Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-12-13

Umbilical Cord That Gives Life to
That Section-shall the Finger of
Scorn ANY Longer Be Pointed at
the Northwest.
[From the Capital-Commonwealth.]
In the issue of the Capital Common.
wealth of November Goth, | find the
following:
Hon. J. r. Burton was down from
Abilene yesterday. He is candidate
for Speaker of the House of Represen-
tatives and says he has already been
assured of the support of number of
members.
l desire to call attention to this, and
similar statements going the rounds of
the press in this State, and say thai
am not now and have not been at any
time candidate for Speaker of the
next House. and under no circum-
stances will / become a candidate for
that position. The foregoing publica-
ton was wholly unwarranted, as well
as every like statement that has been
made. l have invariably stated to
friends who have spoken to me upon
this subject, and have written in reply
to twenty-one letters from as many
members, each rendering me his sup
port, that II do not want to be Speaker
myself, but that do want to support
some other gentleman for that position
who comes from the Northwest" l
am of that mind now. My reasons are
many, and, if you will give me space,
will venture to mention few of them.
The State Journal, an evening paper
published in Topeka, in its issue three
or four days after the election, and in
very complimentary notice about
Hon. Henry Booth, of Larned, stated
among other things, THAT the politi-
clans have decided to make Capt.
Booth Speaker"
1t was plain statement, somewhat
blunt, but very candid. 1t was the
truth. Every man in the State who
has kept himself fairly well informed
upon the subject of politics knows full
well that a number of the old-line poll
ticians of Kansas arranged last sum-
mer for Capt. Booth to be Speaker.
Waving the question of the right or
propriety of the politicians mean
the professional slate-makers of the
State-to decide in advance just what
the one hundred and twenty-five mem
berS shall do about the selection of
their presiding offices, there are other
reasons why it is not right that the
Speaker of the next House should come
from the Southwest. Unless, indeed,
the lower House in its next session, in
the language of Hon. Webb McNaull,
will be ready to adjourn so soon as
the Arkansas Valley gets all it wants"
1t would seem that that section of
the State is fairly well provided for
already. 1t has United States Stna-
tor, who is asking reelection, and he
will get it; it has the Attorney General
elect: it has the State Treasurer; it
has the Secretary of State; it has the
Auditor Of State; it had two of the
four delegates at large to the National
convention last summer; it bad the
Chairman of the last Republican State
convention; it had the Chairman Of
The Republican State Central commit
zee; il hes tie Secretary of that COM
mirtee; aud by reason of the ''magniti-
cent generalship" of these officers, this
same Chairman is to be made Speaker
and then, and this same Secre-
tary is to be made Chief Clerk, while
the same section of the State is to have.
according to the plans of these same
slate-makers, the District Attorney
ship, the United States Marshal's office,
and, in short, everything else in sight.
The Northwest, comprising the Fifth
and Sixth Congressional districts, has
Judge of the Supreme Court, men,
Der of the Supreme Court Commission,
the Secretary of the State Board of
Agriculture and the Superintendent of
Public Instruction-elect.
The great Southwest is not to be con-
demned by reason of her good fortune.
That section of the State israther to be
complimented for its wisdom. The
people there stand together. This idea
put into practice, of pulling together in
politics, as well as in business, has done
very much towards the marvellous de-
velopment of the Arkansas Valley. l
know it is said that the Santa Fe Rail-
way Company has greatly aided that
section. This perhaps is true; but it
has helped the Southwest politically
quite as much as it has commercially.
1t must be borne in mind that among
the chartered privileges of this corpor-
alton, as construed by its officers, is the
right of taking hand in politics, and
it seldom neg,ects to exercise that
right and greatly to the advantage of
the territory adjacent toits lines. The
Southwest stood together and snatched
the s.Reformatoryn from Minneapolis
and located it at Hutchinson; that sec