The Topeka state journal., 1922-12-18
Kansas Politicians Awakening
to the 1924 Campaign.
Positive Now That Capper viii
Meet Opposition.
FIGHTING HARDING POLICIES
Regular Republicans, Tried and
True, Are i'm Rebellion.
Grumbling Against Junior
Senator Brings Out Aspirants.
BY \. L. sHULTz

By A L. SaULIZ
With all the elements of uncer-
tainty in politics this year-plus
prospective allignments which may
come thru the governorship fight in
1924-there may be a good bit of
United States senatorial shopping in
the next fifteen or eighteen months
Buzzing in the hotel corridors these
days and among the fellows who talk
and eat and dream with their mind on
the campaign, it isn't a closed GER
tainty that Senator Capper may not
meet UP with some opposition in the
next statewide primaries.
Fact of the matter is that right now
there is apparently more rumbling and
grumbling of interest to the junior
senator than at any time since he
walked into the governorship in 1914
following his 1912 defeat Significant
IN politics. apparently, is the tact tnat
d considerable amount OF the as
lyruntled stuff is being brought in from
the rural districts. That is the back
bone of the Capper strength-out IN
the country where there are Capper
pig and poultry clubs and Capper sew
ing societies.
a decided element of the considera-
tive farmer crowd entered protest in
quiet and orderly-Ebut none the less
sincere fashion-when the junior SEN
ator gave out his Washington tax IN
terview recently In his statement
Senator Capper said that the farmers
in his state were in a sad plight and
that many of them were giving up
their farms and quitting business
rather than buck the tax, high freight
rate and low market strain The IN
terview did not meet the seemingly
expected enthusiasm in the country
and since that time there has been a
tendency to pick on the Topeka pub
Fighting Harding Policies.
In the crowd of regular, 365-days-
in-the-year Republicans. there has for
sometime been a growing discomfort
REGARDING the junior senator's activi-
ties in blocking President Harding
program. In rather hushed tones
good many fellows who actually work
at politics on the theory that II VIII
help the party, took exception to SEN
atOr Capper's statements to the e1tect
that the president is a Wondertul /
ST. tcsr1an while at the same time the |
senator was voting somewhat consist |
cntiv against Harding policies
These things haven't really COM |
bi,- cd TO bring an uprising IN iacL
it is a rather quiet and orderly bit of /
muttering that is going on in Kansas.
Fsut there is a sure enough facuon IN |
the Darty-classes VIII ch rarely work |
tn-ether-wh:ch is finding fault and /
doesn't mini saving So Maybe II |
won't mean anything with the enor- |
NOUS prestige which has come to |
Senator Capper thru his publicity or
gan tzation. on tho other hand II |
m cht develop into something OF a |
real rumpus before the 1924 primaries |
are out of the way. For the Kansas
mind may be taking a strange and |
unusual turn The rare pasttme or |
humping the newspaper fellows when |
developed in the last election might /
hold on for couDle of years.
Friends of Governor Allen have |
never gwen up the idea that he really 4
Va nted to go to the senate sometime.
~ 49,, 20 he r r11u1
thru the last election badly in need /
% an overhauling- But if real trou- /
ble should develop for Senator Capper |
by virtue of the is of gossip which 4
well. with only his newspaper TO ,ook |
after during the next is months. Gov
ernor Alien might put a lot Of new
sear.ngs in his machine.
His Fear OF Stubbs.
There is the Stubbs matter too. It |
was rather an open secret in politics
last summer that the man whom SEN /
ator Capper was least anx Gus to see ,
was Stubbs. He saw dan
ger in a Stubbs comeback, ii was
claimed
Recently, tho. there has been some
real Stubbs boosting for the governor
ship from Capper sources 1t is like
" that If Stubbs wanted to renew his /
governorship aspirations in 1924 that /
the Capper organization would not
get in the way. Stubbs. tho. is most /
certain ne 10 Keep his GN GS
glued TO the governorship. If he be-
gan looking at the senatorial toga IL /
wouldn't be a bit in keeping with the /
rules in the junior senator's book
The Democrats are not likely to dis
anything that tends to pro-
mote some Republican senatorial
trouble There are one or two strong
Bourbons who might not protest bit
II their party selected them to oppose
Senator Capper two years hence
Ayres a Bourbon Possibility.
one of the most likely possibilities
ll2 the Democrat ranks is Congress
man w. a. Ayres- The Eighth dis
trict congressman-who viii do sin
IN Kansas-may get into it if he is /
-horoIy convinced that Capper is slip
ping. But he wil make his own ex-
limitation of the ice before reaching
! decision. II
C;oyernor-eIect Davis has also been
listed as a senatorial possibility. Davis
has denied the charge But the rules
n politics permit a man TO change
his mind on certain occasions and
Davis statement that he wasn't
candidate in 1924 isn't a bar TO his
.unning Davis, tho. will likely be II
,ore Certain as to his future plans
lfter the legislature goes home.
Victor Murdock OF Wichita men,
,er.-of the federal trades commission.
il present a Democrat a former Bull
,Iooser and for several terms Repub-
can ConCressman from the Eighth
; TO be considered in the senatorial
ine-up Murdock may or may not
ret into il II he should run he would
make a strong appeal to the old Pro-
.reSsive followers and would meet
jenator Capper rather squarely on his
l~n grounds. III
OF course the senatorial affair is
uite q bit in the distance But IT IS
ominE in for some real serious talk
nloug fellows in state politics And
pparently Senator Capper himself
as been largely responsible for Gre
tion of the discussion. u