The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-10-06
THINK HARD.
Take Nothing for Granted But study Tho
Question Yourself Carefully.

Take Nothing for Granted But Study Tho
| Question Yourself Carefully.
G. c. Clements, the Topeka anarchist,
who stands at Gov. dwellings right
hand. began kis article in the Agora
magazine on The Militia and the Dep
uty Sheriffs" with the following:
''As every reader knows, when the
day arrived on which the Kansas legis-
lature is won't to assemble for its bien-
NAL recreation, the house went through
the evolutionary process which Herbert
Spencer defines as the transformation
of the homogeneous into the heteroge-
neous'; and the state, hitherto
driven to the verge of distraction
by a single house, now found itself
afflicted with twins For time they
played side by side pleasantly enough,
but for week or more they had quit
speaking to each other. and to prevent
quarreling the republican twin used
the play house in the mornings, the
populist in the afternoons But let us
have done with metaphor lest it should
get mixed, as much else did during the
trOublous days that came. Let it suffice
that at the time of which this brief
history treats, the populist, or Duns-
more house, had for four weeks been
acting as the house with the full CO.
operation and recognition of the senate
and of the entire executive department.
of the state, and had been maturing
important legislation, while the repub-
lican, or Douglass house, had been
spurned from the door of the senate,
had been denied recognition by the
governor, could not even get its requi-
sitions for stationary honored, and was
admitted to the hall by the Dunsmore
sergeant-at-arms.
The weakness of the whole populist
| position last winter is most curiously
revealed in this single paragraph writ
ten by the most capable lawyer and
| ingenious writer in all the populist
party. Let us examine it little.
The process to which Clemens refers
as evolutionary" is the very simple
but wholly necessary process of coming
into existence. Every reader should
follow this closely. The legislature is
| not in existence when the polls close, nor
when the votes have been counted, nor
yet when the canvassing boards have
done their work. Every one of these
steps brings the moment of first legis-
lative existence nearer and nearer, but
neither one finally brings it When
does that moment arrive? 1t arrives
just exactly when the gentlemen bold
ing certificates from the final, supreme
returning board provided for by law
have, by a vote of their majority, eff
fected permanent organization
A legislative body is usually the judge
of the qualifications of it's own MEM
bers. But did any body ever hear of a
temporary organization taking up q
contested election case? Never; and
all because a temporary organization
is not yet perfected legislative body.
Is any reader simple enough to suppose
that the lower house of congress would
think of taking up the case of Moore
against Funston before. for example,
a permanent organization had been
effected? If such a rule as this were
to prevail no Legislative body could
ever be perfected because the simple
announcement of contest of every
seat would put it out of the question to
say who had a right to vote in the or
ganization.
If the populist state returning board
at the next election should issue GER
tificates of election to nobody but
populists, no matter who received
the votes, such certificate holders
would be the only people entitled to
participate in the organization or birth
of the legislature. There must be
cfar&inn ranir7f Tho
house of representatives cannot judge
of the qualifications of its own MEM
bers until it is in existence. The only
way to get it into existence under our
law is to let those holding certificates
Of election perfect an organization
The anti-populist forces were a major
ity of those holding certificates and
were, therefore, emit tied to do the or
ganizing.
On the other point in the Clemens
paragraph quoted the logic is equally
clear. Mr.. Clemens says the minority
had been acting for weeks as the house
and had been so recognized by the sem
ate and the governor. Does any Kan
sas man wish to admit that the senate
and the governor may at any time by
agreement wipe out house that 1t
does not like, or that governor and a
house may combine to wipe odt sem
ate; or that senate and a house may
combine to wipe out a gov
ernor? The idea is absurd II
Gov. Humphrey and the republic
can senate had combined to ignore
the majority which ruled the first
populist house there would have been
complaint that would have disturbed
the dead. The fact that the republican
majority was being ''spurned" by the
senate and governor, as Mr.. Clemens
says, proves only one thing-that the
senate and governor ought t. be
spurned by the people of Kansas
His Trial Will Come Later.
The court martial says that COL
Hughes was guilty of technical DISC
bedience in refusing to obey that order
issued by Lewelling. Gov. Lewellin0