The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-03-17

luton instructing the United States
senators and members of congress to
urge the adoption of an amendment to
! the constitution of the United States
to elect United States senator by the
people This concurrent resolution
passed the senate unanimously, and GER
titled copies were transmitted to our
representatives at Washington. There
upon, in pursuance of this unanimity
of opinion in both houses, a bill was in
troduced in the senate to give the people
an opportunity OF voting for a United
states senator, and requiring the can
didateS to be nominated by the respee-
tive conventions preceding the date fix
ed by the constitution as the date of
their election. This bill passed the SEN
ate, and the press throughout the state
and in other states commended It, 1t
went to the house, and was there refer
red to the committee on elections, and
the powers in control, becoming alarm
ed, kept it tied up in the committee IN
til 1t was too late to pass it, when a
test vote was taken to withdraw it
from the hands of the committee which
demonstrated that if a roll call had been
secured it would have passed the house;
but the politicians had smothered the
measure, and that too was permitted to
sleep the sleep that knows no waking.
In the game of politics that was be-
ing played at Topeka, one of the most
important pledges of the Wichita con-
Vention was overlooked and sidetracked.
A revision of the tax laws was prom
ised. OF all measures before the legis-
lature, this was of supreme Importance
as it would have resulted in equalizing
the burdens of taxation. The senate
after weeks of work and study, passed
a tax commission law and the house
under the leadership of the distinguish
ed speaker, did not see fit to even give
the senate bill respectful consideration
but in turn enacted a, law creating the
office of county ssessor-therebv ere
off Sr,t
claiming and pretending that that law
would be a revision of the tax law The
result was that we have no revision of
the tax law. which we would have had
had there been as much effort to enact
such a law as there was to legislate
Henry Allen out of office by the pas
sage of the board of control bill
In the senate during the entire ses-
sion there was no evidence of bossism.
Lieutenant Governor Hanna appointed
his committees with absolute impair
TALLY, and presided over the delfbera-
tons of that body with taht degree of
fairness that commended him to the
favorable consideration of both ma
jority and minority. There was no
single one in the senate who aspired
to- leadership, or attempted to dictate
the deliberations of that body The
position of each senator was recoe-
nized, and the minority was treated
with the utmost fairness by the ma
jority- In the house, however, condi-
tons were different. It was under-l
stood around the capitol building and
the hotel corridors the first four weeks
of the session that there was but one
man IN that body, and that man the
speaker. The members were directed,
cajoled and controlled by him in the
same manner that he had handled
section men on the line of railway that
he was constructing His domination
was complete and autocratic. but hel
was without that ability and expert
ence necessary to successfully play the
role, and after while the mask was
torn off. and the power of the self
constituted boss was reduced to the
minimum The members asserted
their individuality. and proceeded to
represent the people who sent them
there according to the dictates of their
best judgment, without consulting the
whims and caprices Of his royal high
ness There never was in the history
OF the state of Kansas such an exhibit
ton of self-constituted sbossism.' TheI
so-caned machine of Morton AlbaugE /
and Cyrus Leland of two years agoi
was a mere kindergarten in compari-i