The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-04-01
NAMED AT LAST.
Railroad Commissioners Elected
Late Saturday Night.
Walker, Fike and Finney the
Chosen Ones.
RUMOR ABOUT COLE.
To Resign in Year and Take One
Of the Places.
BurtOnites Routed and Morse
and Findlay Defeated.
A. D. Walker, of Holton-
]. n. FilSe. of Colby

A. D. Walker, of Holton-
J. n. FilSe, of Colby.
p. w. Finney, of Neosho Falls
The above is the new railroad board
elected by the executive council late
Saturday night.
F'ike IS the Democratic member; the
other two are Republicans.
It took a finely engineered deal to
elect the board OF railroad commission
ers Saturday night Saturday afternoon
the situation was decidedly strained,
and the executive council had to make
a decisive and gigantic effort to get the
board appointed before the limit set by
the law arrived. OF course it is under
stood that the deadlock could have been
continued over into this week and the
election still be valid because the board
started to do it's work on time. but this
was not desirable for several reasons.
The longer the contest was drawn out
intense feeling began TO spring up and
thea there are the local elections tomor-
row that electors, elected and nOn-elect-
ed wanted to go home to.
Two sessions were held between and
5 o'clock in the afternoon Put no head
way was made. Then they decided to
meet at 10 o'clock that night and in the
interim the situation was irOned out
A story was circulated after the COM
sioners were chosen and repeated today
that there is an understanding that in a
year from now George Cole is 10 resign
as auditor and be named as railroad
commissioner for three years
When the council assembled at night
the deal fixed up, whatever it was, was
put through in one, two, three order
One ballot sufficed for each candidate
There was the full poll of six votes for
each man and this was the result. "A. d.
Walker for three years; J. N Ffke, for
two years, d. w Finney. for one year
When Cole, GODDARD, Stanley and Clark
got together and fixed on Walker and
Finney for the Republican places,
Grimes and Nelson, who were support
ing Findlay to the last. were left out on
a limb. They scratched in and slid down
the trunk when the ballot was taken
and made it a unanimous vote OF record
They hung gut on the proposition to
elect Findlay for three years and Morse
for one. This did not work. The anti
Rurtonites sacrificed their own man IN
order to make it comfortable for Grimes
and Nelson and they succeeded in put
ting them to a complete rout.
George Findlay was never active in
his own behalf. He was down to Par
sons Saturday after the Katy road tax
contract and left the providing of a place
for him to the Burtonites. Senator Bur
ton has F'indlay on his hands again TO
be provided for. Now, lately, Senator
Burton apparently wanted to put Jim
Simpson in as collector and, to be con-
sistent tried to fix Findlay in another
place Tripped up in this, Findlay gets
back in the race for collector. Senator
Burton is reported to have told George
Cole that in case Findlay did not make
the railroad board he would then give
him the revenue cOl1ectorship.
It has been all pie to Senator Buttons
enemies to see him lose the first battle
that has cropped up since his own cleo
ton They held love feasts and rejoic-
ings after it was all over.
The big Seventh is a loser. 1t receives
no commissionership. The governor,
Grimes and Nelson, are more or less
blamed for this result The strength of
the Seventh district seems tc have been
a real weakness. The combinations were
too much for it.
1t is said that Stanley, Cole and
Clark served notice on Grimes and Mel
son that the three would vote for Morse
once more and that was all. This was
about A 80 Saturday afternoon. Grimes
and Nelson stuck to Findlay.
Attorney General GODDARD held win
ming card. His man Walker had to go
and there was no other way to it, He
pulled three votes to his one. Nobody
had as much as half hope that this
would happen Bill Fisher, who had
been here for a week handling Walkers
boom, missed the opportunity Of his
life He went home to Holton Saturday
afternoon convinced that everything was
lost. He fell in the last ditch and went
home too soon to be received with big
celebration.
The insistence for Walker finished
Morse. F'inney had to be the other man
because of pledges and because the cat
tlemen had to have recognition When
Clark gave up ReeS, whom the mlllerS
and cattlemen favored as their first
choice, in order to consummate the deal
that would leave F'indlay out, F'inney
was the natural selection. The Seventh
district couldn't get in after Walker was
chosen and its three andidates-Richter,
Morse and AIiller-are more or less dis
gruntled Morse goes down with better
grace than the others.
All three commissioners are business
men and shippers F'ike is an extensive
hog shipper from the Northwest Walker
is a big cattleman and capitalist at HOl-
ton He is a friend of NJ A. Low, of the
Rock Island, and also a friend Of the
cattlemen. Ffnney is well known in
Kansas. He is an oldtimer He has
served as lieutenant governor represen-
tative and senator He Is now a big
miller at Neosho Falls and a heavy ship
per Colonel J. Fl. Richards, general at
tOrney for the Missouri Pacific, was a
stanch supporter of Finney. He and Fin
ney were old schoolmates.