The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-11
POLITICAL GOSSIP.
Need of Public Utilities Law
Greater Than Ever.
Protests Over Gas Bills Revive
the Question.
WARNING is SOUNDED.
Party Faction May Mean Defeat
at Polls.
Lem Woods Gets Boost From
Home Folks.
WARNING is SOUNDED.

The majority of Topeka citizens are
hoping that Gov. Stubbs will succeed
in getting his public utilities bill in
corporated in the state platform as
one of the planks. The fight for a
utilities commission should start early
this year. There are plenty of ex-
amples at hand right now in this city
of the needs and benefits of such a
commission. The local gas company,
selling gas by the cubic foot through
it's own meters, is case in point. The
protest that has gone up lately over
unreasonable and exorbitant gas
bills is loud enough to reach the skies
above.
The polite man in the gas office
of the bill. A man living in a five
room house is charged $16.75 for gas
and his neighbor in a five room house
pays S12. Another neighbor living in
a five room house pays IS, and a man
in a six room house across the street
pays $19. These gas bills are assessed
against the consumer and he must
pay them or have his gas cut off The
consumer may have his meter tested
by paying the charges but that is not
satisfactory. One citizen said today:
when the man with the $16 bill
made his protest the man behind the
gas company counter admitted that
the bill was too high; that it was out
rageous. He would see about it, he
said. The next day he informed the
consumer that it was all right. What
could the consumer do? Nothing. He
had to pay the bill. The company
could have charged him $50 as easily
as s16.'
With a public utilities commission
the consumer can go to that body with
his complaints and prove that his hill
is unreasonable and get redress The
commission at least will go after the
company for the consumer and make
the corporation be good The strong
est measure that Gov. Stubbs ever ad-
vocated when judged by the direct
benefits to the consumer. is the public
utilities comm ission. The fight for
this reform should begin early this
year
They must think a good deal of Lem
Woods. candidate for railroad commits
sloner. down at Chanute. according to
the following boost given him by one
of the papers down there:
"Our good friend. Lem A Woods, has
announced himself as candidate for
railroad commissioner of the state, or
rather allowed his enthusiastic friends
| to push him into the race
Mr.. Woods is one of the old time
newspaper men of the state. He is true
blue. All meat clean to the core. We
see no reason on earth why man like
Mr. Woods should not have this place
instead of some professional politician
who makes his living by standing in
with everything and everybody.
Lem Woods is no crank who wants
to rob the roads or blackmail them by
| threats. He is simply a good honest
man. of good judgment and well equip
ped for the place.
He is not a man who can be bam-
phoosled around or worked against the
right. He is a man of the people. He
should be nominated without opposi-
tion.''
The Lawrence World sounds a warn
| ing to the perils of party faction.
| 1t believes that leader is needed in
Kansas who can heal wounds rather
than make them. 1t sees danger ahead
| is to be widened every day by bitter in
Vective and personal charges between
! leaders. The World says:
What the Republican party needs
ir Kansas is not petty chickering's and
/ party strife, but strong political or
ganization able to carry through the
measures deerled lest for the interests
of the commonwealth.
"a big political leader is not one
who splits his party. but the one who
| is able to strengthen it. The Repub-
| lican party means much to many of it's
| aGherents in Kansas. There are men
who have stood by their guns in the
dark days and have fought the fight
because they believed the party to be
right and victory finally was theirs
| These men are believers in Governor
Stubbs, or followers of the So
called regular faction. They may be
| wrong but they are entitled to respect
full consideration. and if Governor
Stubbs receives the nomination he will
need the votes of these same men to
be reelected.
Governor Stubs and his friends
may boldly shout that they welcome
opposition, and for the time their thirst
for action, may fool their common
sense. but in reality they do not want
| opposition and they hope to bluff ii
down rather than smooth it down.
IF William Allen White and Gov
ernor Stubbs are really in earnest in
regard to having an opposition candidate
at the primaries let them state publicly
and boldly that whoever is nominated
for governor on the Republican ticket
will receive their hearty support at the
polls.
UNLESS some such statement as this
, is made, and an effort put forth to hea
} wounds rather than to make new ones
Hodges will be the next governor OF
| Kansas The StubbS administration
represents too many needed reforms tc
see it go down to defeat result Of
the intemperate enthusiasm of his
friends
Vanderbilt Gives 100000