The Topeka state journal., 1908-12-01
HERE'S AN IDEA.
Representative Westc0tt Pro-
poses Legislative DOrmitOry.
Would Have Legislators Live All
Together.
nnEFH,WnN Dn nRDWTnW
ADDITION TO CAPITOL
Thinks One Should Be Built for
Sleeping Rooms.
Senator Quincy Has Bank De-
pOsit Bill Ready.

Here is a brand new idea from the
ever fertile brain of a Kansas 1egisla-
tor: S. c. Westcott representative
from Cherokee county, would have the
members of the next legislature form
club and live on the dormitory plan
during the next session. His plan is
to rent a large hall and hire a steward,
then the members could take their
meals and sleep at this place cheaper
and more conveniently than they
could scattered over the city in hotels
and boarding houses. They would be
together nights and could caucus and
mold committee meetings galore Liv-
ing like this, they could organize
whist club and a basketball team.
Represen tative Westcott would go
even further than this. He favors an
appropriation OF So 1000, 900 to be used
TO build an addition to the capitol to
consist of bedchambers, dining rooms,
kitchens and parlors for this Iegisla-
tive club house to be available for the
1911 session.
The nlan is not so unreasonable and
impractical as it appears at first
blush. 1t costs the average legislator
money in addition to his salary to
come to Topeka every other winter
and serve his state. The salary at
tached to the office is not sufficient
to pay the expenses or living here dur
ing the session. Missouri voted last
month on the amendment to raise the
Say OA I1GI STATE LEGISLATORS ana the
plan was defeated But the matter of
Inadequate pay for members of the
legislature is coming into general no
tice in all the states As it is now a
man must make a financial sacrifice
TO serve in the state legislature; either
that or listen to the siren voice of the
lobbyist. Missouri now pays her leg
tslators almost twice as high salary
as does Kansas.
State Senator Fred H. Quincy of
Saline county spent yesterday in To-
peka and while here talked freely of
his plan to introduce a guarantee de-
posit bill in the next session of the
legislature Last session the Salina
statesman introduced a guarantee de-
posit bill only to see it defeated on a
final count of noses, but he is sure that
st will carry next session. THAT is
he said, -'if the members elect did not
get their offices under false pretenses.
The people of Kansas at the last cleo
tion plainly expressed their sem
timents on the question of guaran-
tee of deposits
Senator Quincy also declared that
he was in favor of good roads legisla-
tion and state publication of school
books. three party pledges which were
discussed at the Lawrence conference
not heard of any opposition to J. N.
Dolley. the sage of Maple Hill, for
speaker of the house. Spea king of
the state tax law, the Salina man
now on the statute books. "In the
hands of our intelligent and practical
assessor. the law worked like a charm
last spring and summer he said.
Some unknown person, from some un-
known place. sent a poisoned cake to
w. E. Forney of Salina. Kan, for his
THANKSGIVING dinner. Forney SUSPECTED
took the package containing the cake to
a postof1ce inspector at Salina, who
advised him to send it to DR.. Crumbine,
secretary of the state board of health,
for analysis. He did so.
DR.. Crumbine. after brief inspection,
said the cake contained enough strych-
nine to kill a hundred families He
could literally scrape it off the frosting.
DR.. Crumbine sent part of the cake to
DIR. Willard of the State Agricultural
college at Manhattan, for analysis, and
the rest back to Forney, to be placed
in the hands of the authorities.
DR.. Crumbine says he doesn't know
who Forney is. Forney's letter didn't
tell, except it said he lived at 246 Kan
SaS avenue, Salina.
The cake contained two layers with
a heavy coat of white frosting. It was
sent through the mail in small sized
shoe box and it required three 10-cent
stamps to carry it. There is nothing in
the package or in the stamp cancella-
tion to show where it was mailed
That Governor-elect Stubbs favors
the state publication of school books is
apparent from his remark at the Law
renee conference last Saturday:
The fact that California has made a
failure of state publication of school
books doesn't necessarily mean that
Kansas would make a failure"
This remark was drawn out by the |
statement published that Kansas now
gets all of its common school books fo~ |
a trifie over SIS by the present contract |
system while California gets more than
81 for its full set of common school |
books under state publication
That there is a good profit in Kansas |
school books at present prices is ad-
Initted by all book publishers, except, |
possibly, the publishers of our present |
school books. They are making no ad- |
mission of that kind. They are convey
ing the impression that there is no |
money in the contracts with a view of |
getting prices lifted
Mrs Ella Burton, formerly an agent |
OF the American Book company, claims |
thai the profit on Kansas books now
will average perhaps 200 per cent 1t |
will soon be known what it will cost to |
do the mechanical work on the books |
state Printer McNeal is now figuring |
up the cost.
"A. w Sullivan, general manager of the |
Missouri Pacific, says that his road will |
be good and make improvements re-
uuested from time to time during the |
past five years by the board. These re
quests have lately been put in the form |
of demands, and aided by that most
powerful of all weapons publicity, |
seem to have brought results. The
earnings of the Kansas lines of this |
road have been used to pay dividends |
or repairs for roads in other states In |
his letter Mr.. Sullivan promises to