Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-07
KANSAS TOPICS.

hANSAS 1oA ASo'
I'VE had read in the daily papers," says
John Q. Royce. in his Phillipsburg Dis
patch, that the speaker of the Kansas
house had Republican employed to
prompt him in making parliamentary rul-
ings, but we confess that We did not be-
Heve it; or at least, that 1t was an
exaggeration. During the Editorial Asso-
citation meeting last week the editors were
allowed the freedom of the house, and to
our great surprise We found all that mad
been said in the papers was true. and more.
We found Hon. {. S. Martin, of Salina, n
Republican but u man of large legislative
experience, sitting by the side of Speaker
Street and literally telling him everything
to say-not deciding close questions alone,
but actually putting the words into the
mouth of the speaker, and the highest Of
ficer of the house of representatives, like
a parrot, repeating what Mr.. Martin told
him to say.
I'VE learned that Mr.. Martin receives
regular pay for his work. Whenever any
member wants to be recognized. or wants
any ruling of the char in his favor, he
sees Charley Martin, the prompter of
the speaker, and never feels it necessary to
fool away his time with Street.
AS We stood upon the floor of the house,
jority of the house had made for speaker
we noticed Bro. Brainerd in the room, and
called him over to a position close to the
speaker, where he could hear the prompter
whisper to the speaker what to say, and
then hear it re-echoed by that high official
(and oftentimes misunderstood by the
speaker and recalled and changed at the
suggestion of the prompter), until he eX-
pressed his disgust in language which would
not read well in this great moral journal.
but it was sufficiently plain that no ex-
plantations were necessary"
Speaking of the proposed fast run over
the Santa Fe, Engineer w. i. Hood tells
the Dodge City Globe that he would rather
attempt unusual speed with his locomotive
in the night than in daylight. There is less
danger in the night" says Mr.. Hood, be
cause the track is generally clear of every
thing except trains, and we can keep out
of their way. In the daytime We have to
look out for section hands, tramps, wag-
ons, cattle, ETC., and fast run in the day
time is, therefore, very dangerous. l have
no dread of disaster when am called to
take a night run, nor has any other en-
gineer. The headlight on a locomotive is
of mighty little use, If any, to the en-
gineer-that is, the headlight on his engine,
other engine coming toward him at a lone
distance and thus avert collision, but it
does not cast light far enough ahead of
his own engine to enable him to see an OBJ
ject on the track in time to even slow up.
1t is even doubtful if he could see an OBJ
struction in time enough to jump and save
| himself.
After recouuting the fact that Cy Leland
| accompanied Lyman Gage from Chicago to
| Canton and took dinner with Major Nc
| Kinley, the Troy Chief says: He refuses
to discuss any of the political secrets which
came up, except one. He says that Nc
| Kinley sets up mighty good grub
| 'a
Some of the Kansas editors" says
| Colonel Del Valentine, dressed and acted
| so faultless that they made the Kansas
| City men look countryfed' And then, as
a sort of soothing salve for the injured
| feelings of the countrytied gentlemen, he
| adds: kansas City need never fear de-
generation or relapse so long as her pres
ent Commercial Club has things material
! in charge. NJ. V. Watson as president is
capable and energetic; he will see to il
that nothing is left undone that should bt
done; no bets overlooked The club die
| everything that could be done for the Edi
torial Association during its stay within
| its city, and then sent it on its way re
| joicing over a hearty invitation to come
again.
I'VE are always doing something for thu
future said Captain Henry Booth th'
other day in the course of some reminis
cences of early days in Western Kansas
The Israelites, when they left Egyptian
bondage and taskmasters, were fulfilling
law Of n DonlfiDlv nd G
the earth under Gods direction. The ex
perience is repeated to-day in the settle
ment of the plains country; and no doub
the Israelites found little more hardship
and privations in the Wilderness than tn
early pioneer did in the Arkansas rive
valley, in the time of Indian depredations
drouths and grasshopper scourges, ho
winds and crop blights.
81 have driven oxen across the plain
in my bare feet, tramping over hot sand
in a constantly rising temperature and
wind blowing from Dante's Inferno at
rate that carried with ii sand and blister
The Israelite, before he reached Mount Sina
suffered no more. perhaps. in torture G
bodily discomforts, thirst and blistered fee
than I did in treading the sands under
July sun, though we had ample provisio
in hardtack and sowbely; nor did Nose!
l
did my oxen in pulling through the sands
hoping to reach n fountain at Elm. a
oasis in the desert. where their thirs
might be slaked and their bones give
) rest"
West f. Wilkinson, formerly editor c
: the Seneca Courier. but of late years NOR
S plutocratically engaged as cashier of a na
a | tional bank in the same town. inform
Topics that some errors crept into the az
count given a few days ago of some excul
e sions indulged in by the Kansas editors
: the early days.
II made most of the trips with the asst
ciation," says Mr.. Wilkinson land I q
not wish to see the history of those time
! perverted. Two of the excursions WEI
omitted in your list. Fort Gibson and Lii
= coin. and the trip of 1874 to St Louis VI
= Hannibal and the Mississippi erroneousl
o attached to that of Mackinac Island in 1S7
. Here is the itinerary of the association as
), recall it: LawrenCe-Fort Gibson, 1871; Atcl
u ison Lincoln. 1873; Fort Scott-St. Loui
5 1874: Observation-Disclosures, 1875; Leavel
e wcrth-Colorado, 1871; Atchison- -Put-in-Ba
f 1875; Topeka-M -Mackinac Island, 1873; Law
r renee state institutions, 1852.
IF, S. Stevens was the promoter of tho
'junketing' trips. He was in 1871 pushir
: the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railrof
e down TO the Gulf; and. instigated ina
5. inc, by that ever-loyaI friend of Kansa
Il NJ w. Reynolds, rendered the first excu
sion given the Kansas Editorial Associ
. ton. There was no short grass editor
/ the state then: the whole association e
S joyed things in common. Arkansas Ci
was the southwest and Butler count
| Oicketed at E,ldorado by Bent MurdoC