The Washington times., 1908-10-15
KANSAS AT WHITE HEAT
OVER POLITICAL GAME
Smoke of Argument Hangs Over State and Heat of De-
bate Is Felt Afar--BOth Sides Claim Victory
aAAsa .a.-..a. and Fight Is Close.
Ransas Letter No. by JOHN sNUREl

TOPEKA. Kan. Oct l5.-Kansas is up
to the ears in politics and prosperity.
Men. women. and children, the old. the
lame. the halt. and the blind, spend
most Of their time counting their sur
plus cash and discussing the issues. II
IS safe bet that the fate of the ma
ton is settled more times per day in
this erstwhIe bleeding Commonwealth.
than anywhere else on the continent
Long before one crosses the Missouri
into the Sunfower State, he can hear
Kansas In the heat Of fierce debate. The
smoke Of argument never lifts from the
valley Of the Kaw. the banks Of Turkey
Creek or the turs1d waters Of the Rat
tlesnake- Discussion is as animated
about the Rock Island station at May
eta, as # is IN the classic confines OF
Topeka and Wichita. Kansas got ar
Eumentative back in he EOS in the DAYS
OF the bOrGer troubles, and has never
been able to cast off che habit
Here in Topeka. ono sees striking evil
dence OF the Kansas way, Of the sun
flower interest IN politics. the minute he
starts UP town from the depot. Stretch
ed across the main street IS a huge cam
PSlgn sign, formed OK Of lncandesCeUt
lights, reading: "Bry6n and Kern; Shall
the People Rulc2' = block farther on
is the Republican answer. also framed
Vote for TAFT. Stubbs and BristOw.
and The People VIII Continue TO Rule
Il Is impossible to walk along the
streets OF the Kansas capital at night
without seeing these lights IN their mute
but dickering controversy.
Argues Inteliigently.
Moreover, Kansas argument IS Intel
ligent In no other State in the Union
is it more so. Your average Kansan
insists that in no other part Of the
country is the Sane Of intelligence so
high. The whole State is covered with
rural routes. II is filled with good
newspapers BY far the greater per-
centage OF the agricultural population
gets the daily papers and reads them.
The chances are the farmer one sees
shucking corn out on the Kansas
pralrleS knows as much about what is
going on in the world as the cosmo-
polite on Broadway and knows II ac-
Curdtcly. also that on the slightest
proyoCatiOu he'd leave rhe COrnfeld and
hold joint debate on any subject
Kansas Is a prohibition State. Here,
prohibition comes close 10 prohibiting.
The men folks can't cTuk, so they dis
cUss- As for the women. 10 is suni-
Cieut TO say this State is the proud
home Of Carrie Nation, Mary Ellen
Lease. and other f0rceful persOnages
of their sex. The schools If Kansas
rang high: that is the common schools.
The State is flecked an over with good
colleges and other Institutions Of learn
ing. All the Influences in Kansas work
in the direction Of a highly intelligent
population and, when all is considered,
II is not 10 be wondered at, that the
State is in the front rank as "a g-rmi-
mating place for political ideas.
How State Stands.
What about Taft and Bryan in Kan
sls2 II is a close question. Both Re
publicans and Democrats are laying vO-
CIreTOus claim 10 a plurality OF the
votes. II is one Of the States in which
there is a real battle, and II loks as II
the margin OF victory In any event will
be narrow. Judge TafJs chances would
appear TO be better, on the whole. than
Bryan's. but there are numerous Repub-
ican weak spots, bitter faCuOual trou-
bIes, crOss-cuTTeutS and uuder-CuTreuts
that make calculation difficult and
much Of the Information given out by
those I'm the thick OF the struggle Is sub
ject to a certain measure OF dIsJrust.
In 1896 Bryan carried Kansas by l2.259.
Those were the lean years I'm Kansas.
tent. The p0CketbCOk was dormant,
and pOpulism was pregnant In 1900,
when conditions had grown some better.
Mckinley carried the State by over
.. 900 Four years later Roosevelt swept
over the prairies like a CyClole. and got
a plurality Of over $4,000. Al that time,
however, the Democratic vote fell or
about 3 600. The average Kansas Demo-
crat could see little of good In Parker.
Thousands stayed at home, and many
voted for Parker under protest. ROcse-
velt's vote was about $500 greater than