The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1876-12-21
From the Walnut Valley Times.
The United States Senstcrship.

tant positions of honor and trust in the
gift of the people, in advance of the
action of Legislatures and conventions.
1t has rather been our policy to come
cut in advance and advocate the claims
of those men who, in our Judgment,
are best capable of filling our high Of
fees, liz doing this we are enabled TO
bring out an expression of the people
with whom we associate and come III
contact, and also to secure the active
support of those who would otherwise
remain silent. We go on the principle
that in supporting men for office, it is
always better to come out and take o
bold stand, rather than wait and see
what others are going to do. If a
thing is worth having, it is worth fight
ing for.
Our readers are well aware that the
next State Legislature will be called
upon TO elect a United States Senator
in place of James NJ. Harvey, whose
term of office expires next March.
Senator Harvey is candidate for re-
election. A dozen prominent men have
been mentioned in connection with this
position, and at least half dozen will
be actual candidates before the Legis-
rogatory TO the character of any of
them. Senator Harvey is an honorable
honest and capable man and makes u
good Senator, and if reelected will
make faithful officer. But the office
of Senator is prize to be won; to
which, under our form of government
all men have right TO become COM
petitors. Senator Harvey has been
honored above all men of our State
Twice Governor, and now Senator, his
most devoted friends cannot claim that
he has not been fully repaid for his dis
tinguished services to the party and to
the State.
Taking the broad grounds that the
very best man in the State ought to be
selected for this high and honorable
position, we are perfectly free to say
that in our best Judgment Col. Z. b.
Plumb, of Emporia, is that man and
in making this assertion we are ready
and willing to give our reasons for it.
In the first place, Col. Plumb has the
ability, energy and courage to make
United States Senator who would be
an honor to the State and credit TO
that learned and dignified body. Com
ing to Kansas in 1857, nearly twenty
years ago, a young man, full of life,en
ergy and hope for the welfare of the
then Territority of Kansas, he has
from that hour to this devoted much
of his time to the development of our
commonwealth. Like the majority of
us, he came here a poor man. For
years he devoted himself to the up
building of Emporia and the ''Great
n A 10 nd a n M
he was always burdened with work for
which he received but little pay. AL
ways ready and willing, his services
were in constant demand by the peo-
pie with whom he was identified. Kan
sas having been admitted as Stated he
was one of the first to advocace those
measures which have proven SO benefi-
cial to our people. With but few coun-
ties organized, with no railroad COM
munication whatever, he was the first
to take active measures to secure to
Kansas her splendid system of rail-
roads which has contributed so much
to the development of our material re-
sources. His master mind whether
exercised in the State Legislature, or
ia political conventions, was always in
the advance. Our State constitution,
and laws, our magnificent public school
system, our public institutions and the
whole fabric of our State government,
bears the impress of his superior in
tellect And to him, as much as to any
other man in the State, are the people
of Kansas indebted for the splendid
political and commercial standing that
our State so proudly holds to-day.
Entering the army in 1862, as Cap
tain of company c, 18th Kansas Cav
airy, he came out in 1865, in command
of his regiment, with all the honors of
a brave and popular soldier.
When the war closed he was still
poor man. Returning to Emporia, he
turned his attention to the practice of
his profession. Feeling assured that
our young State was on the high road
to prosperity, he felt justified in turn
ing his attention to his own private af-
fairs, and W lille at no time neglecting
the interests of the people with whom
he lived, his attention was more espe-
cially devoted to his own private af-
fairs. Successful in everything else, he
was of course not long in accumulat-
ing large amount of property. Ten
years of close application to business
has made him comparatively rich
man.
But the people Of this portion of the
State, at least, are not willing that his
splendid abilities should be circum-
scribed by an enforced routine of bust
ness. Three years ago they insisted
that he should be candidate for the
Senate; and only few months ago he
could have been almost unanimously
nominated for Congress from this dis
trict; while to day he has the almost
solid support of this entire district for
the United States Senate, not consider
ing the many friends and supporters
that he has all over the State.
Laying aside the just claims of the |
Southwest to this honorable position
at this time, we certainly think the |
next Legislature can perform no more |
honorable act than to concede to this |
Congressional District the next Sena-
tor, and they can certainly feel justified |
in endorsing the candidate who is so |
unanimously supported at home.
When we consider that for the past |
sixteen years, or ever since our State |
was organized, all the Senators, all the |
Governors, all the Congressmen-with |
OuC I'LL tlic I'LL
portant State officers, have been uni
formly selected from the extreme
northern and eastern portions of our
State, and that at no time i'm our histo-
ry has this portion of Kansas been hon
ored with any important office. save
the one exception of Congressman for
two years. And when we further con-
slider that this portion of the State is
comparatively new, and needs the d.
rect and constant services of man in
the National Legislature who thor
oughly understands our wants, and
who has the ability to obtain such leg
islation for us as will place us on an
equal footing with the older settled
counties, we think we ought to secure
from the State at large that respectful
which the Importance of
the situation demands.
Having personally known Col. Plumb
for the past seventeen years, and hav-
ing faith i'll his honesty, integrity, and
ability to faithfully represent this
State in the United States Senate, and
moving full well that he will secure
the almost unanimous support of the
of the Legislature from this
Congressional District, and believing
him to be the choice of the whole peo-
pie of the "great Southwest" for that