The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-02-27
Governors Farm Tenantry Fa-
yorite Meets Opposition.
EVEN JOLIFFE FOUGHT IT
And He Comes from County
"Ruled" by Sculley.
Allen Supporters in Appeal for
House Aid.

Unable to command the legislature
to do their bidding and to give a full
loaf friends of the state administra-
ton have made their final appeal to
the house-an appeal for a few
crumbs. The new policy of seeking
support for Governor Aliens proposed
constitutional changes has been evil
dent in the debates which followed the
first days discussion of concurrent
resolutions. Failure of the appeal was
evident at the end of the first day
when the house backed the farm ten
antry resolution against the barn and
proceeded to kick it to sleep.
Denied his constitutional convention,
friends Of Governor Allen sought an
organization of the house under q new
plan of attack. The appeal was made
that the legislature grant to the gov
ernor some recognition of his legisla-
tive program. At least a half dozen
votes were lined up under this appeal
votes of members who frankly said
they would support the resolution on
final roll call, but would oppose it in
the 1920 election. They saved this
future effort, however, when the con-
con support broke and refused to lire
up behind the farm loan plan.
jolt From Sculley's County.
Probably the greatest jolt which the
farm tenantry resolution received
came from Representative Jolliffe of
Marion county. 1t was not alone Jol-
| liffe's opposition to the resolution that
| made the house stop look and listen.
1t was the fact that he came to To-
peka from the district overrun by
Lord Scully tenants-tenants who
Jolliffe told the house had in scores
of instances bought homes of their
own from their savings and without
| state aid.
During the early stages of the fight
on the farm tenantry resolution
| even until the roll call on the motion
| to strike out the enacting cIause-it
| looked as tho the administration was
| almost ready to collect its first big
| stakes. Martin of Reno and other OPP
ponents of the con-con lined up for
| the farm tenantry. All the dope
pointed to a victory thru an appeal for
| mercy in the house where an earlier
attack with a club had failed.
| Test Vote Is Mockery.
| With but sixteen absentees. the vote
| against the motion to strike out the
resolving clause was less than a con-
stitutional majority and twenty-fouI
less than the required two-thirds for
final passage. While there was a
| wide difference in the individual line
/ ups, the rest of the test showed little
/ change over the test of three weeks
/ ago when the constitutional conven-
| ton was under fire. The motion by
Harvey of Clark to strike out the re-
| solving clause-the life or death OF
| the measure-was beaten. A total OF
/ forty members voted with the
/ Clark county members, while sixty
/ votes were cast dn favor of reporting
| the resolution for passage.
But the victory over Harvey was g
hollow mockery. The forty-nine votes
cast against the resolution on fina
passage would make, impossible adop-
ton of the second most prominent
plank in Governor Aliens legislative
i platform. Nor was that all. The
dope sheet showed that of the absen
tees, almost as many were opposed tc
the resolution as favored it's passage
Under this situation, the opposition
claimed not less than fifty-five vote:
| which could not, be won over to the
| measure on third reading.