The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-07
TOM JOHNSON
 VS. BURTON Former Rivals to Fight
 Again. RACE WILL BE INTERESTING Municipal Campaign in Cleveland
 is Waxing Warm. Incidents In careers of the Two Men Are RecaIled-ABoth Have De- feated Each Other In
 the Past.
BY ALFRED ,. sroFEn.

Washington, Sept. Especial. )-As the fight in Cleveland, O., for suprem- acy in municipal affairs is. strange to relate, somewhat mixed up with na- tional politics, it will doubtless prove interesting to recall some of the incl dents in the career of the Hon. Tom L. Johnson during his two terms in Con- gress from the district now represent ed by the Hon. Theodore F. Burton. This contest would not have any na- tionaI significance but for the fact that in deciding to accept the Republican nomination for Mayor of Cleveland, MT. Burton announced publicly that he was Induced to cross lances with Mayor Johnson because President Roosevelt, Secretary Taft and Secretary Garfield had urged him to do so. It will also be remembered that he says that he has letters from all three of these prominent government officials, but un- til he secures their consent, will not give them out for publication.
 To run against each other is no new business for Burton and Johnson. In contests for Congress in Cleveland. each mas defeated the other. The initial term in the House of Mir. Burton was in the Fffty-first Congress. which was Republican, and presided over by Thomas B Reed as Speaker. That was the House that increased it's slender majority by ruthlessiy robbing Demo- crats of their seats. In less than two hours one day, and without even argu- ing the cases. the Republicans turned out Edward c. Venable of the Peters burg District Of Virginia, and Colonel William Elliott, of the Charleston Dis trict of South Carolina. and swore In as their successors two negroes-the late John M. Langston. former United States Minister to Hayti, and William Miller, q copper colored citizen of the Palmetto State. That was in 1890, The same year Congressional election was held throughout the United States.
 Defeated Burton.
 In one of the Cleveland Districts. Tom Johnson was put up bk the Demo crats to run against Burton. The lat- ter was badly defeated Two years la ger Mir Burton was not pitted agalnst MT. Johnson. The Republican victim in that contest was a man named Hodge Johnson walloped him by over s.OO0 votes. and came back to the Fifty third Congress In 1894 Burton and Johnson had another tilt for Congress- and Burton managed to turn the ta- bles. and defeated his Democratic op- ponent by a little more than 4,OOO votes MT. Burton has been In the House continuously since. At his two last elections, indeed, the Democrats uid not put up any candidate against him. only the Prohibitionists and Socialists being in the field.
 While a member of the Fifty~third Congress, Mir. Johnson served on tne Ways and Means Committee, having been assigned there by Speaker Crisp because of his familiarity with the steel industry. Johnson not only fa- Vored tarif reform generally, put ere ated a sensation in most manufactur- ing centres by declaring in his speeches and in newspaper interviews, that ne favored placing steel rails on the free list As he was a large manufacturer of steel rails, and interested besides In mills turning out other steel products. his liberality and 'boldness stunned the tarIff "barons'' who insisted the coun- try would go to the demnttion bow VOWS if the Wilson German bill was placed on the statute books.
 Whffe the bill was pending in the House there was a rough and tumble debate between Mir. Johnson and MT Daizell, of one of the Pittsburg dls- tricts, that will never be forgotten by those fortunate enough to have heard it. Of course, whenever anything that concerns iron or steel Is even tichieu aH Congress, Dalzell feels compelled 10 rush to the front Johnson IS not onIy naturally a bright and ready speaker on most everything that pertains tc manufacturing interests, but he was specially well equipped to discuss ev- erything relating to steel rails. for ne was the chief owner in the mammoth mill turning out rails at JohRstown: Pa, and had other interests In Kindred lines DalzeIi argued that Johnson could afford to have steel rails placed on the free list because he and hls partners had patents which gave them ample protection, and that Johnson was selfish and wanted to proht at the expense of rivals in business.
 shows Up Dal3eIi.
 Johnson let Dalzell go right along until he got him where he wanted him. Then he proceeded to show that the