The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-20
the sessions of the Flfty-second congress

known his position on the subject and
when the f'iftv-second congress was
about to convene promised, at the urgent
solicitation OF personal friendS-farmerS
as well as others-that he would spend
two or three months in Washington in
an endeavor TO secure such legislation as
would restore natural price making
methods; and at their request he con-
| tlnued in Washington during both SEES
! sions of that congress ard is therefore
4 ble to say that with the exception of
! such witnesses as appeared before the
congressional committees on h-ssubjeci,
the officials of the national Grange and
| the national Alliance and one party rep
resentin9 the cotton growers-no one OF
whom spent more than fortnight IL
| Washington except when In attendance
! before the committees was the sole
representative of the farming Interest
/ in Washington and the only person
outside of congress at work for
! the anti-option bill in any capacity and
! have the best of reason for believing
! hat | discussed every cent of the very
small sum spent N the attempt to secure
! this legislation, my expenditures beng
! confined to the payment OF Il small
/ printing bill each session, the rent OF
/ typewriting machine. the payment OF
/ the person VINO operated it. III payment
/ for postage stamps and the necessary
/ stationery, an occasional telegram to
/ friends as to the situation and my per-
I sonal expenditures for board, washing,
] street ears and an occasional visi, to the
theater and an unlimited supply of
newspapers. | certainly know that not
! one dollar of the money so expended
came from any combination whatever,
! but was contributed by a few personal
friends and myself.
! Now as to the other side: Early in
the campaign the opposition collected
large sums upon the exchanges for the
/ express and avowed rpoSe-avowed TO
/ the contributors and by the manag gers
! to defeat the bill, | happened TO have
/ personal friends on several of the eX-
/ changes who although taking no active
part in favor Of the bill kept me posted
/ as to every move Of the opposition,
and such collections were kept up
and the amounts increased until the bill
was done TO death by the aid-nO matter
/ how socured-of scch men as represent,
/ or misrepTesent the Seventh district Of
! Kansas.
The, sums thus collected; the enormous
sums thus collected during every month
/ the bill was before congress after Its sub
mission by the committee on agriculture,
! was employed in substituting newspapers
but one or two OF all the metropolitan
! papers in the country ever opened its
/ mouth for the bili--in controlling the
/ press dispatches froru Washington, and
| above and over all i'll maintaining the
most persistent and expensive lobby seen
: il Washington since the days of the
/ Credit Mobeiier. Time and again have
members of congress, who were not
/ specially favorable to the bill but who
! loved faiInplay, told me of the tactics of
/ the opposition and who was in their in
terest among the professional lobby; and
from these reports l found that every
/ lobbyist was in the employ of the eX-
changes. If any member of congress,
| other than the one who represents the
! Seventh district, was ignorant of these
! facts | have yet to near OF him.
| Not only were all the professional
| lobby-a small army of themselves-in
the constant employ of the board of
trade but the presidents of the Chicago,
! New Orleans, New York and other ex-
changes, and their other officials, We're
! one OF more. dlliitSb CpiiSldhblF Al w dSbi-
ington actively, directly and effectively
lobbying against the bill and with the
reputation which Mr.. Simpson has
ACQUIRED as a commercial man it is very
remarkable that he neither met nor
! heard of the presence of lnen who were
| keen on the trail OF every susceptible or
| commercially inclined representative.
! With revenue at stake generally be-
per annum the exchanges could afford
TO be very liberal and TO have spent vast
sums to secure such individual action as
would ensure the defeat OF bill that
| threatened TO deprive them of this I'M
mense revenue aud | was repeatedly
told bv parties who claimed they could
help the bill if retained: 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 1891 80. 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 objection 10
any of its provisions although he told
me he had carefully examined it. He
even went so far in his efforts in its be
half as to go with me to President Polk
of the Farmers Alliance and Indus
trial Union with the view of securing
Mr.. Folks active aid in pushing the
measure by petition and otherwise.
After the committee on agriculture had
on April Attn, 1892, reported the bill tc
the House Mr.. Simpson-so L am IN
formed by the Hon. w. II. Hatch
went 10 the chairman of the committee
on agriculture (Mr. HATCH and asked
for time to speak in favor Of the bill ano
one hour was assigned him for this pur
nose. and / was informed, by \ party
who was in a position to know, that Mr.
Simpson had employed a third party &
prepare a speech for him in favor of The
measure.
About this time, however, tie ex
hchanges first began 10 believe there Wa
a chance of the bill passing he hous'
and began 10 bestir themselves to secure
its defeat, raised q large sum and sent az
agent 10 Washington thoroughly
equipped for business. A little later
small number of representatives-anlo
whom was the gentleman from the Sew
enth kansas-found time to give tn
! bill more thorough examination thar
? they had hitherto been able to- and look
/ ing through glasses provided by partte
! who did not desire its passage were ADJ
to find abundant evidence Of that detesta
4 bic combination of mlllerS and other
r for tue spolstion of the farmer Of which
, they had. for the frs, time, heard from
this we'll equipped agent of the exchange
g and from having been active propa
: candists for the till this very Unite
s number of the peoples representative
/ became at first carping and douotin