The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-29

I'm considering the hours of service
bill last year when Wall street sena-
tors tried to weaken the bill with
amendments. Long voted with that
crowd and against the bill as intro
duced Tor the railroad employees. Yet.
on the final passage Long saved his
face" -
His defense there is a dodge He
says: Many amendments were offer
ed eo;,,s some m S Of which la l supported. and
taht the railroad boys know that the
Wall street crowd tried to load the bill
down with impossible amendments to
weaken it and to cripple it. and that
Long was with them in every material
vote. Afterward when La Toilette
forced them to square vote on his
measure, Long saved his face, and the
president signed the bill. but that in
famous attempt to jeopardize human
life on American railroads in order. to
get even" with La Toilette is a part
of Longs record that he can not get
away from, even if when Wall street
surrendered to La Toilette Long did
save his face. The next charge reads:
He also voted for the Aldrich bill
with the Wall street provision to base
currency on railroad bonds"
His defense is that IL you can base
currency on creamery or a Touring
MILL 1t would be frlonstrous for con-.
gress to say that bank could not use
railroad stock or boids'' 49,. S-t
The answer to that is simple: FIJI,
teen years ago when Kansas farmers
were hard up as result of overspec-
ulation Long told them that an ex-
panded currency based upon ware
house receipts for corn and hogs and
wheat was bad for the debtor, and
ruinous to the country and he was
right. This spring when Wall street
was hard up as a result of overspecu-
lation and came to congress for help
Long voted with Wall street to allow
Wall street to put up warehouse re-
ceipts on its railroad stock and "ot1er
securities' and gave the country an
opportunity to expand its currency.
The difference between the subtreas-
ury scheme. which Long laughed at.
and the Aldrich bill, which he voted,
for. Is that In the subtreasury the far
mers were wrong, and Long told them
so. and in the second case the stock
gamblers were wrong, but the rail-
roads, according to Curtis, having
elected Long to the senate, he did not
have the courage to tell them they
were wrong.
The next charge reads:
ION page 1887 Long voted to give
the national banks Of the country the
public money without interest"
His defense is that they could have
interest on time deposits, but not on
balances subject to check. This makes
money and state money held on de-
post by banks. Banks have to pay
interest on dozens OF large accounts on
daily balances subject to check, why
not on government money deposited
with them? But Long does not want
to disturb things as they are for Wall
street. The next charge reads: -.
HE voted with Senator Fulton
against going into the title Of certain
railroad coal lands" So .f-.f --as7
His defense is that he voted for the
appropriation. He did, but an attempt
was made to exempt investigation
from entries where final proof had
been made. LaFollette tried to get
the limitations as to Investigation to
include only homesteads. So that in
the vast coal land swindles OF the west
the department could go into those
and recover even II final proof had
been made. But Long would not
stand for 1t and so voted. He wanted
the coal lands to remain in the hands
of the railroads. no matter how they
came there, and his vote shows It,
The next charge reads: -,
HE is recorded on page 4549 as
voting against the telegraphers' nine
hour law"