The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1893-06-09

to the bill but who loved fair play, told
| me of the tactics of the opposition and
who was in their interest among the
professional lobby; and from these re-
ports found that every lobbyist was
in the employ of the exchanges. If any
member of congress, other than the
one who represents the Seventh dis
trict, was ignorant of these facts
have yet to hear of him.
Not only were all the professional
lobby-a small army in themselves-in
the constant employ of the boards OF
trade, but the presidents of the Chicago
New Orleans, New York and other ex'
changes and their other officials were
one or more constantly in Washington
actively. directly and effectively lobby.
ing against the bill. and with the repu.
tation which Mr.. Simpson has acquired
as commercial man it is very remark
able that he neither met nor heard OF
the presence of men who were keen on
the trail of every susceptible or com
mercially inclined representative.
With a revenue at stake generally
600 per annum the exchanges could
well afford to be very liberal and to
have spent vast sums to secure such in
dividual action as would insure the de-
feat of bill that threatened to deprive
them of this immense revenue, and
was repeatedly told by parties who
claimed they could help the bill if re-
tanned that all they had to do was to
carry their wares to the other side,
which they were told to do with all
speed, and have abundant reason to
believe they did.
When first in Washington, in the
winter of 1912. Jerry Simpson, on
three separate occasions, assured me
that he would gladly do all in his
power to further the passage of the
''anti-option BILL and raised no objec-
ton to any of its provisions, although
he told me he had carefully examined
it. He even went So far in his efforts
in its behalf as to go with me to Presi-
dent Polk. of the Farmers Alliance
and Industrial union" with the view
of securing Mr.. Folks active aid in
otherwise. After the committee on
agriculture had, on April 4, 1892, re-
ported the bill to the house Mr.. Simp-
son-so am informed by Hon. w. H.
Hatch-went to the chairman of the
committee on agriculture (Mr. HATCH
and asked for time to speak in favor of
the bill and. one hour was assigned him
for this purpose, and was informed,
by party who was in position to
know, that Mr.. Simpson had employed
third party to prepare speech for
him in favor of the measure.
About this time, however. the ex-
changes first began to believe there
was chance of the bill passing the
house and began to bestir themselves
to secure its defeat, raised a large sum
and sent an agent to Washington thor
oughly equipped for business. A little
later a small number of representatives
among whom was the gentleman
from the Seventh Kansas-found time
to give the bill more thorough exam
ination than they had hitherto been
able to. and looking through glasses
provided by parties who did not desire
its passage were able to find abundant
evidence of that detestable combina
ton of millers and others for the spoil
alton of the farmer of which they had,
for the first time, heard from this well
equipped agent of the exchanges, and
from having been active propagandists
for the bill this very limited number
of the peoples representatives be-
came at first carping and doubling
Thomases and then elevated them
selves onto high moral plane and their
moral convictions became so pronounced
and the immortality of the bill so evil
dent as to render them unwilling-as
Mr.. Simpson expressed it to me-to
vote to license gambling. Mr.. Simpson
went so far as to tell me that he would
never: no never (''hardly every vote
for the bill. To which answered that
he would, as he was then looking for
the nomination at Wichita, and that if
by any contingency the house should
not act on the bill until after the
Wichita convention he would still find
sufficient courage to vote for it, as he
would still desire the votes of the citi-
zens OF the Seventh district in Novem-
Der: and this proved to be correct
of his ailment, as when the
bill came to vote on June 6-conven-
ton pending-he walked up like lit
tie man and voted for it, though with
evident reluctance. say with evident
as had on the preceding
day prepared and had on the
of June 6 sent to every known
friend of the bill by special mes
was the way money was
spent by those favoring the bill-a no.
tice that the bill would come up that
under suspension of the
rules and requesting their attendance
at the opening of the session in order
that the required quorum might be
had. l did not consider Mr.. Simpson
such devoted friend of the measure as
to make it desirable to give him this
and when he appeared in
the house he was met by another Kan
sas member who informed him that the
bill was to come up and inquired how
he (Simpson) intended to vote. l was
that afternoon that Mr..
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