The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-07-05

attempting to hoodwink the people
into the belief that the commission is
above politics, by the appointment of
a subordinate employe who is not in
politics! 1t has been suggested that
the members of the commission meant
to instruct Secretary Lysons to ad-
dress the letters referred to, to a band
of marines, or to some Sunday school
convention.
The truth seems to be that So many
promises of the secretarysnip of the
railroad commission have been made
to persons prominent in politics that
Mead and Faircnild decided that the
only way out of the dilemma was to
find an excuse for throwing down those
to whom the promise had been made.
This has been done by having the
commission decide that politics is a
bar to a political job. OF course, this
decision was arrived at after the three
politicians making it had been safely
ensconsed in their political berths.
Many Promises Given.
There is considerable gossip about
the promises made of the secretary
snip Of the railroad commission. Moth
ing was known of the candidacy of j.
Will Lysons until day or two before
the commission met to organize, but
no one will believe that man of his
long years connection with the state
committee organization and his ex-
perience in politics, would have al
lowed the use Of his name for the
place had ne not been assured in ad-
vance that he would get the place.
His appointment would have perhaps
met with comparatively little criticism
but he has now been forced to with
draw along with perhaps half a doz-
en- others who were promised the
place.
The friends of Harry Gillian of Co.
lumbia county say the place was
promised him by no less a person than
Mead himself. Gillian has been prom
inent in that county for years, having
served as county auditor for four years
and during the last campaign he was
one of the strongest members Of the
state committee. Fred Blomberg of
Spokane, was another aspirant for the
secretaryship of the railroad commits
sion, and he, too, is now out Of it
through the h1gh-moral- plane-eiict
of the railroad commission.
Blomberg was at the head of the
thousands of Scandanavians through
out the state for Mead last fall, but
now ne finds that this sort Of work is
an effective bar to his preferment for
political job. General Thomas H. Cav
anaugh of Olympia, is said to have
been assured of the secretaryship of
the commission by Chairman Harry
Fairchild only to find that the work
he did in organizing republican clubs
throughout the state in the interest of
Mead last fall has knocked him out
of the place he had his eye on. Per-
haps the best joke is on Temporary
Secretary ]. Will Lysons, who has
been the consistent defender and
booster of Mead for the past year or
more, and to find that his six years
service as secretary Of the state re-
publican committee and two years re-
cord as secretary of the state senate
are now given as an excuse by the
governor for turning him down.
1t has been suggested that the best
evidence that could be given of the
sincerity of the members of the rail-
road commission of thir intention to
take the commission out of politics,
would be the resignation of the three
commissioners themselves.