The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-02-09
The Amendments Made Destroy
Its Efficacy.
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
Treasurer Went Back on Prom
ises and Fought Bill.
Prepared Amendments for the
Railroad Attorneys.

The state depository bill, recon-
nended by the senate committee of
the whole Wednesday afternoon for
passage as amended, without further
debate, came up in the senate on third
reading this morning and was passed
by vote Of "a for to none against.
the vote being as follows:
Yeas-Benedict, Benson, Belts,
Baker, Brewer, Carver, Connor, Dol
ley. Fitzpatrick, Fulton, Getty, Gilbert
Griffin, Hamme, Harrison, Hodges.
huffman, Hughes. Lower, Martin of
Bourbon, Martin of Woodson, Miller,
Peck, Porter of Crawford, Porter of
Montgomery, Quincy. Simons, Smith of
Edwards. Smith of Franklin, Stewart.
Tucker, Waggener, Wilkerson, Young
Absent=Buschow, Chapman, Has
hell, Hayden, NOftzger. Stillings.
Senator Quincy's Charges.
estate Treasurer Kelly has been
working secretly and in an underhand
manner to defeat any state depository
pill and he admitted to me yesterday
that he would not object to seeing the
depository bill killed." said Senator
Quincy this morning. 1.-The amend
Eaent to the bill offered by Senator
Fitzpatrick to strike out the clause
compelling the board of treasury ex-
mEalners to deposit the state funds in
interest was adopted by the senate
and in doing so the greater virtue in
the bill was killed
Senator Fitzpatrick says he did not
offer that at the instigation of the
state treasurer, but he did offer it in
the interests of c. J. Devlin, whose
man Kelly is and who holds in his
banks much of the state funds. Kelly
Objected to that clause and made the
plea that 1t might keep any Topeka
bank from holding funds and thereby
work an inconvenience. I provided
for that by Offering as an amendment
that in any event at least one Topeka
bank should be made a state deposit
tory to hold on deposit not more than
$4,000 at not less than , per cent. in
Gerest. but that was not adopted. and
Senator Fitzpatrick's amendment,
which defeats the greatest object en-
bodied in the depository bill, was
adopted.
Estate Treasurer Kelly promised the
people of Kansas that he would work
for a state depository law, and he
promised me personally at the Wichita
convention that the depository law
should not only be a feature of the
Republican platform, but that he
would work for it.
HE has worked against the law,
and has admitted to senators that he
is against the law He fought it be-
fore the committee, and he prepared
senators with amendments to be used
in fighting the bill.
. Kelly naQ copies OF the Dill with
the amendments he wanted written
on slips and pasted in these printed
bills which he handed to railroad men
who are senators. 1 saw him give out
some of these copies. He gave one
to Senator Smith, from Edwards. but
Smith refused to have anything to do
with the amendments Kelly had writ
ten on the slips. Several other SEN
ators supplied with these bills refused
to use them.
kelly has a hold on all the legis-
lators looked upon as railroad men
because Kelly assesses the railroads. |
Therein lies his power in this legisla-
tuTe.
The bill now goes back to the
house as an amended bill. and it is the
hope of Kelly that the house will not
pass the bill as amended. and that he
can get it tied up and defeated. The I
best thing the house can do is to pass
the bill as amended. The legislature /
Will meet in two years from now and
the same senate will be here, but
Kelly will be out of Office then, and
perhaps the legislature can pass such |
a. depository bill as should become a
law.
''Why should the banks be re-
Quired to make bids and send certified /
checks with the bids if they have no /
assurance that if their bid is the high /
est that it viii be accepted? If any of /
that section of the bill was to be /
stricken out the entire section should 4
be killed"