The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-09
POLITICAL GOSSIP
Fight in First Congressional
District Will Be Lively.
Will All Be Over in Three
Weeks.
COULD HAVE LEARNED.
Machine Men Might Have Sc
cured Pointers.
Never a Better Example of Ma
chine Politics.
GUILD HAVE LEARNED.

There will be something doing in the
First congressional district during the
next four weeks. The action of the
congressional committee Friday aft
ernoon in calling the congressional
convention for February 2 will bring
the fight in the First district to a
speedy end, but it will be lively while
1T lasts. The county committees will
Immediately issue the calls for the
primaries and county conventions to
elect delegates to the county conven-
lions. These county conventions will
also elect delegates to the state con-
vention, and politics will be fast and
furious in all these counties for the
next three weeks, after which Holton
will be the storm center for three or
four days, or until after the conven-
ton.
The members of the so-called state
machine should have been present at
the meeting of the congressional COM
mittee. They would have received a
splendid lesson in machine politics.
Cyrus Leland was there, as he is res
ident of the First district, but the other
members of the state machine missed
it.
Protests and arguments on the part
of the minority had not the least weight
whatever with the five Curtis mem
bers. These were Arthur Capper, J. G.
Slonecker, J. M. Chisham, E. C. Beck
enstoce and John NJ. Bacon. Judge J.
II.
the committee meeting on a proxy, and
who is one of Mr.. Curtis personal man.
ayers, was master mechanic of the ma
chine.
The caucus which was held in the
| Copeland parlors just prior to the
meeting, which was participated in by
| the five Curtis members of the COM
mittee and by A. K. Rodgers, planned
every action to be taken by the COM
mittee. the typewriter resolutions
| Cob, ho1 h04 hnfn rnf 10 ND
were submitted and the members were
instructed how to vote. In the COM
mittee meeting Judge Slonecker made
every motion made on the part of the
| congressional district machine and the
| Curtis members voted as a unit.
| Even when W. I. Biddle asked that
| the resolution endorsing Congressman
Curtis be separated from that endors-
ing President Roosevelt in order that
| the three anti-CurtiS members could
| vote to endorse Roosevelt and go on
record against Curtis-even this was
denied. The object was to make them
vote against Roosevelt If they voted
| against Curtis.
The action of this machine in calling
| the convention for February 2 is look
| ed upon as snap action by the anti
| Curtis candidates and syn1pathizers. 1t
| is claimed that the convention was
called in the shortest possible time in
| order to keep Judge Broder1ck from
| going into Jefferson county and organ
| izing to capture the delegations from
that county. The Atchison delegation
| will apparently be for Howe whether
Howe says he is candidate or not
| The Curtis forces are already we'll or
| ganized all over the district. The anti
| Curtis members asked that the con-
vention be. put of a week later. put
| without effect. The machine gave no
| reasons for holding the convention so
| early. but the five Curtis members sim
ply voted against any other date.
The Leavenworth county politicians
| saw that the action of the congressional
| committee in segregating the soldiers
| home from the rest of Leavenworth
county is Illegal and they. will not
stand for it. The congressional COM
mittee placed the control of the SOL
diers' home primaries directly in the
hands of Chairman Capper of the con-
gressiona1 committee. by authorizing
| him to name some one at the soldiers
home to supervise the primaries. 1t IS
| claimed that this is entirely illegal. as
! the supervision of the Leavenworth
county primaries lies entirely with the
| county central committee, and that one
| part of a county cannot be segregated
! from another for political purposes in
| any such manner. Thee sticking point
seems tC be over the supervision of the
primaries, whether it shall be in the
| hands of the Curtis people through
Chairman Capper of the congressional
| committee, or in the hands of the
Leavenworth county committee. Each
side seems to be afraid that the other
| side will challenge its voters and keep
them from voting. This was the meth
cd employed by the Democrats in the
election last year, and as result only
| 765 Republican votes were pOlled when
! it is claimed that there are over 1000
Republican votes in the home. 1t can
be easily seen that the same methods
| employed in the primaries might have
considerable effect upon the result.
! w. 1. Biddle argued that the Leaven-
! UOI-fb have
pay all the expense of the primaries,
furnish the booths and other parapher-
| MALTA, and that the control therefore
| rested with the county committee.
J. M. Chisham asked Mr.. Bidd1e If
the Soldiers home would be given rep
resentation in the county convention on
the basis of it's total vote. Mr.. Biddle
| said he did not know, as the Curtis fac
ton claims control of the county COM
mittee and he could not tell what it
would do.
1t seems that heretofore the six wards
| in LeaVenWOrth have been given ten
votes each, and the ten townships have
been given six votes each, giving the
city and country each half of the coun-
! ty convention, sixty votes each. Colonel
| D r. Anthony stated this had been the
custom for many years, although the
city really casts more votes than the
| country. The action of the supreme
| court in throwing 1000 votes or more
| into Delaware township will call for
new division by the county committee.
The Curtis people allege that the anti
Curtis element will try to keep the Sol
diers' home from having more than the
customary six votes accorded hereto
fore to Delaware township, and on this
ground they claim the Soldiers home
should be segregated from the rest of
the county in holding the primaries.
The state committee has already
given the soldiers home ten delegates
| as a part of Leavenworth county, and
the primaries to eject these delegates
will be held under the supervision of the
county committee-that is, the county
committee will appoint the supervisor
for the soldiers home primaries the
same as those for the rest of the coun-
ty. Then if a supervisor appointed by
the chairman of the congressional COM
mittee attempts to run the same prira-