The Topeka state journal., 1897-02-20

able and unjust. Suppose a farmer has
a farm; his neighbor comes in and buys
land at lower price, he becomes a
competitor; the farmer has no monono-
ly. He cannot stop that man; he cam
not prevent his competition The farm
er' the business man, every man who
has not monopoly has got to be sat
1sfled with a reasonable income upon
the present actual value of his proper
ty; 1t is only the monopoly which can
protect itself against the general decline
OF prices. or the general conditions
which affect the value of the things
which it has to- sell. If, my friends. a
few members of a community are able
by having a monopoly, to lift them
selves above the general conditions
the result is that the people who cannot
DO that nave to bear a double burden.
They have to have not only their own
suffering, but they have their suffering
increased by reason of the fact that
they live in the community and deal
with people who are not living and do
ing business upon the same basis. So
my friends, it seems to me that in deal
ing with corporations, the question
should be; What is absolutely just and
1alr 10 them? And in order to decide
what is fair and just to them YOU should
apply TO them precisely the same prin-
clpIeS that you apply to the Individual
and remember that no CORPORATION can
justly ask, or righteously defend any
thing which gives to it any advantage
over the people with whom that corpor-
at1On does business.
Now, my friends, l want to suggest
another thing: remember with a great
deal of satisfaction my connection with
legislative body, and I have as high
can have.
1 believe that our legislators of the
city. county, state and nation are as
good as the people deserve to have be-
cause when the people get to the point
where they deserve better representa-
tvs, they have the way TO get them
And it is my observation that legisIa-
tors are, as rule, well meaning per-
sons; that they want to do what is best
But, my friends, there is to my mind
one great evil which manifests itself in
the presence of all legislative bodies.
and that is the lobby. l believe that
the lobby as it has come to exist. is one of
the worst things that our legislative
bodies have to deal with. There are
two kinds of lobbyists-there is the
lobbyist who goes before the committee
and presents to the committee his OBJ
lection to a bill or his reasons in defense
OF it. l believe that is legitimate, 1 be-
heVe that every well meaning member
of congress or of any other legislat tive
body ought to be willing, ought to be
glad, ought to be anxious to have both
sides of every question fully presented
so that he can understand the merits
OF the measure under consideration. I
have no fear of the lobbyist who does
his work openly; 1 have so much faith
in the power of truth that 1 believe that
truth has nothing to fear in an open
contest with error; 1 have nothing to
fear from the lobbyist who presents his
cause to a committee or upon the floor
of the house. The lobbyist that [ fear
is the man who addresses his remarks
to the ear in private and makes per-
sOnal appeals to members. I say that
the man who asks a personal favor in
the way of law from Il legislator, either
insults the legislator or confesses that
he has no better argument to give in
favor of the law that he asks. Great
applause.)
A legislator is not here as a person.
legislator is acting in a representa- tive
capacity AS an individual you have the
right to do faVors; as an individual you
have the right to show Dartiality to
friends; as a legislator you have not:
as an individual you have a right to
let any man have as much of your mon
ey as you want him to have; as a legis-
1ator you have no right to deal with the
public money as though it were your
private money. I say that whenever
you find a lobbyist who directs his ar
guments openly and above board to a
committee or to house, you need not
fear him. But the great trouble in this
country is that around every legislative
body men are hanging to seek to do ia
vOrS to legislators and then ask to get
legislation in return Thus is the per
SOnal injected into public life. and the
man who goes to the legislative halls
with an honest determination to do his
duty, is led astray by these influences,
which, increasing in force and effect
you [ was selfish. I am going to apply
the doctrine of selfshness. 1 would not
ask another man to do what 1 would
not do.
l would not ask a man either in pri-
vate life or in public life to do anything
which, in the long run, is bad for him.
and I believe that the Creator has so
framed His laws and so arranged His
universe that the man who does his du-
ty in every position of life is doing the
best thing for himself (Great applause)
13n r.
come entrusted with great responsible
tiles and in the enjoyment of high hon
Ors. Nothing that you can secure by
the betrayal of your constituents will
ever be sufficient to compensate you for
the loss of the opportunity which your
position gives you. In other words,
man trusted by his constituents. a man
hOnored by his fellows, will find that
good name to be treasured while he
lives and to be handed down to his chill
dren, is a richer inheritance than any
thing he can secure by a betrayal of
those who trusted and honored him.
Great cheering.)
There is another thing. In speaking
before the legislature of Kansas and the
legislatures OF those states which in the
west and south are in the control of
what may be called the reform forces,
1 want to say to you, my friends, that
opportunities measure our responsible
tiles. If this nation is to be brought
back and placed on it's old founda ton,
if a government of the people, by the
people and for the people is to be re-
stored to the people of this nation, I be-
lieve that these reforms have got to
come from the people who are not sur
rounded by the vast inequalities in con-
ditiOn which surround our brethren in
some of the eastern states. If we are
going to go back to the old motto of
equal rights to all, we have got to COM
mence out here where the extremes of
society are not so far apart. out here
where the people are better acquainted
with each other, and where better ac-
| quaintance makes them more con-
scious of each others rights. To my
mind, the election through which we