The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-04

tons or could be shown that their votes
would win. You cannot ask man
who has to look out for the interest of
his home friends and the prestige of his
county to sacrifice them in losing
fight. Torsha is always considerate
and he did not want any friend outside
of his own delegation to go into the
ditch.
Just before noon Sam Jones, the Rice
county candidate. who had never
claimed to be very serious III his inten-
tiOns. agreed to throw his delegation
solid to Murdock. At the same time
deliver the Smith vote to Murdock- Al
O'Clock the other candidates knew
what had happened and a short confer
ehce was held and a plan of united
action was agreed to. But as soon as
they scattered some of them weakened
and preferred to join the Murdock pro
eession TO making a fight for the noml-
nation. The upper ana the lower mill
stones were grinding and Forsha, Price,
richards and the other candidates who
We're IN the fight for the place and nor
merely to trade delegates off for pres
tige knew what they were up against
MulVane saw Banta and Barton cOun-
" agreed to make the first break to
Aaurdock. Barton county was the sec
ond on the roll an6. therefore. most i'm
DOrtant.
-Forsha. Price and Richards knew
what would happen before the ballot
began, but the delegates generally,
while they felt that there was a hen
on were surprised when Barton drop
ped Banta and voted for Murdock- The
only question then was of time whether
Murdock would win on that ballot or
not. Smith threw to Murdock and Lob
dell did the same. The AulVane and
the Albaugh Influences were only en-
gagged in fight to get in first.
THE upper and the lower mill stones
were grinding together and Forsha
pff.f,~.
Pratt, Stafford, Mcpherson, Harvey
and the other counties with purely To-
cal candidates, and with delegations
made up of pOstmasters and friends
who could not afford to lose, climbed
into the band wagon. They yelled for
Reno to get in. but the il delegates
from old Reno We're not band wagon
people. They knew the fight was lost,
but they had the flag flying to the end.
They were there to nominate FOrsha
and not to pick the winner
And that is the sorrowful but true
story of how it happened and why it
went so quickly.
In an editorial on the nomination of
Victor Murdock for congress William
Allen White published the following in
the Emporia Gazette:
"Murdock viii make a queer figure in
congress for a time till congress gets
some sort of sense O. him. For he is a
pretenses. and congress is filthy with
them. The lower house of congress is a
pack of lies. it pretends to be what it
is not, a resort of statesmen. 1t is really
a gang of clerks who work for senators
or constituents. or both. There is no
important legislative work done in the
house. 1t is all preliminary to the real
work done in the senate. Murdoch is
first of all a hard worker. He is wild
when he is not at work. Such a man
is bound to win in the house, for there
is always the hard menial work Of the
committees to do and Murdock viii wal
low in it and gorge himself into nervous
prostration with it. At the end of a
term or two ne is sure to get his nose
above the level of oblivion that envel-
ops most of the members and he win
be somebody.
seven devil lust for work in ten years
he viii be "A power of the first class. T.
/ hehooVes the Seventh district to bear it
/ in mind that times have changed since
/ Long went to congress in 1894 and that
I it is harder for new man to get rec
ognitiOn than it was when Long made
friends with Reed Also Murdock while
an ADLER man than Long was when
Long first struck congress, has nON
I Longs t0ndness for politics as a game
and Longs fine tolerance for the sham$
OF politics, and Murdock may be a few
more years coming TO the surface than
bear in mind that when Murdock does
come to the surface he viii have a big
I message to give the world. There is a
great future ahead of Victor Murdock II
the people Of the Seventh district win
stand by him