The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-16
Speaker Stubbs Sends Back His
Entire Supply.
Still He Is Extremely Modest
About 1t.
AT ALL TO SAY
Refuses to Discuss His Reasons
for Doing So.
Gossip About the Legislators
and Their DOings.

| speaker w. r. StubbS, OF the house
of representatives. has returned his
railroad passes. This is straight, but it
is not official.
In fact, Mr.. Stubs refuses to confirm
the story. Likewise does he refuse to
deny it.
How about this report that you have
returned your railroad passes and viii
pay your fare in the future?" he was
asked today by a State Journal repor-
ter.
Speaker Stubbs gave one of those
| broad, comprehensive. souI-warming
grins of his, and replied with a twinkle
in his eye:
THAT is something upon which I
have nothing at all to say"
But the story comes straight from
headquarters that the fat bundle of
passes which has heretofore reposed in
Mr.. Stubbs' wallet has now been deple-
ted, and that the genial, paternal disci- |
plinarian of the house is trying to set
his colleagues a good example.
In the case of Mr.. Stubbs, there are !
circumstances which would make it al
most justif1able for him to keep his
political prominence. He is a railroad !
contractor. He doubtless had more /
passes than he knew what to do with |
long before he Jumped into the pOllti- /
cal swim. He received them because of /
his prominence in the railroad world |
rather than because of any political IN
huence which he might be suspected of
possessing. Now that Stubbs has be- |
come possessed of 'huence at the state |
house, he seems to have come to the |
conclusion that he can better afford to
pay fare than to be suspected of having |
been subsidized by the railways.
It is doubtful whether the Stubs |
system viii become very popular in leg
islative circles. Some of the members /
haven't got as much money as Mr. 1
Stubs, and they figure that they had
better make hay while the sun shines.
and get passes while they can. The
state, OF course, pays them 10 cents
mile, going and coming, between their
home and the state capital. But the
popular system is to regard the 15 cents
a mile as velvet, and travel at the ex-
pense of the railroad company. The or
dinary member figures that he has
mighty little influence anyway, and
that il he can tap the railways for
passes, he is getting a pretty good joke
on them. He does not really expect TO
render any equivalent, or betray his
constituents, or accept a bribe; ne tig-
ures that he is getting something Tor
nothing, and that it beats the premium
stamp scheme to stiff froth.
So far the legislature has not found
it necessary to employ additional help
for the purpose of carrying back passes
from the state house to the Santa Fe
general offices across the street
Ell. Kearns, the baby of the house,
denies with much emphasis the base,
or baselesss charge that he is likely to
be dumped out of the legislature on
the ground that he holding the job of
fourth assistant postmaster at his
home town, Oakley, Logan county.
Kearns says that he has resigned this
position, and he'd like to see the man
big enough to put him out of his seat
in the house of representatives. APP
plicants for the job of putting Mr..
Kearns out are invited to consider the
~ fr111 fnfr off Ae
cause Mr.. Kearns has a prize fighters
neck, and is built on the football plan.
T. A. McNeal and N. H. Loomis are
the speakers at the annual banquet of
the Saline county Republican county
central committee, to be held at Salina
the toast, Inspiration" and Mr.
Loomis to the toast "Side-tracked. -
The Salina Journal says:
N. H. Loomis is a Saline county
product, and when he comes to this
city he is just coming home. to speak
to home folks. He began his career
on farm in Glendale township, and
the people of this county have
watched his progress in life with great
interest"
There are some who think that the
Hackney bill providing for an examina-
ton of the state officers accounts is
lacking in one feature: namely, that it
should provide some way by which all
investigation may be kept under the
direct supervision of the governor or
state accountant while the examination ,
is being made
There is reason to believe said a
well known politician today, that al
ready some of the letters, letter books
documents and other discriminating s
matters have been disposed of; thai
when the state accountant comes to ]
make his Investigations he will find
that many things which he needs are {
nysteriously missing. This is especial
" true of letter books, which if they 1
can all be obtained, are certain to !
throw much light on certain subjects
THE bill does not seem to me to give
the accountant enough authority to :
step in and take possession of anything
which he needs to ascertain what has
been going on. 1t should be fixed so
that there IS no doubt how far the ac
countants authority extends.
If Governor Hoch allows this exami-
nation to proceed, I believe that he is
certain to get evidence sufficient to con-
vince him OF the truth of the charges.
1t will be impossible for the officials to 7 ,
get away with all the damaging books !
and documents. The county records
scattered all over the state can be re- {
lied upon for a lot of information, and l
this is just what certain state officials
preparation of money for an investiga- I
ton, and regard it extremely l
doubtful whether any effective law of Y
this nature Will be passed" G
This is from the Atchison Globe: A g
story comes from Topeka to the effect t
that Boss Stubbs is driving members
OF the legislature as he drives section
men, and mat every member is gruln-
ping, and carrying sticks of dynamite I
few days .