Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-12-06
STEVE SlklNs AGAIN.
4,--,...,,. xx...,.---. Again In the PO-
Itscai Process. Oh.

publican Legislature has been elected.
and Hon" Steve EIlxins, lately of New
Mexico, Missouri, and more recently
of broadway, is a candidate for United
States senator. His friend. Edwards, a
menber-elect of the legislature, is a
| candidate for speaker OF that body.
and the plan is, according TO the best
adyices, to make Edwards speaker,
then elect Elkins senator, and-theu
when the time comes for Mr.. Faulkner
to retire to make Edwards the other
senator. Of course there are a
number of ambitious aspirants for the
first United Statss senatorshio, the
one to take the place of Mr.. Camden,
who was so much disfgured in the
sugar trust investigation, who have
announced themselves. Hon. Nathan
Coli, eX-Secretary of the navy and now
a United States district Judge, is a
candidate without so many preten-
sions, bat perhaps with the best
chance Of all 10 be elected He was
chosen governor of West Virginia, as
the repu blicans of that state firmly be-
lieve, once upon occasion, and is prob
ably deepest in the hearts of his party.
Mr.. Elkins has much in his favor.
He and his father-in-law. Henry 6.
Davis, and his old-time star route
partner and business Louis, have in
vested other peoples money, and pos
chilly some money of their own, in de-
veloping the timber and coal lands of
West Virginia They have built a
reiircad or two and some handsome
residences, for Mr. Elkins' palatial
nome at EIkins, a town on his owp
railroad and named after himself, is
L l. 4
fifty thousand dollars, though I be-
iieve g is returned to the tax gatherer
as worth but twenty-five thousand
dollars But the Elkins. Davis and
Kesens combination, with which SEN
ators like German and Brice are
thought to have more or1ess close s4fil-
iatiOns. has spent money, employed
large numbers OF men, helped to de-
vciOp the state, and, of course, estab-
1isbed itself pre- tty firmly in politics.
Mr.. EiK:ns understands now powerful
the fugacious dollar is. He helped
Blaine make money. in some Of these
same West Virginia enterprises in fact,
and Blaine liked him for IL. He in
vested money in Russell Harrison's
Montana Cattle company and lost it
if it was his own, and Mr.. Harrison is
said to be the real reason why Mr..
E;kins was made secretary Of wa.
and for the reason. too, that he pre-
tended to be able to head off the
Blaine presidential movement.
But with the power of money in
West Virginia there also comes 81
weakness to Mr.. Elkins. This is
caused by his use of money also. He
said several years ago, in one Of the
presidential campaigns, L think, that
it was easy enough to carry West Vir
ginia; it was only a matter of the use
of money. And this statement the
democrats posted in big black letters
all over the state, and 1t was very
harmful to the republican campaign.
So, many OF the old-time repu blicans
look upon Mr.. Elkins as a carpet
Dagger sad they will have nothing of
him. 1t iS thought to be true thai the
numerous aspirants for the senator
ship are all intending Co help Judge
Nathan Golf get the prize when the
time comes. The republican managers
in the state have been willing enouSn
to use Mr.. ElkinC' money, or the money
of others which he has becn able to
collect; but they hardly fealtlike pass
ing Mr. Golf by for this newcomer.
However. the ex-secretary of war has
practiced before every court in the
country, busiress. social. political, if
not judicial, and he is unusually
nimble and, as his friends say, he has
such taking wey with him, seeming
to be the friend of everybody.
1t is thought that Mr.. Elkins, if he
came to the senate, would not allow
his public duties to interfere with his
private business. He could conduct
taat just the same, and even il he were
not to continue to make money he
could probably get along comfortably,
being considered by NEST people to be
worth two million dollars, though the
estimate in the mountains CT West
Virginia is eight million dollars. The
ex-secretary is most familiar to old
habitues of Washington as counsel
| in large cases before the departments
or congress. Il is said that he had d
/ stake OF one hundred thousand dollars
| in the fur seal contract awarded by
Mr.. Window. That may have been a
mere exaggeration by persons who
| failed to get the contract. 1t is also
said that he came to Washington dur
| ing the progress of sugar legislation
last winter to see that the republicans
were nicely kept in line, and it was
known that he was here and much in
| terested in the topic 1t IS hardly
| likely that he was IN charge CT the re-
publican end of the thing. In the first
place, nobody was in charge of it
| much, and Mr.. Elkins would hardly lie
| the man whom the sugar trust people