The weekly soliphone., 1915-03-12
YANT|S PUTS ONE OVER
ON THE KANSAS SOLONS
Gets Bill Through House to Allow
His "Jitney" Rail- Dad to Charge
; Cents Per Mile.


The inimitable, indomitable, incor-
rigible, irresistible and versatile
Frank Yantis, who votes in Para,
gould and cavorts over the prairies
of Kansas, has broken into print
by putting bill through the Kansas
house of representatives to authorize
an increase of passenger rates on his
railroad The Topeka State Journal
thus tells the story of the coup Yam
It's pulled off:
The legislature goes on still,-at
least it goes on, and some captious
critic might call one for suggesting
that there is anything still about it
but the king of the lobs is gone. He
passed out of our fair village today
and wendell his way back to Scott
City, Kansas He is Frank Yantis,
vice president and general manager
of the Jitney railroad.
The Jitney railroads.&c. name is
so we'll adapted now that it is un-I
necessary to use quotation marks
around it's that little dark streak
| leaning away from Scott City. 1t is
noticeable because it leans like the
needle of a compass and is the only
north and south road in western
about as long as burned match, and
on the mileage list it is about so
miles. Incidentally it IS a great ac-
commation to a number of short
grassers who have no other way of
getting from hitherto to yon, as it
were Yantis is the whole works. He
lives in the terminal depot at Scott
City and falls out of bed into the
general managers office. One engi-I
neer, one conductor, one auditor and
one stenographer work with him. One
engine, about the size of a peanut
rooster, hauls the one train over the
line daily. Yantis has kept the road
in operation regardless of the month
~ deficit that confronted him, and
everybody in that territory appreci-
ates him. And so he was we'll heeled
in western Kansas friendship when he
came to this Legislature with a prop
osition that made everybody laugh. !
1t was advertised as the nerviest thing
RAILROAD magnate ever offered for
consideration, and was nothing less
than proposal that the legislature
permit him to violate the sacred po-
litical bunk of former campaigns and
charge one jitney--fiYe cents-per
mile for hauling passengers on his
dinky railroad. And the funniest thing
about it is that he got by with it.
Gallons of oratory were spilled
over the little bill, and the finger
of accusation was pointed at Yantis.
He was charged with corrupting the
on turkey and cranberry sauce. There
were dark hints at wine suppers and
things like that. AS Yantis never
takes a drink of anything stronger
than coffee, the wine charge didn't
get far, but he still stands accused
of feeding turkey to hungry legisla-
tors. AT any rate he put that jitney
bill across the house with a good ma
jority and into the senate with the
finest prospects. Then the board of
railroad commissioners discovered
that they had the power to grant him
the increase in passenger fares with
out special act and Yantis, to prove
| that he had no motives other than
ney road before that tribunal, re-
quested the senate to withdraw his
! bill from the calendar, as he was will
ing to leave his proposition to the
judgment of the commissioners.
Then he packed up what was left of
the turkey and cranberry sauce and
is now headed for Scott City, where
the grass is short and everything
else, with the exception of his rail
road, is long.
1antis is some legislative agent. |
Long may he wave, and here's hop
ing he has to come back next session. |