The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-04-25

write me two. If it IS in WaShlngI ton
I will send it to you" Then he handed
a large bouquet to the convention
This is a great district, said Reeder.
I'VE are the people out here We are
not Drawn, we are brains. This dis
trict is the highest in Intelligence of
any in the United States. Fully one
half If not tWo-thirds of the men IL
this convention are as capable as I am
to represent this district. I am phys
ically able to do the work" The anti
delegates heartily agreed with the
statement that there were plenty Of
people as able as the speaker.
Reeder, after all, was almost a fig
urehead with the politicians. It was not
Reeder in congress that those wanted
who supported him, it was patronage
and postofhces. They received prom
ises and the votes were delivered. With
the ants it was anything. almost, TO
beat Reeder. and but for the refusal Of
Hays B. White to get out of the race he
would have probably been defeated
National Committeeman Dave A1ulvaua
and Jim Simpson were on hand and
lined up with the anti-Burton men in
the combination to defeat Reeder. All
Mulvane accomplished was to get
paragraph in the resolutions commend
ing Senator Burton The Reederites are
bitter toward the Burton forces.
Norton was a new battle ground for
the politicians. The congressional con-
ventiOn just ended was the first ever
held in the town, but the tOwnspeopIe
could not have done better with years
of experience behind them.
The population of Norton is 1902,
but the politicians swelled it to 1902,
not counting the golf players from To-
peka who went up to play on links
where the ball could not be lost in a
week The largest hotel in the town
was crowded. Politicians and delegates
damned it as full as a short grass
country corn crib after good crop.
People bulged out Of the windows and
dOorWays and the overflow Hoated
around the edges on the veranda and
sidewalk. It was one of those hotels
where the hotel keeper is in his shirt
sleeves and has a toothpick in his
mouth, and let's you register on a pat
ent centrifugal hotel register advertis-
ing scheme with q pencil if you have
one. and with the black end of a burnt
match if you don't happen to have a
Faber-
This plutocratic boniface had 300 for
breakfast the morning of convention
day. That meant $3.50 in his long buck
skin wallet. He made money enough to
buy bottle of ink and a pen for the
register, and enough left to buy three
more chairs for the lobby and give his
patrons an egg apiece for brea kfast for
a time. He had a few chairs. those kind
that might be described by the quota
ton from the new pension commits
sioner, for they folded up as the prim-
rose, when the gates of day are shut,
folded up as folds the jack knife, when
the piece of plug is cut" Besides the
chairs he had toothpicks for his guests.
But the people, the townspeople of
Norton, entertained the visitors IN royal
style. Their homes were thrown open 70
accommodate the overflow and the great
unWashed from the hotel, for there was
but one wash basin there as far as dis
covered, went to the homes and fra
sides of the people and were made
comfortable with real, home beds and
soap, water and towels. And speaking
of water, Norton has q water supply
that is one of the best in the state. The
pumping station and wells are in the
valley of Prairie Dog creek The water
comes from the we'll which z. l. Van
degFift explored and almost fell into
head.
Norton has other things besides hos
pitable people and q water supply. Tt
has a park and fair grounds, golf links,
a baseball nine,a girls and a boys quar-
tette and a court house that is the
pride Of the people. There is small
jail. A large one is not needed. There
is sanitarium but there was only one
man and q pair of crutches in it. He
ran rusty nail in his foot which proves
that Norton is healthy and that there
has been rain there for there was red
rust on the nail Norton also has two
telephone systems and either one IS bet
ter than the Bell system in Topeka.
! AGS are SulOUldt1t anu the people OK
Norton do not have gum chewing and
giggling girls at central to say they
are talking" before you give them
number. Another thing-the street cars
in Norton don't miss all the trains and
do not bump a persons liver into sec
tons while riding round town. Norton
does not have street ears but it has
people with plenty Of carriages who
spent their time driving the visitors
about town to see the residences the
parks and other places Of interest.
Norton is going to have the largest
departn ent store in northwestern Kan
sas, handsome county high school and
% new houses this year. Last year the
county was second as an alfalfa grow
ing county and this year expects to head
the list.
Norton will probab bly, have more con
Ventions, too, for the politicians were
greatly pleased with the treatment re-
ceived there. Nothing that the people
had to offer could have been better.