The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-02-03
MFTH0lS 0F BRIDGE COMPANIES
T0|NFLUENCE LEGISLATURES
Those Who Make Biggest Profits in Absence OF Depai
ment. Want to Eliminate it from the otate orse"'
Wend Of Letter Writing is Pointed Out

they should remain on the ground 10
oppose their enactment into law.
"But." says the senator, Il am at
a loss to understand why some other
parties should come TO Lincoln from
distant sections of the state-come at
their own expense, l presume and re-
main here on their own expense Tor
several days, just for the privilege OF
opposing the passage of this bill
THE Standard Bridge Company OF
Omaha is leading the fight against.
the bill. and has the backing of some
of the other large concerns. The small
er companies, however, are favorable
to if but the corrugated culvert com
panies are against it.
"A number of supervisors and com
missioners have been in Lincoln to
oppose the passage of the measure,
hut the motives OF some of them at
least are somewhat questionable
\ Nebraska man who doesn't want
! his identity known, writes me as fol
lows regarding the methods used to
make legislators toe the mark, and
how the bridge lobby uses saloons and
bawdy houses as recruiting stations.
81 have been around the Lincoln ho-
tells this winter to investigate the
methods used to get bills through
and TO influence our lawmakers. Tax
PAYERS are always kicking. have an
other method of doing business to gel
around those fellows, but man has
to get around the Lincoln Hotel bar
After the bar closes the program
goes on in the upper rooms.
81 do not want to open up hight lol
Iowa people. They can find enough ma
terial in their own state, but they have
got to get around such places, ant
have sense and self control enough t.
leave the bunch when they get to TIT
limit or man may see his photograph
with lawmakers, drinking beer wit
females like the stockyards peopl
had horse on some of our legisla
tors. When they did not vote for
bill, the photo was held before thel
ewes. That roll of money displayed
. the Lincoln bar was to be spent
the rooms upstairs"
$. Illinois Has it Also
[. Under date of February is, l9l
d State Engineer A. n. Johnson
IS Springfield, ILL.,, wrote to state engine'
d Gearhart of Kansas, as follows:
"The bridge people and some oth'
interests are making very hot iigI
here to get control of matters al
- seem to be centering their efforts {
-. myself so far as | can gather. Ho
J., successful they will be, of course,
can not tell" If they could defeat Il
-, state engineer, they, of course, wou
90 have easy sailing.
l.. In letter this winter to Hon. 7.
=, Kincair. chairman of the house col
:, mittee on roads and highways OF Il
! Kansas legislature, state highway q
- partment wrote:
- 81 understand that the statement
- being made in Topeka by some int
q ested parties, that the legislature
oklahoma will abolish the state hig
=, way department. | beg to assure "
that, while an effort was made to
this. backed up by the tin bridge al
tin culvert crowd. the measure was
failure The bill was killed in t
senate several days ago. Furtherfol
n the constitution of the state direct
the legislature to establish state
partment of highways.
Il think that, if you will inVestiga
= thoroughly, you will find that tho
who are clamoring against the sta
highway department have their sour
of inspiration from those who a
profting in the absence of such a
partment. The principle objection
have encountered lies in the kno'
edge that state highway departmen
when established demand better gu
ity of construction and standards
construction and inspection of wol
This. of course. is very undesiral