People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-09-21

ment that you don't know it" how
ever. 1t must be on par with some
other things that you pretend tC
know and don't know. Such a con-
fession on other points would doubt
less relieve you easier. When you
say that Populists were only follow,
ing republican precedents, must say
that you are the first republican, to
my knowledge, who has ever dared to
say that your party favored reduc'
ton of salaries of county officials un-
til forced to do so by public sentiment
created by the POpulist yarty. In
many cases the salaries were raised
instead of reduced prior to that.
Yes sir, Mr.. Troutman, said
that $722, S54.42 tax was taken from
the shoulders of the common tax
payers by the POpulist board of rail-
road assessors when they equalized
the railroad assessment with other
property of the state, and you don't
dare go before the people of the state
Of Kansas and attempt to justify the
lowering of the railroad assessment
over seven million dollars by the last
republican board Of railroad assessors,
whom it was supposed received good
pay for the reduction made, as well as
a handsome gift to the republican
campaign slush fund. must still in
sist that the S722,854.42 was saved to
the people of Kansas, because the
stockholders of railroads are nearly
all eastern people, a great portion Of
whom live as far east as London,
England.
1 am quite glad to know that
you are acquainted with the
81, 47O.2O paid to your father-in-law
for sandwiches, ETC., for the SO-called
Douglass house. The payment of
this bill was forced upon the Popu-
lists against their protest, which il
they had defeated would have car
ried with it the defeat of many other
necessary appropriation bills. This
is the first time in the history of the
state where any set Of legislators
compelled the state to pay theil
board bills, by forcing it as a rider on
legitimate appropriate bills. Then
you seem to take great satisfaction
in the fact that a minority of the
committee that recommended its pay
ment were Populists. Poor SatlSfac
ton! But l have heard an explana-
tion of how that sl,46O.2O expended,
which is as follows: "The 20 cents
was paid for sandwiches, the $50 fol
cigars and the $l,4OO for wniskey."
Possibly you can throw some light
on this expenditure. The only mys.
terry to me is how they got away
with so many ~ sandwiches.
Your point is not well taken wher
you say that the agricultural college
and normal school fund were not ap-
prOpriated on account of an error by
the legislature of 1891. There was
no error about it. The amount
came over as a republican deficiency
bill, and, of course, it augmented the
POpuliSt expenditures just that
much, and leSsened the republican
expenditures just that much. But
what about all those other items
under republican deficiency bills
which you failed to explain?
You seem to have some incarnation
of the brain relative to certain
patent machine for figuring. Posi-.
bly,, upon examination, you might
find that it is only wheel in your
own head. At least it appears to me
that any patent machine or even a
blind man could figure better than
you have done on your first attempt.
| don't wish to discourage you, how
ever, for the old verse runs IF at
first you don't succeed, try, try
again."
With all your explanations in regard
to state printing, you don't dare deny
the fact that the state printer bill
was a POpulist measure framed by the
Populist Ways and Means committee
of the Popnlist house of representa-
tives of 1891. Neither can you dis.
guise the fact that the republican ex-
travagance on state printing helped
very materially to thin the republi'
can ranks in 1890. The credit fol
the reduction on state printing be-
longs to the POpUliSts and you know
it.
When you say that the secretary Of
the Peoples party state central com
mittee is a "salaried emplOye of the
state" you give expression to
"whopper," sure. When Mr.. Semplt
was elected secretary he Immediately
resigned his position in the bank com
missioner's Office, and is in the EN-
ploy and under the pay of the com
mittee.