The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-20

on the morning of June seit to every
known friend the bill by special rhe SEN
ger--that was the way money was spent
by those fagoring the bill--a notice that
the bill would come up that morning
under suspension of the rules and re-
questing their Attendance at the opening
OF the session IN order that the required
quorum might be had. ! did not con-
slider Mr. Simpson such devoted friend
of the measure as 10 make 1t desirable 10
give him this information and when he
appeared IN the house he was met By
another Kansas member who Informed
him that the bill was TO come up and
inquired how he (Simpson) intended to
vote. | WIS informed that afternoon
that Dir. Simpsons reply was: 1t Is a
bad bill and | ought to vote against It,
but l cannot afford 10. Or
course he couldn't afford TO
as the nominating convention IN the
Seventh district was only nine days dis
tant and the election but five months
away and 80 per cent OF the voters OF the
district III favor of the measure. .
At the time he had said 10 me that he
should neyer-no never-vote Tor the
bill so long as it contained a clause
licensing gambling. as he termed 1t, he
said that none of his constituents under
stood the bill, nor had they the capacity
to investigate and understand Il. Yet.
bad as it was, he could and did afford TO
vote for it as could his friends of the ex-
changes afford to have him-and By the
way the first iutimation that he had
turned tail on the bill came to me direct
from one Of the agents OF the exchanges
--aS both they and Mr. Simpson knew
that the bill was likely to come back
! from the senate with such amendments
as would give him another whack at 1t
after the nominating convention had
done its work and they were wise enough
| to know that his voting for The bill a.
/ this stage Of the proceedings would very
! likely secure his election and ensure his
being on hand when his vote might be Of
greater value and when the vote OF one
member might suffice to give the bill
! that quietu5 so much desired-by the
boards of trade.
| After the eiection-March, 1S93-when
/ the bill came up for final action, and
when few votes more or less meant its
! defeat or enactment, Mr.. Simpson ''could
! afford and did afford to vote his convic-
| tions--or those Of the eXchanges--ai-
/ though he had gone to Washington as
! the representative OF Kansas district
! where not one man in the hundred
! favors the continuance of present board
/ Of trade methods; but then, we have the
! assurance of the honorable gentleman
/ that the citizens Of the Seventh district
had neither the capacity to investigate
this matter nor judge of its merits.
! Not only did Mr. Simpson appear at
/ the national capital as the representative
of the Seventh district, but as the
especial champion OF the farme" and
wage worker as well; and, although he
could not afford" to vote his cOnvic-
! tons when the nomination aud election
! hung in the balance, there came time
when he could, and did--that time was
when his vote might mean the defeat
or passage of measure desired by
nearly all his constituents. Then high
sense of duty governed his action; be
| fore the nomination he 'coud not
afford" to let it.
What is quite AS remarkable as his
action on the anti-option bill was his
vote on the car coupler bill. a bill
/ which was the one measure before the
! F'ifty-second congress having the UNI
| divided and earnest support OF the IN
I dustrial classes of the nation; those IN
dustrial classes whom the representative
| of the Seventh was posing as the especial
champion Of.
There We're but two bills before the
( Fifty second congress which Were sup
posed TO have "money in their defeat
| The anti-option bill and the car-coupler
! bill.
Strange as it may appear to the farm
II .lfe-ry. -
! Mr.. Simpson was, on the highest KIND
of moral grounds, alike opposed TO tax
| ing the gamblers who determine the
price of the farmers grain, and laying
UPON the railways the grevous burthen
of so constructing their cars that a
regiment of railway employees shall not
be manned and killed every fortnight
/ bv the mercileSS coupler. 1t gratltles
me to BE able to say that
/ few men III congress can be directly
| influenced by the most unworthy
appliances and that notwithstanding
the fact that the representative OF the
| Seventh Kansas voted with such
attorneys of the railways as have secured
seats in the house 10 kill the car-coup-
ler-bill it became the law although 1t
will involve the expenditure by the rail-
wav companies OF some $4,000, 900 to "a, >
OO0. 600 dollars within five years. Pos
sibly had there been Sl00,0O0,0 900 OF
annual revenue at stake-as with the
anti-option- hilI-nstead of paltrv
$50. 600, 900 in five years the other Jerrys
might have seen a great moral light and
the coupler bill have gone the way OF
the anti-option- Ought not the
railway operatives who desire to pre-,
serve life and limb to give thanks that
there was NOT hundred million year
in the r-aoupler-bill: Yours very
truly. I. WOOD DAVIS.