The Topeka state journal., 1909-02-01
AT WASHINCTO
BristOW Coming to the Nation
al Capital
with a Chip on His Shoul-
der.o
SAYS KANSAS CITYMAN
Prepares to Twist Tail of
Railroads.
Phil CampbelI's Toast to the
President.

i Washington, D. c., Feb 1.-"Bristow
IS coming to the senate with a chip on
his shoulder" said Fred S. Warner OF
Kansas City, at the National hotel
Mr. Warner is a lawyer and is here on
business before the departments.
He proposes to twist the tail of the
| railroads" continued Mr.. Warner,
''and assaiI every senator who lines up
with them. He has already started a
fire on the two California senators. 1t
seems that the railroads of the Pacific
are in a scrap with the shippers out
there over a proposed increase in freight
rates. The shippers recently wrote TO
| Mr.. Bristow, enlisting him in their con-
| test. Mr.. Bristow made an investiga-
tion of freight rates of the Pacific ocean
steamers and railroads last year in
| connection with the rates of the
Panama railroad. He recommended at
that time that the government place a
line of steamers of its own on the
Pacific to take care of the coastwise
trade.
I'm reply to the shippers, Bristow
said he would help them in every way
possible. The trouble is said he,
that both of your own senators are
against you This declaration means
war between Bristow and the two Cali
fornia senators in this city after March
| A. Mr.. BriStOw will hook up with La
Toilette in the senate. In fact, he
helped direct LaFollette's presidential
campaign in Kansas last year, and only
dropped it after he discovered the state
was almost solidly for Taft. He then
climbed on the Taft band wagon. Bris-
tow will no doubt play the reform
string to the limit. That is his only
chance for reelection. Kansas has had
| the habit in the last 20 years of never
returning a senator for a second term.
Bristow's only hope of a second term
| is to stir up a lot of turmoil and keep
himself in the imelight.'
In regard to the statement made in
| the house the other day by Congress-
man Victor Murdock that the presi
dent of the Michigan Central railroad
had been carried on the pay rolls of the
postofhce department for 23years mail
messenger, at $1,000 a year. Second AS
sistant Postmaster General Stewart
| (who is also a Kansan) said that in all
probability the name of Mr.. Ledyard,
the president of the road. does appear
as a mail messenger. Mr.. Stewart ex-
planned the situation the State Journal
correspondent in this way:
"The United States. under it's agree
ment with Canada. sends through mails,
over the Niagara river, at Niagara
Falls, and, under the agreement, these
soil. It then was necessary to pro
vide a service to transfer mail from
the United States to Canadian points,
and the Michigan Central had the con-
tract as messenger 10 transport CnlS
mail across the Niagara river.
TT is immaterial in whose name the
contract is made, but some one must
be nominated as the messenger, and as
the Michigan Central held the con-
tract, it is natural that the name of the
president or superintendent or some
high official should be used
Mr.. Stewart said that this service
had been maintained for years, that
similar conditions existed at other bor-
der towns on both the Canadian and
Mexican lines, and that in some in
stances the Canadian and Mexican gov
ernments pay for this supplemental
service.
Mr. Stewart said last night that re-
Gently. he had been investigating this
special mail service, and was endeavor-
cal arrangements could not be made
for transferring mail across the bor-
der.
While he could not say that he be-
lieved that some one saw the papers
on his desk and gave out the story Mr..
Murdock used on the floor of the house,
Mr.. Stewart feels sure that there was
leak in his office and that the leak
was not sufficiently large to tell the
entire story.
Congressman Phil Pitt Campbell was
one of the orators at the annual ban
ouet of the Scottish Saint Andrews So
ciety of Washington one evening recent
ly. The occasion was night for Scot
land night for Bobby Burns. a
night for Theodore Roosevelt, and King
Edward Seventh, and all others in
authority. But principally it was a
night for 'just plain Scotchmen,' who
have adopted America as their home,
and there are not a few of them in the
country at large and in the city of
Washington.
Mr.. Campbell responded to the toast,
1.-The President OF the United States
the man, and as a symbol of a great
and progressive nation" He paid
high tribute to the chief executive.
Fifty years hence" he said,
| ''when the lapse of time has
winnowed the wheat from the chaff
and brought a true estimate of the
worth of Theodore Roosevelt. his
torians will write his name high
among the greatest presidents this
country has had. If I were asked
to say now on what quality his
reputation will chiefly rest, I should
say upon his immense service in
awakening the conscience of the
American people.
Years ago, men depended for the
necessities of life on the resources
they themselves possessed. They were