The Topeka state journal., 1922-11-09
Even the Farmers Went to the
Polls With Sore Toes.
NEWSPAPER RING" A FEATURE
kansans Had Chance to Oppose
Editor Control
Aliens Great Bend Speech Had
Bearing on Results.
BY A. L. sHULTz.


Lady Luck simply upstaged the
Kansas Republicans Tuesday. She APP
pled all her resources in making the
e. o. p. leaders miserable and un-
comfortable for two or three weeks be-
fore election. Then she turned up her
pudgy little nose. twiddled her fingers
and elOped with the party rival
Worst of all, she took a lot of first
class patronage with her.
With prospects of a more or less
severe winter and an empty coal bin
the outlook for occupants of soft ad-
ministration jobs isn't a wee bit cheer
tut Moving time will come to a lot of
state appointees long before apple
blossom time The bulk of the big
state appointments will be in the
hands of Jonathan NJ Davis. the new
Democrat governor. Around his ap-
po1nteeS will be built the new state
bon campaign in Kansas in 1924.
In political circles. tho. the subject
of discussion isn't alone the loss of a
lot OF highly desirable patronage The
real occasion for wailing and moaning
is the manner in which the elements
of political luck broke against the
party in the closing days of the cam
paign- But the Democrat landslide
wasn't alone due to the trifling tactics
of Lady Luck All the ills and griev-
ances and disturbances combined with
factional differences in beating down
a normal Republican majority of 15O,-
Democrat.
The Great Bend Speech.
Probably the biggest consignment of
trouble for the Republicans in the
final days of the fight was Governor
Aliens Great Bend speech Maybe he
But his denial never caught up with
the big display that administration
papers gave his alleged original ut
terance to the effect that he belonged
the knights of Columbus and wouldn't
join either.
Until the Great Bend speech was de-
livered the Republicans were offset
ting the loss OF each Ku Kluxer with
the acquisition of several Democrat
Catholics. That Great Bend speech
stopped the marching to the Republi-
can camp.
Morgan an 1. C. Target.
Then there was that constant. low
angling cloud in the labor districts
the industrial court law. lot of peo-
PIE who hadn't been particularly oc-
cupied during recent months worked
UP first class organization against
the -abor court act. Morgan was the
common target in the fight. He had
been Governor Aliens choice for the
nomination and he was standing
sGuarely on the principle of the court
act
Maybe the reaction from organized
labor's opposition to Morgan would
have helped hum in the farm COM
stances. But this wasn't an ordinary
election. There seemed to be more
sore toes out on the farms th;n the
politicians had seen before Everyone
was trying the same remedy change
in control at the state house Jona-
than NJ. Davis went up and down the
state preaching against organized op-
preston OF the man who works, and
Il til
6reds OF Republican farmers to the
Democrat column
High Tax Talk.
High taxes was the big talking point
in the Davis campaign. He told the
farmers they were paying for too many
junkcts to Washington by members
O. state boards and commissions and
that too many fellows in the state
house were playing politics at state ex-
pCTse and charging their telephone,
telegraph and postage bills to the
dear pee-puI He supplemented these
7 emarks with occasional references to
what he would do If he We're governor
and the number of fellows he would
kick out of office as soon as he got
cstG bl!shed in the state house and was
familiar with the buzzer system and
the dial on the new telephones.
Tired OF Newspaper Ring"
Then there was another thing that
made the voters see red. Davis ham
mcred on the subject in every speech
i'm fact much of his speech was con-
tributed by Republicans who made
loud talks against their brethren in
the primaries and failed to win This
big talking feature was opposition to
so many newspaper chaps in public
newspaper men to write soft, gushy
things about the other folks but that
they shouldn't hold public jobs and
say il about themselves. The newspa-
nnnnGfrfnn fDnrnh a
chord. Every one remembered some
thing harsh about the editor. He
hadn't spelled the baby's name right
or maybe the paper didn't give a
In these fertile fields Davis rolled up
a big support of people who just nat
urally don't believe the newspaper fel-
lows run their papers right, anyway.
Appropriations by the last legisla-
ture were too high. Davis told the vOt-
ers. And with a promise to see that
the next legislature cuts 'em down.
Davis stock went up when folks
dered why it cost so much to run the
Slump in Markets.
There was the slump in the price
Of wheat and corn and inability OF
people to get freight cars when they
wanted them. A lot of wages had
been cut and in some of the communi
ties people were out of employm ent
either by choice or because there was
no immediate local demand for excess
labor since 81 Slocum's barn was built
All these elements of diScord and dis
content were rolled together in the
Davis campaign. And the response is |
in the returns from Tuesdays cleo |
ton.
without the ordinary political es-
sentinls OF organization. a big cam !
pafgn fund. publicity or a speakers
bureau, Davis went up and down the /
state to whittle holes in the nominal
ma 1ority of $4,000 tol
$50, ,000. Ordinarily the campaign /
would have been a mere idle effort. |