvnc.com/
...to set up virtual control of your '98 machine. It's really easy to share files between '98 and XP so you can push the necessary software over to the '98 box, but to get VNC up and running without a keyboard is going to be tough. I've used TightVNC a few times, and it's functional but it's not exactly feature-iffic. Here's one with more features (And 3.1 support) but after a trial period it costs money, probably not what you're looking for:
http://www.netsupportmanager.com/downloads.asp
The 'key' will be getting the keyboards back working.
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