The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-19
Waiting for the Band Wagon.

|
Topeka. Kan. Jan. 1s-(Special)- No
body knows anything of the senatorial fight
excep. that he knows nothing at all Harris
is working harder at this time than any of
the other candidates. The railroad and
corporation bills he introduced in the SEN
ate Thursday were intended to accomplish
something more than becoming part of the
statutes and regulating corporate greed.
Harris is slick cIassically speaking. Those
two bills have directly, through the Kan
sas City Times, his avowed organ, and sew
eral other papers. as news items. brought
him prominently before the public at a
very opportune time. His idea is TO get
people to talking of him and talking Of him
| as the leading man in the legislature IN
carrying out the party's idea of reform
legislation. In this respect Harris has the
| advantage of the other candidates and he
is using it very effectuaily.
Senator PETER is receiving a great deal
of complimentary mention today for stay
| ing at his work in Washington and AVOID
ing the unseemly scrambles. This has
caused two or three votes from the Seventh
congressional district and some scattering
| ones from the Sixth to warm to his sup
| port.
| The general impression Is that PETER
| viii have a large complimentary vote to
| start with but that his strength will go to
pieces on the second or third ballot, PETER
will not be nominated unless it is through
spite work of one of the factions. That
is conceded by all the leaders.
The Seventh district men are trying to
| arrange a caucus whereby they will at
tempt to get together and cast their entire
| 26 votes solid for one man. This reveals
the hand of John Madden and he is getting
on the friendly side of this section at a
rate that is promising for his candidacy.
| 1t is generally admitted here that after
the second or third ballot Harris, Brieden-
| thai and Dennison will be neck-and-neck
on the vote, with King and Ed Little bring
| ing up the rear in about equal shares. If
| the vote of the Seventh can harmonic
they will agree on Madden as second choice
| and unless the Emporia statesman's legal
| qualifications upset him he will make a
good showing. Kings friends claim that
| lawyers and broken-down preachers and
everybody except the farmer has had an
/ inning with this administration and they
will make the Cowley county agriculturist
fight on this line. This argument has its
weight and may become a prominent fea-
ture Of the campaign.
surance commissioner since he fell down on
the state printer fight. will use every in
fuence he can command against Harris,
and the sentiment here is that he will cut
mere ice in a pull-down wrangle than he
did in building his own fence. He will
have no further use for legislative back
ing and. standing pat with Governor Leedy
as he does. he will sail into the scrap on
he hot - a.,
own axe from this out.
An effort is being made to postpone the
caucus on senator until after the vote OF
the house and senate, January q, in order
to have the complimentary vote go on
record. This is supposed to be a mere
scheme for capital by some of the candid
ates who are aware that they have no
show of winning but who have riveted
their hungry optics upon a pasture spot In
the distance. After all, the greatest diff
ficuI.y in forming an accurate estimate of
the fight is the disposition on the part of a
great many to wait till they are reasonably
sure who is the winner before they init
mate preference. They have no particu-
lar care in the matter, except to go on
record for the lucky man and as soon as
they can locate the band wagon they are
ready to jump.
Topeka's upper tendon mentally rebelled
at the late incursion of farmer Pops, but
there is probably no significance in the fact
that on the same day and at the same hour
the legislature met, one of the biggest
grocery houses in the city advertised a
special sale of soap.
Speaker Protein Weilep of the house de-
lights in turning point on either Pop or
Republican members when opportunity Of
fers. Saturday night while in caucus to
nominate some minor house officers, Mr.
Lewis OF Norton county got up and said:
SO far, Norton county has asked for moth
ing We've been voting all the way down
for other men and have asked for nothing.
say, we've asked for nothing" You got
1t, didn't you?" Mr.. Weilep interrupted.
In the afternoon session Friday while
voting TO allow some old colored man to
keep lunch IN tine corridor, Judge Botkin
rose and stated that according to the reso-
luton the lunch would only consist of cof-
fee and dry sandwiches and that II ought
to include pie: whereupon Mr.. Weilep said:
"An Republican members will have to take
their lunch without pie this years.
Even the Salvation army people are camp !
ing on the trail OF the reformers. Sunday
evening a tambourine aggregation IN front |
OF the National hotel had q good crowd Of |
-ae Legislators till lons-haired crank step |
pei irto the middle of the gag I'd with |
great solemnity said: 'As look into the !
faces CT this audience perceive that most |
OF you are interested In agriculture"
Fer a minute there was a what-do-you- |
thipk-of-that expression on the faces OF the |
lawmakers. Then quietly they formed a |
procession around the corner.
n. B. Topscott Of Hamilton county Is
the biggest man In /
the legislature. 1t Is said that upon retir-
Ing at night he has 10 hang his pants to |
the ceiling and that It takes as many yards
TO make his coat as II does to carpet a
parlor This is not given as matter Of
news. but simply IS an advertisement OF
the wonderfully hea!thful Climate OF west
ern Kansas.
-Four members OF the executive council
have employed their wives at salaries Of
s., zoo per year each: every senator is al
lowed clerk; all chairman OF house COM
m.ttees are allowed clerks and stenograph-
ers; the number OF the house employees Is
increased by seven. and the work OF econo-
my and reform goes on with a rush. THIS
week It is costing Kansas s2.70o a day TO
boom the reform business.
Strykers' text book bill. when presented.
will provide for the following prices: Spell
ING books. 10 cents; first reader. 10 cents:
second reader. Is cents: third reader. -
cents; fourth reader. 30 cents; fifth reader.