The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-02-08

worse In debt than we were tnen.
Mr.. Simpson, of course, believes the
| remedy for the raids on the treasury
is the one which silver men all point out,
that of redeeming greenbacks part in
gold and part in silver.
"This hit for silver, as l predicted
several years ago" has become sectional
one" he said The so called business
interests have been running the govern
ment and now the great agricultural
class of the west and south, which ia the
foundation of all other interests, is going
to take hand. I don't say the fight is
going to be won in year or two years,
| but it will come"
Mr.. Simpson thought the change
would be brought about by some party
getting its greatest strength in the west
and made up of elements of all parties.
| The action of the conventions of the two
older parties would slough of many this
year he thought. He also predicted that
| the Republican party would declare for
| the gold standard. 1t was suggested
that it would siraddle the question but
he said, NO. the gold men are aggres-
| sive, they are going to force the fight
and it is my prediction that the Repub-
| lican convention being controlled by
| gold men will declare for the single gold
standard. If some Republicans don't
| look out" he added ''they will find them-
| selves outside the bulwarks.
1.-The silver sentiment is growing in
the east, too. There is lots of it here if
it were only allowed to come to the sur
face. l made a speech up in Indiana
county, Pennsylvania, the other day.
| There was no Sunday train out of the town
and had to stay over Sunday. Some Re
publicans who heard my speech came to
me and took nae down to their Republi-
can club. They said to me, Jerry, you've
got to come down here sometime and
make speech to US. We are just be-
ginning to get little light on>this silver
question and we want you to tell US about
IT. Aud so there is silver sentiment
even in the east but the leaders have kept
it down."
Mr.. Simpson made so many prophecies
that he is almost entitled to be designa-
ted the prophet Jeremiah but one
worthy to be mentioned was that the
next congress would have majority of
no one party. He hoped this would be
true and he believed it would be- There
would be three parties, no one having
majority and the evil results of partisan
legislation would be done away with.
He said he was glad he wasn't in this
congress. What could l have done
here? 1 couldn't have got my head up.
the matches closed down and battsned and
l would have been below deck. As a
member of u minority party l couldn't
have done thing"
The story that Mr.. Simpson telegraph
ed to Washington on the eve of the meet
ing of this congress and had all the pub
lie documents to his credit delivered to
some one in Washington, Mr.. Simpson
denies, utterly false.
Il left order at the document room
when l left Washington to have all the
documents to my credit sent to Medicine
Lodge. and that is where they were sent
My predecessor left me no documents and
flxrT I raF oil . haf
were coming to me. The statement sent
out by Long that had telegraphed to
have them delivered to some one in
Washington, he couldn't find out who,'
was petty political trick"
Mr.. Simpson has been on the floor of
the house several days shaking hands
with old friends among the mem bers. He
was very popular while in congress, and
all his old friends were glad to see him.
He was. and is yet, a great favorite with
the newspaper men of the gallery. When
Jerry first came to congress there were
many pompOus and sslf-satisfied mem-
bers who thought to have fun at his ex-
pense.
He quickly broke them of that habit.
House men soon learned that they must
be careful where they took hold of Jerry.
and how they picked him up. They
couldn't stroll up to his cage and grope
around and pull Jerry out by the foreleg,
or the ear, the side of the face. Two |
or three who ssayed something of this |
sort got sadly mangled.
Payne, OF New York, pompous, dry |
doltish fellow was making tariff speech. |
Jerry asked him a question he couldn't |
answer-nO great feat, by the way. |
Payne, however, was cut by the ques-
on, and made a retort at once evasive
and patronizing.
"If l were Inclined to be rude, Mr.,
Speaker" said Payne, "Pd answer the
gentleman's very foolish query by asking
him if his ancestors were monkeys"
''In which event." replied Jerry, sur
veying Payne with calm phlegm, II
should reply as did the elder Dumas
when French fool asked him the same
question. / should tell you Yes. Your
family ends where mine began"
Jerry had tilt with Snodgrass, of
Tennessee. Snodgrass was one of the
dullards of the house. He replied to
J Jerry at painful length, and coming to
the close he said:
And lastly, Mr.. Speaker, this gentle
man from Kansas, without using that
term exactly but practically ths same.
has charged me with being a fool.
I"-
"Bang!7 came Crisp's gavel. "The time
of the gentleman from Tennessee hasex
pired." said Crisp.
81 move the gentleman's time be ex-
tended ten minutes, Mr.. Speaker" said
Jerry, "and he'll prove what l charge"
This may illustrate the quick humor
Of Jerry. He was being urged to offer
4 resolution to name q commission TO
meet with similar body from England
and consider how far it would be prac-
icable to put price on Canada, and
'ther British possessions in America and
0uy them as we did Alaska.
"I've no hesitation about offering the
'esolution," said Jerry, with a laugh, "but
when do l know what they'll say"
"What comment could be NADER"
Why" said Jerry. 81 was born in