The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-01-30
It Will Come in the Senate in
Few Days.
Initiative and Referendum Will
Furnish the Material.
FORCES IN A MIDDLE.
Doubtful if Bill Can Be Forced
Through.
Position of the Democrats
Source of Speculation.

This week the first real test of
strength will be made in the senate,
when the two initiative and referendum
resolutions and the recall are disposed
of by that more or less obstreperous
body. The advance efforts to save the
resolutions were started several days
ago. Several caucuses will be held this
week and the insurgent wing of the
party will try to drive enough of the
regulars to cover to save the platform
measure.
That is one brand of possip. There is
a second that sometimes springs leak;
and that is the charge that the ad-
miniStration is not sincere, that the
prohibition element is against the l.
and r. and has forced the insurgent
crowd to see the error of its WaV.
week ago it vas charged that the ad-
ministration had backed up and would
defeat the resolution in the committee
of the whole. Then came the Stannard
resolution to offset this statement. The
standpat element helped Stannard put
through his change in the rules which
permitted three roll calls on any pend
ing bill. The following day 1t was
shown that the resolution was of less
use than a crippled duck. Now 1t is
Three resolutions are on the calendar
for consideration next Thursday. Two
of these measures were offered by the
minority. The first resolution to be
considered, is the administration 1n1t1a-
tive and referendum. Twenty-SeVen
votes are needed to crowd it through
the senate. There are IS insurgent
votes in the senate at the absolute dis
posal of the administration There are
five Democrats. The minority members
are expected to change front this week
and help the insurgents This gives the
resolution % votes. The puzzle in the
reform camp at the present time. is
to discover the remaining four votes
necessary to adopt a resolution. Myers
and other insurgent members, claim
they will produce the votes when the
roll is called.
On the other hand the standpats de-
clare the Democrats have their own
resolutions at stake and dare not for
sake their own documents to help the
administration. This being true, the
reform vote drops back to 1S. The
Democrats have nothing to say They
are saving wood and will vote as often
as possible. George Hodges may even
bring the majority members to order
by a few quotations from the 1910 plat
form. Otherwise it is guess work on
the part of the minority.
Standpat leaders claim they will not
lose a vote from their organization of
16 votes. The wise observers in the
gallery claim the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
crowd will go to the Democrats before
they will help the insurgents. Even
then, there are but u votes with which
to reckon, and the resolutions are
long ways from the goal posts.
Senator Francis Price has in course
of preparation a bill which will pro-
hibit fake newspaper advertising and
place muzzle on the firms which adj
toll hot Il ct ace.
their alleged merits. His bill will pro-
vide a penalty for violations and
makes the acceptance of such adver-
Using misdemeanor.
This is one of a series of bills in
troduced in the senate this session
which aim at the advertising columns
OF the Kansas press. The Price bill
will provide that all food stuffs, pre-
parationS and medicines advertised
in the columns OF any newspaper
published in the state must first bear
the approval of the secretary of the
state board OF health and must per-
form the functions claimed for them.
Il believe" said the Ashland law
yer, that my bill will do away with a
lot of tommy rot and fake advertis-
ing matter that creeps into the col
umns of the newspaper. The editorial
columns of newspaper are, in my
opinion, of no higher standard than
the class OF stuff they print in their
advertising columns.
There is long list of articles"
continued Price which the average
intelligent person knows has not mer-
st. Yet the newspapers may allow
these articles space in their columns,
although the druggist across the street
IS prohibited from selling them. Take
for instance the hair coaxers, the re-
liable corn cures. the Madam Pink
ham line, eczema cures. restoratiVes
and many others. In my opinion.
they are a menace to the eyes of the
average reader. The stuff is wholly
without merit, yet many newspapers
some of them our standard reform
sheets-accept this as advertising at
SO much per inch"
Although the senate is a full week
ahead OF the house in the disposal OF
legislation, little fireworks has been
exploded on the floor since the session
opened. Most of the work has been
disposed of in the committee rooms
There away from the curious eyes of
the inquiring public, the committees
have doctored and patched the weak
measures and strangled the attempts
at freak legislation. When the com
mittees reported bills. it was usually
with view that they could be worked
into good laws. Very few of the bills
ever returned without having under