The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-03-20
Comments on VIM. Allen Whites
Recent Explosion.
His Fear That Long People Will
Vote.
PURPOSE OF PRIMARY
Thought That Is What New
Law Was For.
Governor Approves Mr.. Fair
child's Anti Politics Talk.

Governor Hoch is suffering from sar-
stood the purpose of the primary cleo
tion law. He has read William Allen
Whites piece" denouncing H B.
Miller and c. L. Davidson for planning
to get into the race for governor, for
| the alleged purpose of bringing out the
Long vote in the Fourth and Eighth
districts.
Il had always supposed said Cover
nor Hoch this morning, that primary
law was intended to give the public a
full and free opportunity to express its
choice for the party candidates. / had
supposed that any plan which would
tend to bring out the vote should be
highly commended. 1t had been my
idea that what we wanted was to give
everybody a show.
But it seems that I was mistaken in
this. Mr.. White says that there is a
conspiracy to get out the vote; he
says that Senator Long is guilty of dis
reputable politics because he is trying
to get his full strength in the field.
don't know that this is what Senator
Long is trying to do, but if 1t is, it
seems to me it is highly commendable
move. If any plan can be presented for
the purpose of getting people out to
adopted, regardless of whether 1t helps
Long or helps somebody else.
1T certainly is an amazing thing to
me what foolish things very wise men
can say sometimes. This article of
Whites criticising H. B. Miller for
thinking of getting into the race for
governor is almost as absurd as the
explosion he had one time when L gave
my consent to allowing certain pure
ly legal matter to be referred to the
United States supreme court for settle
ment. I recall at that time Mr.. White
had an explosion in which he accused
me of trying to rob the people Of my
state of fifty millions of dollars. Now
what do you think of that? AS though
l. the governor of a state, would try
to rob the people of my state of fifty
millions of dollars.
"And all that was because felt it
was my duty to allow the supreme
court of the United States to pass
upon a proposition in which all the
matters at issue were legal matters.
Have we reached a place in this coun-
try where 1t isn't safe to trust mat
ters to the supreme court for de-
ciSion?"
The matter referred to by Governor
Hoch, as will probably be understood,
was the Katy land suit, in which the
Missouri, Kansas & Texas railway
was obliged to get the consent of the
governor to use the states name TO
get into the supreme court and test
the claims of certain settlers who had
taken up land claimed by the M, K.
& T. railway. The governor gave his
consent, the case went to the supreme
court and the railroad company was
knocked out.
Says Fairchild Is Right.
Commenting on the statements Of
Superintendent E. T. Fairchild in
which Mr.. Fairchild urged that county
superintendents be retained in Office
as long as they give good service, re-
gardless of politics, Governor Hoch
said:
II believe Mr.. Fairchild is right.
The elimination of politics from our
schools is a thing highly to be de-
sired.
And 1 don't believe that what Mr..
Fairchild has said will hurt him with
the people of Kansas. The people of
Kansas don't take much stock in the
roars of dissatisfied politicians; they
ask their public officials to give them
good service, and that's all If the
action of Mr.. Fairchild serves to keep
some people out of office who had fig
ured on getting in, those people may
be disappointed about it, but the peo-
pie won't care much"