The Topeka state journal., 1918-08-17
SAVED A BIG sum
Congressman Little Tells What
One Motion Did in Congress.
Seventy Million Dollars Saved
to People of This Country. I

Seventy million dollars was saved
to the people of this country when he
moved to strike out the enacting
clause of an irrigation bill before con-
gress. according to claim in Topeka
today by Congressman E. c. Little of
the Second Kansas district. Congress
man Little has been spending several
weeks in the state and returned home
in July to conduct his campaign for
denomination. He won by 2,70O over
U. S. Guyer.
Congressman Little believes his
majority in the November election will
be larger than two years ago when he
dereated Congressman Joseph Tag
gart, Democrat. Little will oppose
Henderson S. Martin in the election
in November.
In statement today Little said:
For the last two weeks, I have
been at home in Kansas, City, and
ran up today on some business mat
ters. and to look over the official re-
turns l carried every county in the
district but one, and every precinct in
some of them. My total majority in
the district was about 2,700 in d
vote cast of about 10000. was great
1y h Hored with this mark of the con-
fidence of the Republicans of our dis
trict in which l made my home fifty
two years ago, in the early frontier
days, and in which 1 graduated from
ton ago, and from which 1 took away
half a regiment to the battlefields of
the Orient. My plan has been TO keep
in touch with the people of the dis
trict, and let them know what l was
doing. L have sent out a good many
thousands of speeches 1 have made in
congress, in order that they might
judge for them elves of the positions
have been taking. My judgment is.
that my attitude in making the. first
effort for. and which resulted N, a
temperance zone about the camps, was
one of the big things that helped me.
OF course, very seldom new member
gets results as fast as that, and 1t
could only happen il time of a big
war when things move so fast.
st was singularly fortunate in get
ting a chance to lead the opposition
t. the seventy million dollar Erao
some of the irrigating people tried to
work on us, which gave me the op-
portunity to make the motion to- kill
the bi1l-which carried, and we ,aved
the taxpayers seventy millions of COL
lars. Congressman Ferris, chairman
of the national Democratic congress
sional committee. said during the de-
bate, that if this bill went thru. the
t; xpayers would be bilked out of sew
enty m lion dollars. Well. made
the motion to kill it, and did kill IT,
a:-d that money will take the place OF
a WhOIe lot OF liberty DOuOS-
zone thing 1 got thru recently that
I am quite proud of. You know they
have three marks in the American
arnny-U. s., U. S. N. A. and U. s. N
G.-that distinguish among the
three branches of the service very
much to the disfavor of the national
guard and the national army, OF
which 1 heard much complaint from
the soldiers A few weeks ago l in
troduced a bill which was intended to
make all the armies alike in time of
war, as they should be, and to give
man in one branch just as good
chance as a man in the regular army,
or an officer. One feature of the bill
was to stamp every collar, U, S., in
stead of the various disfavorfng dis
tinctions. Nobody but the representa-
tive for the Second Kansas district was
advocating this change. The other
day, the chief of staff took it up, and
issued an order that there should be
no letters exceptsU. S., and the unfor-
tunate distinction is abolished as far
as you can tell by looking at it. 1 hope
to press the bill to a passage, and see
that the boys all get the same square
deal.
'I shall make a fair and honorable
contest, and 1 know the people of the
Second Kansas district believe in that
kind OF a contest, and will look with
contempt upon any man or any news
paper that deliberately and willfully
misstates the facts in order to injure
the only man running for congress in
Kansas-or senator, or governor, who
ever served in battle for the republic
or in order to injure any honest
man.
MY majority over the Democratic
candidate two years ago was four
thousand votes, and I think, from
what 1 can learn, that it will be con-
larger this time"