The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-09-09
KANSAS COMMENT
A NsmEp1nrc - FOLLETTE.

| ANSWERING LA TOILETTE.
Senator Long in his speech at LIN
com park last week In NUS ~, a. a.
La Toilette amendments TO the hep
burn rate bi1l-the roll cali that mas
done more than any other one lnlng 10
create square deal sentiment and cause
the people of Kansas to look askanca
at their senator and resolve mat ne
shan't get there again. Inc senator s
speech was adroit and able ana ninety
delivered: He divided the leaders 81
thought into three classes:: the ultra
conservative. the extreme radical ana
the great middle class. VINO act as the
balance wheel and move forward IN
an orderly and safe manner. He
claimed to belong to this progressive,
yet mildly conservative element In the
senate. when some "w1ld-eyed apostle
of unrest" fired several awkward queS-
tions at him and he was LED INTO max
ing statements that he perhaps would
not have made had he taken more time
for consideration. He said ne voted
against the La Toilette amendments
then and would do it again unoer SIM Inn.
lar circumstances. The excuse that
the bill could not have passed with
the amendments tackled on at that
time was reasonable. and ne shoulo
have let it go at that, but when ne
attacked the amendments them
selves, saying they were OF little or no
value, he destroyed the good impress
sion he had made. In speaking OF the
amendments to ascertain the actuai
value of railroad property in the coun-
try so that the commission could act
1ntelligently in fixing rates, ne SAID IL
was 1mmaterial and OF little Nalue 10
know what they cost. and quoted the
president to that effect mis- is a mat
ter that the interstate commerce COM
mission and all of the railroad COM
mlss1oners of the varioues states nave
united in considering OF paramount
Importance in ascertaining whether
the railroads are getting exorbitant
returns on their capital. He also made
the statement that the roads were not
overcapitalized and again said MI
Roosevelt was of the same opinion.
The senator took his audience for an
aggregation of mum bskulls. if he ex-
pected them to swallow what was
manifeStly untrue and distorted. Few
of those who read at all could forget
the positive declarations of the presi-
dent that most. if not all. the railroads
of the country are oVercapitallzed ana
that the public is required to pay
dividends of an excessive character on
the swollen bond and stock issues. The
senator's sarcastic references to La
Toilette were ill-timed, as the latter
has never made any attacks whatever
upon Long. The impression left by
Longs speech was conflrmatory OF
preconceived notions as to his real at
titude towards the mighty corpora
tions.-Stockton Record.
"UNSANITARY' HOTELS.
The travelling men of Kansas have
undertaken a good job, that of report
ing to the state board of health the
hotels which are "unsanitary.' We
don't know what that "unsanitary"
means but it sounds all right. hotel
where the proprietor sits in the office
playing checkers and refuses to get up
to receive a guest until the game is
finished is certainly unsanitary. A hotel
where the meat is so tough that it pulls
the filings out of your teeth is sure
unsanitary. And hotel where the but
ter is so strong that it is fatal to all on
the windward side, and the coffee so
weak that it won't work its way down
your throat is decidedly and undoubt-
eddy unsanitary. The u: c. T. has un-
dertaken a good work and the rest of
the travelling public will hope for sue
cess.-Hutchinson News.