People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-04-07
TO THE RECORD.
rIr. Doubleday Challenges the Brag'
gadocia of the Self-AppOinied
"PatriOts."


litical associates for the passage OF
the bill to prohibit the corrupt use OF
money at elections, the Australian
ballot bill, the redemption bill and
the Greenlee railroad bill.
Now the facts: After the partisan
decision of the supreme court and the
DunsmOre house dissolved and its
members merged into the Douglass
house on the 2Sth of February, we
found that while the DunSmOre house
had redeemed every pledge made the
people and had nearly completed its
work, the Douglass house had done
practically nothing. Douglass had
previously attempted to pass his bill to
prohibit the corrupt use Of money at
elections, but found so much OppOSi-
tion from the members Of his own
party that he was compelled to desiSt
and it was not possible for him to
pass the bill until the POpuliSt mem
bers came to its rescue.
The Australian ballot bill received
the most bitter opposition from the
Renublican side and after if WAS
placed on third reading so bitter was
the opposition Of the Republicans
that the final vote was delayed two
days. The speaker pro TEN, HOch,
moved to indefinitely postpone the
bill, which, if carried, would have
killed the bill, and upon that motion,
[ demanded a roll call in order to
place the members on record, and all
but fifteen on the Republican side,
including the three Democrats, voted
wit h the POpulistS and fifteen on the
Republican side voted against the
motion and the bill. On the final
passage, however, all but six Repub-
licans voted for the bill and in direct
opposition to their previous vote and
sentiment, as they realized they could
not defeat the bill and desired to
place themselves on record as favor
able to the measure.
House bill No. 143, providing an
eighteen months redemption for lands
sold under execution received the
same opposition from the Republican
side that the Australian ballot bill
did and before it passed the house
wasamended in several important par
ticulars against the united opposition
Of the POpulistS, our amendment be-
ing to reduce the time for the re
demptiOn Of lands not occupied by
the owner from eighteen to sil
months. Another was to allow thO
mOrtgagOr to waive the righr
to redeem, which amendment yir
tually destroyed the efficiency @
the bill, as has the law allowing tn,
waiver of appraiSement destroyed tn
appraiSement law.
This bill was objected to by tn,
senate and went to a conference com
mittee, of which NJ. W. Sutton, for
merly Of Wellington, but now a Re
publican member from Ford county
acted as chairman of the house com
mittee and l desire to state that Mr.
Sutton wanted redemption law tina
would benefit the people and worked
to that end. The committee strucl
out the amendment allowing tn,
waiver Of redemption and some othe
Objectionable amendments and ais,
added some important features to tn,
bill which was reported back to tn,
house by Mr.. Sutton and was passet
without the Republican house know
ing the changes that had been mad
by the conference committee, ant
in fact | am confident that il
would not have passed had the,
known the facts.
The senate had passed the maxi
mum freight bill which provided fo
the election of the railroad commits
Sioners by the people. The Republi
can members refused to even read O
consider he Iill, but struck out al
after the enacting clause and substi
tuted the house (Greenlee) bill, NJ
lls and after much opposition fror
the Republican side and The unite
support of all the POpulist, the biI
after being amended in several II
spects by the Republicans, was flnall
passed.
This bill provided, among othe
things, that in fixing commodit
rates, the rates should in no case e,
ceed double the average rate charge
in other states. That proyisio
would doubtless have been construe
by our courts railroad courts) I
mean that Kansas railroad companit
could charge double the amount tbs
is charged railroad companies for pe
forming like services in Missouri {
Iowa.
Railroad legislation was defeate,
because the Republicans in the hon,
refused to consider or pass anythiu
except the Greenlee bill as it passe