Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-08-17
SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND.
SENATOR HARRIS COULD HAVE
nADE THIS nUCH.
But He Saved the Governments t25, 5,ooo,-
900 Instead-Nicaragun Canal
DeaI-State Election.

In a private letter from w. H.
Sears, private secretary of Senator
Harris, to Representative NJ. F. Marks
of the 4th representative district Is
contained some information concern
ing the work of Senator Harris which
is of interest to every reader.
The letter says:
LAWRENCE, KANSAS,
Hon. Millard F. Marks,
Valley Falls, Kansas.
My DEAR MARKS: You will be
surprised to learn that | have been
home for over month. left WASH
ington on May 31st after securing
ieave of absence from Sen. Harris. L
came back hoping to secure a com.
mission from Gov. Leedy under the
second call; but on reaching here 1
learned what 1 did not know before.
hat the Kansas quota was to be used
to fill up the old regiments to the max
imum limit of 1926 men, and that the
odd battalions were to be given to the
negroes. cannot find words to ex.
press TO you my disappointment over
my failure to get in under the first
call; and now unless there is third
call, my opportunity to see active ser
vice in position commensurate With
my many years experience and MILL
tary education, seems gone forever.
After serving sixteen years 10 the Nat
ional Guard and independent oryani-
zatior, five years as a private and
eleven as an officer, do not feel that
should begin again with a musket.
probably have the largest and most
complete military library of any citi-
zen soldier in Kansas, and if l have
a reputation for anything it is for nv
knowledge of military matters.
l cannot refrain from saying word
about the work of Sen. Harris in Con-
gress. Everybody seems to be proud
of him as indeed all Kansans should
40. His work in saving the govern
ment So, ,OO0, 600 in the Union Pacific
transaction, is well known to the
people of Kansas. Only few days
ago friend of mine overheard promi-
nent Union Pacific official say that
Sen. Harris might have made several
hundred thousand do lars out of the
transaction if he had been sensible:
but that he had caused thu loss of at
least $40 600, 600 to the Union Pacific
people by his action in the Senate.
Personally I know that Winslow s.
Pierce the attorney for the Reorgsni-
cation Committee and otber Union
Pacific men, tried their best to get
Ser. Harris to make strong speech
IN favor of government ownership of
the Union Pacific instead Of urging
The sale of the road for what it was
worth. Every populist knows that
With Congress constituted as it is,
any proposition looking toward
government ownership would have
met with overwhelming defest.
Sen. Harris has also made no little
progress during this season in Nicar
aqua Canal matters, though little has
been said about 1t as yet. When he
became member of this committee.
he found the chairman and all the
mem bers in favor of a scheme siml-
lar to the Union Pacific in which a
private company was to be backed by
the government and its bonds guar
anteed by the government. BY his
influence with the members of this
committee, Sen. Harris at last got
them over to the proposition of gov
ernment ownership of the Canal, and
now the committee has reported a bill
to the Senate providing that the gov
ernment shall build the cana; that
nine directors shall be appointed by
the president, and confirmed by the
Senate, and Nicaragua and Costa Rica
are to have Que director each. Each
OF these governments are also to be
given a small interest in the Canal
The Senator is trying very hard to
have this bill considered at this ses-
sion SO the building of the Canal can
be begun at once.
sin regard to state matters, it
seems to me that nothing can
prevent The election Of the en-
tire state ticket as well as our
candidates for Congress in every
district except, possibly, the first.
Our platform is the best that was
ever promulgated by a political
party, and the record of our party
both in Congress and in the state,
is such that we are all proud of it;
and l believe the people of Kansas
will show their app oval of the rec
ord we have made, by re-electing
every man On the ticket"
My headquarters will be in Law.
renee this summer and fall, where
Senator Harris will be most OF the
, time, and il you should have an OPP
portunity, shall be glad to have