Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1906-08-18
THAT POPULgI PROTEST
What Members Said of Harris
Railroad Bill.
Charged That it Met Approval of
Railroad Lobby-An Evasion and
acknowledgements Duns-
more Pulls the Record.


run away from his railroad record,
state senate at the legislative session
of 1897. He was elected under a
pledge to devote his best efforts to-
ward securing the passage of a max
imum freight rate law. Instead, he
devoted himself to the defeat of a
maximum rate law and the passage
of makeshift bill prepared by the
railroad lobby. This makeshift bill
was vetoed by Gov Leedy because of
80 serious defects which he pointed
out in his veto message.
Now, although a resident of Chi
cago, Col. Harris is the democratic
nominee for governor OF Kansas on
a platform promising railroad legisla-
ton. Associated with him in the cam
paign are w. H. Ryan, Hugh Farrelly
and Bailie Waggener, who were his
accomplices in forcing the pOpulists
to break their campaign pledges in
1897.
The bill Gov. Leedy vetoed was
known as the Harris BILL 1t de-
rived it's name from the fact that Sem
ator w. A. Harris introduced the bill,
although it was drawn and prepared
by Judge Elijah Robinson, of Kan
sas City, a Missouri Pacific railroad
attorney. w. H. Ryan, now chairman
of the democratic committee, and
Hugh Farrelly, now the democratic
nominee for lieutenant governor, were
both members of the senate with Har
ris in 1897 and assisted him in thwart-
ing the expressed will OF the people
who had elected them.
bil1,'' as it should have been termed,
was passed by the house only after
a most bitter struggle and all the
political ingenuity and power Harris
and his associates could command
was necessary to force the bill
through The populist members of
the house regarded the passage of the
bill as a complete surrender to the
railroad corporations and had w. A.
Harris come before them for election
as United States senator at the close
instead of at the beginning of the ses-
sion he would unquestionably have
been defeated. But Harris managed
to keep his relations with the rail-
road attorneys hidden until he had
been elected United States senator.
Come idea of the feeling of the pop
Harris can be gained from the fact
that protest against his course re-
garding railroad legislation was pre-
pared and signed by A populist rep
resentatives, among them being
Speaker w. D. Street. and several
other noted populist leaders. o. o.
Outcalt, a demo-pop, who is now try
ing to justify Harris railroad record,
was a member of the house and voted
against the bill. In a speech ex-
planning his vote he said: "I firmly
believe time will prove that the men
elected to this legislature on a peo-
pies party platform, who have voted
for this bill, have made mistake
that will result in lasting injury to
the state"
The populist protest against the
Harris bill was spread on the records
of the house. 1t is to be found on
page 909 of the printed Journal Of
the House proceedings at the 1897
session Following is the protest and
the list of signers:
Mr.. Speaker: We, the undersigned
members of the legislature, beg leave
to file this our protest against the
senate committee railroad bill No
524
First, We protest against this bill
because it is not the measure we have
promised the people.
Second, Because this measure has
met with the full approval of the rail-
road lobby, and because we believe
it was drawn at the suggestion of the
railroad attorneys of this state, and
despite the fact that this bill has met
the sanction and approval of men
high in the councils of our party,
(meaning Harrfs) we feel that it is a
makeshift and an evasion, a COM
promise, and we are convinced of the
fact that a compromise is nothing
more or less than defeat
Yet feeling that we have done all
we could to redeem our pledges, and
inspired by the hope that our worst
fears may not be realized, and that
some good may result from the pas
sage of this measure, we are con-
strained to vote aye.
Lot Ravenscraft, E. H Epperson,
E. c. Weilep, i'll Feighner,
T. c. Davis, W.T.. Brown,
w. d. Street, p. +. Carr,
J. W. Clark, w. G-Jamieson,
d. NJ Barley, James Cessin,
w. PsTrueblood E. Loomis,
William Lewis, J. F. Malin-
]. B. Ward, G. c. Stoner,
J. S. Bean, H. w. Dingus,
]. J. Marty, Paul Russell,