The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-07-05
POLITICAL PULL WILL NOT BE
CONSIDERED BY THE RAIL.
WAY COMMISSION
Circular Letter Sent Out Declaring
Pull Will Bring No Jobs in the
State Service

sent to at least some of the applicants
for the position of secretary of ths
railroad commission, signed by ]. viii
Lysons as secretary, stating that he i:
directed by the commission to tell the
applicants that political endorsements
will not be considered by the mem.
bers of the commission in filling the
office of secretary to the board. Ir
addition to this, one member Of the
board is said to have stated that the
railroad commission proposes to ele-
vate itself above politics (by lifting uI
itself by the bootstraps, probably
and take it's place on a high moral
plane, says the Seattle Times.
If there is one thing more than an
other that is calculated to cause a
smile among the politicians of the
state it is the declaration that the
railroad commission is going to ig-
more politics-especially for the Sc
lection of man for secretary who is
unknown to the field of politics. In
addition to the enthusiastic declama :
ton of Harry Fairchild at Olympia
when he took the whole legislature
into his confidence and declared that
the passage of railroad commission
bill means that I'VE" would dominate
the state for fifty years, the appoint
ment Of the three commissioners is
further evidence Of the governors in
tentions in that direction.
Politics in Commission
Neither the governor nor anyone
else ever attempted to ascribe any but
political reasons for the appointment
of Harry Fairchild as chairman Of the
railroad commission. He has been in
politics in one way or another for Is
years in this state, and was at one
time sent as delegate to the national
reasons. Last year he was at the
head Of the Mead machine in What
ton of Mead was secured, Fairchil1
was made chairman of the county CEN
a political lobbyist at the Legislature
last winter, but if indications count
ho will no r.
do the biggest job of lobbying at the
next session that has ever been under
save the railroad commission intact
and get sufficient appropriations for
it to continue in business for the two
following years. His appointment as
railroad commission was VIGOROUSLY a
political one, and the governor so an
nounced it when the place was given
to him.
John S. McMillin was appointed for
purely political reasons. He is a po-
litical henchman of Harry Fairchild to
begin with. In the next place McMil-
lin claims to be the father and promo
ter of the famous northwest COM
bine.'' He procliams from the house
tops that it was he who originated the
idea of combining the counties of the
northwest in state conventions, and
he or his friends are said to have con-
WINGED Mead that McMillin can control
the northwest combine-a potent con-
sideratiOn in the matter of naming the
head of the state ticket sometimes
This is the same John S. McMillin, by
the way, who is referred to by the ac-
tive political hustlers in the north
west as Grandma" McMillin. He is
also somewhat famous as the lemon
ade" candidate for the United States
senate. Last year he thought enough
of politics to ask the state convention
to send MIN as a delegate to the ma
tional convention, and seemed perfect
Iy willing to step down from mis- high
moral plane for that purpose.
Lawrence Boys" as Bosses
Mead has repeatedly said of late
when justifying his proposed appoint
ment of Johnny Lawrence, that 1.-The
Lawrence boys can control Whitman
county whenever they want to- This
assertion will be disputed from many
influential sources in Whitman county
but it clearly reflects the governor:
attitude in his endeavor to find poll.
ticians for places on the railroad com.
| mission.
And now the three members Of tni.
| commission, all of whom were ap
pointed for purely political reasons ar,