The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-14
WHY 1T FAILED.
Inside History of the Topeka
Paving Claim.
Mayor and Commissioners Farm
ed Out COllec ion Job.
OFFERED A BIG FEE.
Would Have Paid Badders$9, 800
of the Money.
This Is 15 Per Cent of the City's
Claim.
A BIG FEE.

There has been a disposition on the
part of certain people who knew but
little about the facts to criticise Sena-
tor Clad Hamilton for lack of skill or
industry in regard to the Topeka paw
ing claim in the legislature. The ar
gument is that the bill was allowed
| in the house and beaten in the s~a-
ate.
The inside story of the claim shows
that no single Shawnee senator, had
he been an Ingalls, could have won
that paving claim through the legisla-
| ture.
Topeka asked for s64, 900, actual mon
| ey spent for the states share of the
paving around the state house. The
claim is valid and could doubtless be
established in the courts. but the city
has tried for many years to collect it
in the legislature. Two years ago an
elaborate case was prepared by the
city officials in which all the facts were
spread before the legislative committees
on claims. The house acknowledged
the claim then but the claim was cut
in two. The senate refused to approve
the claim, however and it failed.
This session the city made a mistake
in the beginning. The mayor and COM
missioners, for some reason all their
own decided to appoint an agent to
| collect this claim and allow him Is per
cent. George Badders, secretary for
the Commercial club, was selected. No
one knows why the choice should have
| fallen upon Mr.. Badders, as he had no
acquaintance with the legislators nor
any especial fitness as a lobbyist. The
city would far better have entrusted
the matter to her Shawnee delegation
and forgotten to offer any commission
at all. The fact that a large commits
sion had been offered for collection soon
spread through the legislature and the
fact nearly defeated the claim in the
house. and it did lose out on the first
roll call.
This offer of a commission was a
positive handicap to the Shawnee dele
CATION in their efforts to get a perfect
ly legitimate claim through. Why it
was even told around that members of
mission and j. w. Kelley of Topeka got
up in his place one day to deny the
libel.
The house finally decided to pass
the claim in spite of the commission
handicap, but the senate stood like
wall against it. The commission clause
was like mixing water with cement, SO
far as the senate was concerned it re-
suited in concrete opposition. Senator
Hamilton would have had a hard
enough job in convincing the senators
that the bill ought to be settled, but
| he had a chance before the city COM
mission hired an outsider without leg
| islative experience to collect the claim
on a big commission After this fact
leaked out Hamilton would have had
to had an Oliver Cromwell to dissolve
the senate for him and vote alone on
the claim to get 1t through.
Whoever evolved the idea of hiring
some one with such a large commits
sion to get the paving claim through
is the person who is more responsible
than anyone else for its defeat. If the
full claim had been allowed, Badders
would have received $4,000 and if it
had passed as amended his allowance
would have been $4,000.
| In the first place it was well known
that the claim woulI have to be
pushed in the legislature by the Shaw
| nee delegation and defended by them
Had the claim gone through it would
have been due entirely to the efforts
of Messrs. Hamilton, Stone, Kelley and
Olinger and to the sense of fairness of
out-of-town legislators. Yet this COM
mission scheme would have placed
Badders in the light of having en-
gineered the whole deal to a success
full finish. Any one at all familiar with
the legislative sessions knows just how
little chance an outsider has to get
| anywhere with the members Imagine
| a Topeka man, u stranger, talking past
out of town members for a Topeka
claim These legislators come here
suspicious of the capital city, carrying
with them foolish stories about high
way robberies in boarding house and
state house and they just naturally shy
| at a Topeka man. They soon get ac-
| ouainted with the Shawnee delegation
| and would pay far more attention to
| the claims of the members and their
explanations than they would to a
lobbyist.
The claim may not hav- been al
lowed anyway, but the Shawnee dele
cation had the handicap of this COM
mission scheme to contend with from
the beginning.
Governor Stubbs and Attorney Cen
eral John Dawson get along about like
Taft and Pinchot did, with this differ
ence that the governor cannot fire
John even though he can veto his raise
! in salary in the interest of the prohibi-
| tory law.
Progressive members of the last leg
islature and friends of the administra-
| ton are still asking the question, why
| was Davis of Bourbon suppressed by
! Speaker Buck1nan when he wanted to
bring his resolution condemning SEN
ator Curtis for voting for the Lorimer
| coat of whitewash to a vote on the
| floor of the house. The resolution
would undoubtedly have passed that
body and would have been a fine boost
| for Stubbs and knock for Curtis in the
| coming senatorial fight. The governor
made an enemy of Robert Stone by
| helping elect Buckman speaker. And
| then the Stubbs speaker squelches an
| anti-Curtis resolution. There are
| stranger things under the sky than
, ~ in. hU hi N11xr