The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-25
CALLED SMALLFRI
BURTON, LIKE BAYARD, CAN'T SAY
TWAS POsT-PRANDIAL

Believed In Topeka That He Made a Bad
Break When 3He Told a Reporter
| That Ingalls, and He Were the Principal
Men in the Field aud That All the Other
Aspirants Were Small Fry-Burton,
However, viii be Given a Chance to say
! Satisfy Everybody.
| Topeka, Kan. Jan. A.-(Special.)-
| The correspondent of the Kansas City
Times sends the following TO his paper:
If the views of Republican politicians
around Topeka count for anything j.
Ralph Burton made a mistake the 9TH
| er day when he told a reporter in ST.
| Louis that the fight for United States
senator would be between John ]. In
gals and himself This statement,
standing alone, might not have called
out any adverse criticism, but the few
words which followed made the friends
of the numerous other senatorial aspi-
rants very indignant. There is some
talk of other candidates" Burton said
but the small fry will drop out" The
general opinion is that Mr. Burton in
jured his own cause by CHASING Mr..
Justice w. a. johnson, ex-Chief Justice
Albert II. Horton, Judge William B.
Sutton, Judge Sam VanderveI't and 9TH
er well known Republicans who have
substantial senatorial tbOoms, as small
fry"
The criticism of Mr.. Buttons inter
view is not confined 10 his enemies. His
friends regard ii as a greater break"
than his Jeff Davis speech. TOO bad!
too badi too badr' said Colonel George
W. Veale, who was one of Burton's
principal hackers in the fight last win
ter. 1T will make all the other can
dtdates hate Burton, and prevent a
combination. Poor Burtoni His
weakness, like his strength, is his fiuen-
cy of speech" The Times correspond
ent called upon Mr.. Dave Mulvane, gen
eral manager for Mr.. Burton, and ask
ed him what he thought of-the inter
view. Mr.. Mulvane sighed and said he
was too busy to talk. The reporter had
respect for Mr.. Mulvane's feelings and
did not press the question.
State Senator Bill Stearne, who is
booking after John ]. Ingalls, fences in
the Fourth district, said that the inter
view would weaken Burton. For
several months" said Sterne, Burton
has been trying to give out the impress
sion that the fight would be between
ingalls, and himself. This was done to
kill of Western opposition. Burton
sees that there lisa movement in the
west FOR a man for senator, and by
sitting into the papers stories that he is
the man ingalls, will have to beat, he
hopes to receive the support of that sec
ton The scheme was beginning TO
cIarfng all candidates except Ingalls,
and himself to be small fry"
When questioned in regard to the
interview the state officers gravely
shook their heads and none of them
would nveture an expression, except
Governor Morrill,, who said: There
must be some mistake about this, Sure
~ Burton would not make such a state
ment. But there-I have nothing to
say. 1 have quit talking for publica-
ton
Among other things in his st. Louis
Interview Mr.. Burton said:
IF don't get to the senate this time
you will never hear Of me again as a
candidate. That doesn't mean that I
am going to quit politics. 1 haven't
any dogs, don't care for horses and
can't shoot. A man has 20 have some
thing TO amuse himself, and l have Sc
leoted politics.
Il wouldn't go to congress. If had
begun when quite young there might
have been something in it, but a new
congressman Is lost. I could have gone
from my district in 1894 as easily as
can march across this lobby. But l
didn't want It,
Il want to go to the senate and repre-
sent a western state. The western
states run the United States senate,
and the power always will remain west
of the Mississippi river. That is the
crowd j want to get into.
But if L don't get there I will devote
myself ITO the politics of my state.
Think OF the career of the man who is
in polbtics and who doesn't want and
wouldn't take officei VINO cares for A
or an eX-congTessman?
am better known than anyone Of them
left in my state
What would do if I devoted myself
to politics? 1 would organize the state
and l would cruelty the fellow who did
not keep his political contract as sa-
credly as he did his commercial con-
tracts. When a man made a promise
he would have to fulfill il or move out
of the state. That is the way l would
have il, and there would be diversion
for a life time in working the refOrma-
ton