People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-01-20
From Representative Doubleday.
TOPEKA. KANs. ian. 1lth. ,9S

Topeka, KANs, Jan. 1lth, '93.
EDITOR VOICE: | desire to call
your attention to a few facts in re-
gard to the muddle We are in.
lst.-CustOm, in this as well as
other states, has been for the
secretary Of state to call the House TO
order, call the roll of members who
are then sworn in, and to act as
chairman until the members by
motion (which is entertained by the
secretary elect a temporary speaker.
In this case the Republicans
objected to the secretary acting as
temporary chairman which is con-
trary to all the precedents established
by their partyr. Then after the
secretary vacated the chair because
of the objections raised by Republi-
cans, R. H. Semple Ia POpulist, J
picked up the gayel and raped in
order to quiet the members so that
some understanding might be effect
ed by which the House might be
organized. The Republicans disre-
garding the same, proceeded in the
utmost haste to. elect officers and
organize and entirely diSregarded the
votes of POpuliSt members declaring
motions carried and officers elected
when no one could tell who voted OF
how the vote stood, no roll being
called. The Republicans claim but
SiXty-fOur members that hold
certificates four of which were post
masters at the time of their election
and who were therefore rendered
ineligible to the office by the state
constitution which is as follows;
"NO officer of the United States
shall be eligible to a seat in the
legislature" ARTICLE Section s..
This has been held to mean not
merely that a federal office holder
cannot, while holding his federal
office, sit in the legislature, but that
he cannot be voted for; and that
therefore votes cast for one who is,
when voted for, a postmaster, are
absolutely without legal effect. His
subsequent resignation will not help
him in the least. So say the courts.
(See Searcy vs.. Grow, 10 Cal. III.
State VS.. Clark New. 566. Carson
vs..McPhetridge Is Ind. 327.) Now out
Of the g. Republican members hold
ing certificates, we find one hold
ing the certificate which every one
admits should have been issued to
Mr.. ROSenthal, four are ineligible
being pOstmaSterS at the time of the
election, and the other was elected
by the state CanvasSing board,
elected in secret, and under violent
suspicious circumstances; while the
returns preserved in the county, show
there was no tie, but that the
POpuliSt member was elected. This
reduces the Republican members to
flfty-eight and they could not
organize house with less than sixty
three, that being a majority of all
the members. If any revolutionary
measures have been resorted to it was
by the Republicans in diSregarding
all preCedents established by their
party by denying the secretary of
state the right to preside previous to
the temp,rlry organization, and by
proceeding to organize, and in
entirely ignoring the votes of the
Populists while organizing. The
struggle for the House is not between
the POpulists and the Republicans as
political organizations, but between
the common people of the state and
eastern mortgages and alien railrord
owners; between the common people
and those schemiDg, purse-prOud
foreigners, who seek to make of this
beautiful fertile state another
Ireland. Hoping that you will
place this fairly before the people
through your paper,
l am respectfully yours,
]. NJ. DOUBLEDAY.