The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-15
POLITICAL GOSSIP.
Trend of Sentiment in the
Fourth District.
g. A. r. Post Strong for Fred
s. Jackson.
FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES
Gov. Stubs Will Keep Up Fight
for Control.
Boston Tribute to State Supt.
Fairchild.
FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES

An Usage county editor who visited
the city today was asked about the
trend of sentiment in his district in re-
gard to the Jackson Miller contest for
the congressional nomination. He re-
piled that he could give no better idea
of the existing conditions than to tell
the story of the reception accorded
the nomination petitions of Mr.. Jack
son and Mr.. Miller by q G.. A. r. post
in his county last week. There are
% old soldier members of this post
and they are all Republican voters.
The Miller petition reached them first
and two signed it. The Jackson petit
ton came next and 10 signed il. The
two who had refused to sign either
petition expressed themselves as being
in favor of Mr.. Jackson for the place.
There is no longer any doubt but
that Governor Stubs will keep up the
fight for the public utilities bill as
long as he holds Office in this state.
He is on the program to speak at the
Berryton institute this week and has
announced the public utilities QueS-
ton as his subject on this occasion
Speaking today in regard to this bad
~ needed reform, the governor de-
clared that the Democrats and a few
machine Republicans had defeated the
-
hoped that the bill would pass at the
next session in spite of the efforts of
the corporations and professional poll
ticians to defeat it. He said that he
hoped that control of public utilities
would be an issue before the people
I'm the selection of candidates for the
legislature next summer.
1t will be an issue here in Topeka
with all consumers of gas. That is
sure and certain. Why public service
oh ha
to some extent by the state is hard to
figure out from the standpoint of the
consumer. Why 1000 persons in the
employ of corporations should dictate
legislation in this matter to a million
and a half of people is past compre
hension.
The public utilities fight is sure to
be a feature of the next legislative
session and it will be a fiercer struggle
even than was staged on the second
floor Of the capitol building last year.
That a Kansas educator is not with
out honor in other states is shown by
the tribute paid to State Superintend-
ent Fairchild by the Journal of Edu-
cation. published in Boston. This is
one of the leading educational maya
zines of the country. Under the head
ing. ''Fairchild of Kansas it says:
"In less than fifty years of state life
Kansas has had sixteen state superin
tendents. an average of four years, and
no official has had more than four
years. 1t has rarely been possible to
get a noble educational leader to leave
a position such as a man should have
held to be -rorthy of state leadership,
to accept a transient office. In Mr..
Fairchild the state has an educator
every way worthy and well qualified.
whose lines of scholastic and profess
sional campaigning have brought him
into national prominence. Mr. Fair
child has not been content to keep the
machine a-running. but he has treat
ed the problems as though he expect
ed to remain with them after they are
solved, as do the state superintend-
ents in most of the states that are
educationally noble.
''No man in the country is making,
or has made. better attempt to re-
duce school statistics to the science of
dealing simply with facts and figures
that are vital. If he can have two
years more he will set the world an ex-
ample that is we'll worth while. He
has gotten the state aid to high schools
on a basis that puts Kansas in the
class with the best states in the Union.
1.-THE professional training of teach
ers has been set forward farther in his
term than in the twenty years previous
These are merely indications of what
Mr.. Fairchild has seen accomplished in
the last four wears. And all this has
been accomp ished without friction in
the profession. in the legislature, in the
party, or IN the press OF the state.
Fairchild of Kansas is a man of whom
the country az we'll as the state may
we'll be proud"
The candidates for state and district
offices are beginning to file their petit
tions in the Office of the secretary of
state A glance through these petit
tons reveals the fact that most of the
signers are town people. Very few
farmers are taking part in the plac-
ing of candidates on the ticket It is
true that the farmers will all have
chance to vote at the primary and
thus play a part in the selection of the
candidates, but then they will have to
make their selections from a group of
men placed before them by towns
people.
When a candidate for state office
sets about getting up his petitions
from the various counties he sends
these petitions to friends living in diff
ferent sections of the state and these
friends go out in the streets of their
town with the petitions in their hands
and get the signatures of the first
friends of theirs that they meet Pc
titions are now on file from little towns
of 500 population and less that do not
contain the name of a single farmer
The candidate may have requested
their friends to get the names of farm
ers on the papers, but Invariably the
fellows who logged the petitions
got the signatures of the first people
they met on the streets of their town
It is expected that a particular eff
fort will be made by some of the can
didates to get the names of a lot of
to be a pretty big job and the returns
will be noted with interest