The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-03-27
Prentis on Kansas Takers.


Noble L. Prints in the Kansas City
Star gossips in his inimitable way about
Kansas takers. He SAYS:
The ''old Kansas man" meaning one
who lived in Kansas during the terri
torial period. is always ready to talk of
those times. and his heart warns if he
finds that he has met up with some
body who has in time heard old Jim
/ speak. The decOrous and fastidiOus
east may need to be informed that by
"Old Jim Is meant the late Hon. James
| Fl. Lane. United States senator from
! Kansas. and that General Lanes col
league was commonly spoken of as ''Oid
/ Pom" by the Kansas multitude. When
! MIR John L. Waller Of kans2s arrives at
Tamatave. in the island of Madagascar.
! he will find a Kansas man there ready
! to entertain him with some remini5-
tcences Of 'Old jim"
It will b. observed that the Kansas
man usually prefers TO discuss men
rather than principles. For some
months prior to the month Of NOverC-
. Der last the Kansas mau was prone to
J talk to everybody from the ear Of
( Russia to the crossing sweeper about
/ the senatorial situation in Kansas.
( but he never spoke Of pOliticS. or par
/ ties or principles, but from the SOudan
+ to Stanton county. Kan. he inquired.
/ How about Ingalls," This was the
( ice breaker. the whistle, the bell to
start. and with this text two or more
kansans could go on Unfortunately.
! One thing that helps kansan as a
tcOnversatiOnalist is that even if he fails
/ to meet a cOuntryman he can hardly
/ fail to meet somebody who knows some
thing about Kansas. On the ID day Of
! May. 1881. the writer was in Macon.
/ Ga. and a Georgian said to him: This
/ is the day the prohibition law takes ef-
/ feet in Kansas
/ This establishment Of new political
/ society in Kansas has given the Kansas
7 talker wider field than ever. The al
! lance is a talking school. \ deaf and
dumb man could get along in the ALI
ance. The extent and carefulness OF
/ the jaw-training is now being illustrat-
! ed in the legislature. At first the
| triumph of the alliance was so over
whelming that the republican talker
was. 50 to speak. swept from his
I feet. and he began to assume
the sombar cOuntenance and
gravity of conversation when he con-
versed( spoken of by Mr.. ingalls,, but
he is now recovering his wind. Far
transcending a contest between two
swapping turtles is the battle royal
when Kausan of the odd party" and
Kansas alliance man meet. On the
train the row is good for 100 mil
Both jump promptly into the ring a.
shake hands; both resolve that the
will not get mad. Then the peol D..
who have been trying to sleep give it
up. The alliance man begins by stating
that old things have passed away, and
that the people with a big p are in
! the saddle for reform. His opponent
counters by saying that it is gay old
reform which begins by digging up for
| its leaders some of the worst wind
broken, saddle-galled. ewe-necked. rat
tailed old hacks that have ever been
turned out by the roadside to die.
Then follows a discussion on the per
capita circulation. the ''old party fix
ing it at so and his enemy declaring
| that there is no circulation at all and
that the country is becoming too poor
to have a per capita. So hour by hour
the debate goes on until exhausted the
cOmbatants fall asleep. and an admir-
ing listener remarks that he trusts per-
dition may seize him if he don't believe
that in sheer talking a Kansas man
beats anything that walks the earth.