The Sentinel=record., 1914-07-26
PAINFUL MR. PAYNE.

The appalling ignorance displayed by Mr. Payne in congress in his at. tack on the Hot Springs appropriation item, as shown in the report taken from the Congressional Record on an- other page this morning, Is a matter of vital concern.
 Thirty years in congress should hay at least taught Mr Payne that sub ject on which he is not informed should be a subject for the discussion of others who are informed.
 Mr. Payne spoke of the annual raid on the treasury for the improvement of Hot Springs It is unfortunate that Mir. Payne did not know that "Hot Springs" as here applied is not the municipality but the government res ervation. It is unfortunate that he is ignorant of the fact that the money RECEIVED from this reservation can not be paid out on the reservation eX- cept in the form of appropriation, and that in the feeble effort at care and upkeep of the reservation the govern ment makes, light headed congress. men think they are giving something to the municipality.
 Mr Payne speaks of the unfortunate error of a supreme court decision that gave the hot waters to the govern. ment. That is ignorance so intensified as to be unbecoming. in any man seat ed in congress. 1t was probably q God-send to the afflicted people of the world that the government re. served this property. It was ill luck for the municipality and the people who have made their homes here that the property did not fall into the pri- vate ownership of some good Amer ican corporation that would have kept the property in better charge than the government has done.
 Mir. Payne tells of the conditions that existed here 30 years ago when he came here as one of a committee from congress. Had MT. Payne then seen the opportunities that were here existing, he might have for the price of what he made out of the govern ment for mileage on that trip. DIT chased a few acres of ground, which ground today would have been worth $l.000 per front foot Mir. Payne die not see the opportunity of that day and refuses to see the change today brings. He tells congress that what the doctors and others did not rot the visitors of 30 years ago, the Jess, James gang took from the visitors or their return.
 The usefulness of any man whC judges today by the condition oe 3C years ago, has ended. The cobNeb. of the past should be removed iron congress. As the people progress their representatives should progress No doubt here and there in both the house and senate there is some relic of a past usefulness who is permitted by force of a disinterested constitl- e1cy to occupy place from which he should be removed This Mir. Payne may not be a detriment to the locality which he represents, but he took occasion on the floor of congress 10 frail a striving community that was asking no help for itself, except to be relieved from burden it bears for a government that is better able to care for it's own weight His attack was unjust, unfair, untruthful in the con ciusion it left in the minds of congress and the injury it has done will be diff ficult to repair. If Mir. Payne could be induced to come to Hot Springs and make an investigation of TO-DAY he probably would, unless conciousless m the extreme. return to congress and ask permission of the speaker and congress to have stricken from the re- cord the illfounded opposition he made to the government reservation appropriation item here.