The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-05-06
william Allen White Marches
No More in Old Ranks.
EmpOry Editor Has Pinned
Last Rose on Friend Dick.
LATE ANNOUNCEMENT CAUSE
White Would Not Stand for OPP
position to Porter.
Believes Justice of Supreme
Court Should Stay on Job.
BY A. L. sHULTZ.

d "A. L. ShOLIA.
William Allen White, who is the
free man of free lanees in state poll
tics. has made his biennial kick-over
of the political dope pot in Kansas.
White has walked right out and dis
proven the rule of two and two in
politics by refusing to accept Rich
ard J. Hopkins as the logical candi-
date for the supreme bench. All the
kindergarten students in the political
class simply knew that the fat, good
natured, round faced Emporia editor
simply couldn't think of letting Hop
kins start on a political journey with
out going along.
Away back in the days when the
statewide primary came to bless the
state and give everyone a free put in
on everything from road overseer to
United States senator, the forward
looking folks found Attorney Cen
eral Hopkins in one of their early
scouting trips. Mr.. Hopkins didn't
display the least bit of objections to
being found. Once discovered there
was a suspicion that Mr.. Hopkins
sometimes went a bit out of the way to
keep his name fresh in the minds of
the people. He always found the
smiling and pudgy editor of the EN-
poria Gazette yelling there he is
whenever there was a little game of
political hide and seek or pussy wants
a corner
One cold winter day Mr.. Hopkins
ran for congress in a special election
out in the Seventh when that district
lost its able representative Ed Madi-
son. 1t wasn't possible for Mr.. White
to get out in the southwest and help
much, so Mr.. Hopkins was beaten
maybe somewhat due to the newness
of the primary at that time. But he
came to Topeka for the winter of 1911
as lieutenant governor and always
Vv1nD little editorial of
first page news sandwich was need ed,
william Allen White stood willing and
anxious to serve.
White Pinned Roses.
Later Mr.. Hopkins came to town as
attorney general. He never filed a
suit charging a corporation with may
hem, manslaughter, blackmail or
publisher walked right out in front
and pinned a big rose on Mr.. Hop
kinS' lapel Sometimes unkind peo-
pie pointed to the fact that some
of Mr.. II opkins, choice cases never
went further than the recording clerk
at the court house and the first page
of friendly newspapers But the 10y
atty of White was never in question.
He always came back with reassuring
words that the attorney general was
fighting on the side of the widows
and the orphans and that after all the
winning of the suits didn't mean
much.
Anyone who knew about the crime
of 1912 and had read just a few scat
tering editorials from Mr.. Whites
pen, knew weeks in advance that he
would be out roofing for Hopkins just
as soon as he announced for a place
on the supreme bench. Most of the
wise fellows in politics rather assumed
that one of the first moves in the
Hopkins campaign would be ringing
editorial endorsement from the En-
pory Gazette.
He Favors Justice Porter.
But the editorial hasn't come. In
stead it is quite we'll known in po-
Iitical quarters that William Allen
White has written Mr.. Hopkins very
pointed letter. The big point in the
letter is a sigh and tear and an adj
monition that Mr.. Hopkins should
have shown rarer judgment than try
to retire Justice Silas Porter from the
supreme bench. In short, White has
given Mr.. Hopkins to understand that
if he really wants to run this year he
should pick out a place where
change in the service won't be too
clear to all the world Mr.. White has
written a few editorials about it.
White is out in full force for the
denomination of Justice Porter After
fourteen years of faithful marching
beside Hopkins, he has dropped out
of the ranks. He is going into the
campaign this year to scatter Porter
handbills and defies the man who
dares oppose his return to the SUI
preme bench.