The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-04-25
new DIRECTORY
Contains Biographies of All the
Statesmen.
Lawyers i'm Majority in Both
Houses.
CASE OF SENATOR THOMPSON
He Wrote Own Biography in
Glowing Terms.
Washington Herald Yields Him
Belt without Murmur.

u Washington D. G, April 25.-The new
Congressional Directory. containing
the autobiogra phies of all the senators
and members of the house, has just
made its appearance. The fact that
there is unusually large batch of
new names makes the volume more
interesting even than usual.
! Lawyers continue to outnumber all
! other professions in congress. In the
new house there are 20 lawyers and the
sena te has a lawyers, out of a total
membership of SO.
| AS near as can be learned from the
| description given in the biographies of
| members of the house, their occupa-
tions are as follows: There are 290
lawyers, "a business men of one kind
and another, including bankers. manu-
! facturers brokers and real estate men;
| ten profess to be farmers; there are
| "a newSpa per men, including editors
and publishers: there are five doctors
and IA who might be called educators;
1 iron molder, one Steamfitter, one nor
ticulturist, two authors, one soldier, one
naval architect, one lawyer-m1ner, a
hotel proprietor, q dentist, an electri-
| clan, a halter. a chemist, a civil en-
gineer. a printer, a pharmacist and a
! telegra pher.
The senate is made up of seventy
| four lawyers, thirteen business men,
! four newspaper men, two doctors, and
| three who call themselves farmers.
All data for these biographies are
furnished by the senators and mem
bers themselves.
In commenting on the autohlograpny
furnished by Sena tor William H.
| Thompson of Kansas, the Washington
Herald prints the following:
Thompson Now Champ
Adam Brown Littlepage, of West Nlr-
ginia, carried off all honors as an auto
biographer, and knows how to boost NM
self Adams is missing from the
new directory. But he seems to have
worthy successor in the person of Will
liam Howard Thompson, the new Demo-
cratic senator from Kansas
Just to forestall any doubt that may
arise as to the authorship of the do
graphical sketches in the directory, the
following note. appearing in fine type at
the bottom of the first page, is given;
furnished or authorized by the respective
senators and representatives
William Howard Thompson begins by
informing the country that he is the
Youngest senator ever elected from kan
sas also that he will be one of youngest
men in TIE senate.
He is a disciple of the school of
politics, says 1hompson's auto6Iography'
and is classed as progressive Democrat;
has been identified with Kansas for many
years, and has been very active IN the
affairs of the state from early manhood
to the present time. filling various posi-
lions of honor and trust with the strlctest
honesty and fidelity; is the author OF
number of legal articles on judicial re
form, which have attracted ATTENTION
throughout the United States. Was elect
ed district judge at the age of "a years,
which position he filled until elected SEN
at0r: he has the distinction of being the
only Democrat to be elected judge i'll his
district which comprises a territory equal |
in area to the entire state of Connectcut
considered one OF the ablest and most
popular judges in Kansas
The new senator's autoblography aoos
that he received the largest popular vote
ever given any Democrat in Kansas, and |
also the largest vote in the Legislature ever |
given any senator from Kansas, Demo !
RenubIjr3uS and Socialists allke !
voting for him almost unanimously; his |
political success is without parallel IN TIE |
history of the state
II is acknowledged by all who know |
him, says the biography, that as se1a- |
tor he will not only bring credit and honor |
to himself but to the state and naton as |
well.
The patronage question apparently |
overshadows that of tariff this special |
session of congress. A frank purpose |
to encourage the progressive movement |
in the Democratic party which result
ed in the nomination and election OF |
President Wilson. hereafter Will gulde |
the administration in making appoint |
ments to all important federal posi-
tions according to developments that
came to the surface today in various
departments of the government rms
does not mean that Democrats VINO |
supported Clark or Underwood or Har-
mon for the presidential nomination in |
the preconvention campaign will be !
refused appointments. Nor does II |
mean. as suggested in some quarters, |
that only Wilson men are to be put on
guard with a view to bringing about
the denomination of Mr.. Wilson in 1915.
The purpose of the members of the
ca binet is to keep alive the progress
sive and regeneratiVe spirit which spread
through the rank and file of the de-
mocracy in most of the states IN the
last few years and which eliminated
at the Baltimore convention last July |
in the nomination of Woodrow VIII
son and the adoption of a platform
containing the most advanced declara-
ton of political principles put forward
by any great party in recent years
To make certain that no backward
step is taken by the party in any OF
the states through the official recog-
milton of men who were conspicuous
in the past in opposing progressive
principles of democratic government,
as rule be made from the element
of the party that made the fight for |
clean politics. ready responsiveness by
public servants to the expressed Will |
of the people and elimination of sinister
secret influences hostile to genuine
popular legislative and executive
branches.
That this element of the party con-
stitutes the vast majority of the rank
and file of the Democrats of nearly
all the states seems beyond question,
and it will be the aim of the MEM
bers of the cabinet in making their !
selections for appointments to office to
recognize this preponderant progressive
element to the fullest extent.
Strange to say there are but COM
few Kansas Democrats
hanging around Washington, sad-eyed,
looking for federal jobs But the Kan
sas Democrats are doing powerful
lot of writing to Senator Thompson
and the house Democratic members of