Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-02-22
LEGISLATURES FIRST DUTY WILL
BE 70 ELECT OFFICERS.
OLD ONES DO NOT HOLD OVER.
EX-SPEAKER STREET MAY BE LEFT
OUT IN THE COLD.
"RecaIcitrants, Figuring on n COM
bination Which VIII Give Them
Control of the House-Are
Talking of Simmons
for Speaker.

. Topeka, Kas, Feb. 21.-tSpecial.) After
making an examination of the state con-
istitution to-day, Assistant Attorney Cen
eral Smelling rendered an opinion to the
effect that, in case of an extra session.. the
legislature would have to be completely re-
organized. THE old organization died last
spring when the legislature adjourned sine
die" said he. New officers and new COM
mittees will have to be chosen IL another
session is held. or course, the old officers
could be chosen in each branch. but the
fornIality OF election would have to be gone
through with. New committees would have
TO be named by the presiding officers also,
or the old ones renamed"
This opinion is shared by a large number
of Pop legislators, but 1t will come as a
severe blow TO Mr.. Street, the speaker of
the last house. He is laboring under the
hallucination that when the officers were
chosen last winter 1t was for a term last
ing until the next regular session of the leg
f~slature. and, in case of a special session.,
all he would have TO do would be to mount
the speakers chair and begin business
where he left off, under the guidance oil
Charlie Martin, his official prompter.
Should an extra session be called, It would
take from ten days to two weeks to organ
fze- 1t is not certain that Street would be
reelected speaker. 1t was the common re-
mark last winter that he was a weak Sis
ter. Even when things were going along
smoothly he had to be prompted by Charlie
Martin. a Republican, whom he kept on
the state pay roll for no other purpose. He
could not handle the simplest kind of a
parliamentary question without first getting
pointers from Martin. When a light
doomed up he would desert the chair and
hide in his private office and let Speaker
Pro Tenn Weilep run the machine. For this
reason Street was very unpopular with his
own crowd. Having received an opinion
from the state legal department that a COM
plete reorganization would have to be
made. the Pops might select some other
member in his place.
The recalcitrant Pops-those who saw fit
to vote against the Brown maximum
freight rate bill-may turn the tables on
the other side and work up a scheme to
organize the house themselves. The recall
eitrants are in favor Of conservative legis-
lation which will stand the test of the
courts. They are figuring on forming an
alliance with the twelve Democratic MEM
beers OF the house and the Republican men,
bers and reorganize the house their way.
They argue that there is no senator or state
printer to select at an extra session, IL
fail to nominate house officers, and vote
for their slate instead of those of the other
side; This. they claim, would not compE,o-
Con Simmons, Democrat, of Franklin, or
some other Democrat, speaker; some silver
Republican speaker pro TEN, and give the
Pops the balance Of the officers. Then there
would be a complete reorganization of COM
mittees. In this way. the recalcitrants
could take all the glory of whatever laws
were enacted. They could even pass the
Leedy bill and then go out and show what
they had dom when they were given an
opportunity, and then point to the record of
the other outfit when IT had control. 1t
would be an easy way to turn the tables
IN the crowd that has abused them so
shamefully. ---.-ts t...- -
In the event such a combination Is made
II could sweep the platter clean. The old
Brown crowd would have to take its med
icine. Its members could 10 nothing but
support the measure the "recalcitrants'
framed. This plan is based on the pre-:
sumption that Governor Leedy will call
an extra session. No effort will be made to
effect a combination spoken OF above until
the call is issued. It Is believed, however,
that the opportunity will never present it.
self. Populists of all factions and from all
sections are of the opinion that the gov
ernor is merely making a grand stand play
and that he has no idea of getting that
aggregation together again. They claim he
is simply trying to arrange matters SO that
the Pops can work the people once more
on. the railroad question in the next cam
paign,