The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-05

local discussion of it would be of no
value. The purpose of the letters has
been to tell the other side of the most
important question that has been be-
fore the country since the free silver
issue of 1896. The Eseh-Townsend
bill, which passed the house in the
last congress, was the beginning of this
issue. Fortunately for the country,
the senate refused to be moved by the
hue and cry of the politicians and op-
posed the bill. Then the issue was put
to the people, and it became Il subject
of popular thought. The Esch-TOWn-
send bill proposed to give to the inter
state comm cree commission the power
to make arbitrary rates, to be effective
Immediately, and its advocates said
President Roosevelt stood for that
principle. In Kansas the railroad
baiters tried to brOwbeat Senator Long
into d surrender to that principle. He
replied that such a law would not be
constitutional, and said he would not
vote for it. They retOrted that the
president favored it, and that Senator
Long should get right with the presi-
dent In answer. Senator Long quoted
the presidents Raleigh speech, which
spoke for a maximum rate and time
for the railroads to appeal to the
courts In addition, Senator Long said
1T was no part of a United States SEN
ator's duty to surrender his prerOga-
tive to the executive. Then the rail-
road baiters rallied at Senator Long,
until the president himself spoke in
his message declaring for a maximum
rate to be made by the commission
and time for the railroads to appeal to
the courts.
'The author of the Elijah letters
desires to thank the newspapers Of
Kansas for their fair comment. Not
all the Kansas newspapers have pub
lished these letters but all have been
fair to their author and fair to the
issue which the letters have discussed.
Without proper ground it has been
assumed by some paper that the peo-
pie are in favor of the Esch-TOWnSend
bill, which passed the house in the last
congress. and that the president
stands for that unconstitutional and
impractical measure. For this reason
the letters have not been published by
people to hear the other side how
ever, has dissipated that idea, and
when the president spoke in his re-
cent message the only prop the advo-
Gates Of radical legislation had was
removed This is a vindicatiOn of the
Elijah letters and of the position
taken by Senator Long of Kansas. It
has been said in some evil-disposed
quarters that the author of the Elijah
letters has sold for personal profit the
space of the newspapers which have
used them. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The author of the
letters has derived no profit whatever
from this source. At the outset. he in
formed the newspaper editors that he
proposed to exchange a weekly letter
of public interest for a little space in
which to discuss the Taye question.
BY these letters he thinks he has paid
for the space used in the rate discus
sion, and the editors who used the let
ters evidently have agreed that they
were worth the price While the
author of the letters has not been in
the work for his health he has been
inspired by a sense of justice and fair
play For there never mas been
more iniquitOus measure before con-
gress than the Esch-ToWnsend bill
which passed the last house That it
was wrong in principle is proved by
the failure of its sponsors to stand for
it in the present congress"