Evening star., 1923-07-22
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Ine nrSt campaign that Represen-
tative w. A. Ayres of Kansas made
for Congress was in 1914 at the time
the bull moose party was in it's glory.
1t will be recalled that the regular re-
publicans fought the bull moose
candidates with more vigor than they
did the democrats and were eager at
all times to get anything on a bull
moose candidate.
1t was then when Victor Murdock.
now a member of the Federal Trade
Commission, ran on the bull moose
ticket Tor United States senator, and
Henry ]. Allen, recent Governor of
Kansas, ran on the same ticket for
governor, that Ayres ran on the
democratic ticket to succeer Murdock
in the House.
One day while campaigning he
went TO little town called Andale.
exclusively German settlement. A
wedding of very prominent people
was being celebrated, and it was an
all-day event. Ayres was told by an
implement dealer that If he would
mention politics, he would arrange
for every one to come down and hear
him.
When the wedding party came to
the corner where the implement store
was located. the proprietor. who was
ed him up on a piece of farm machin-
cry as a platform from which to
speak. This piece Of machinery was
not used when Ayres was farming.
So when the crowd began to laugh.
|Ayres asked his friend who introduced
him the cause of their merriment.
He said: Don't you know what you
are standing on?" and when Ayres
pleaded Ignorance he told him 1t was
a manure spreader.
After he was introduced Mr.. Ayres
started out by saying: Ladies and
naturally I have been called upon
many times to make speeches under
peculiar and at times difficult cir
cumstances, but this is the first time
in my life that / was ever called up
on to make a democratic speech from
a bull moose platform"
The republicans used that as a
campaign story all the rest of the
campaign. and Mr.. Ayres to this day
is frequently interrupted by some
one in the audience yelling: bill.
give us a democratic speech from a
bull moose platform"
Before entering the Army at the
time of the world war, Roy G. Fitz-
gerald, now a member Of Congress.
reduced himself eighty pounds in
weight. When he went back to Day
ton. Ohio. at the close of the last
Congress he weighed gao pounds. So
he set to work and took of thirty
pounds again, SO as to fit his uni
forms and enter military training at
Camp Knox.
Representative Fitzgerald is a
major OF infantry in the reserve.
Representative John McSweeney, the
new congressman from the sixteenth
Ohio district is a captain in the
reserve and Is at the same training
camp. Maj. Gen. Farnsworth, who
commanded McSweeney on the front,
said to Maj. Fitzgerald the other
day: Capt. McSweeney is the bravest
man I ever knew"
Victor Berger. socialist, whom COL
leagues in Congress have several
times voted they did not want there,
but whom the people of Wisconsin
have even more frequently voted
they do want in Congress, is spend
ing the summer in Europe. particu-
larly in the Ruhr district preparing
himself for a series of talks" dur
ing the coming winter
X
One of the most peculiar among
many peculiar pets of congressman is
sentative T. ]. Lilly of Hinton,
w. Va.
He caught 1t in the wilds of the
mountain when it was about three
| weeks old. tanned II. and it stays
around the house or yard like a dog
| or cat. When it gets hungry 1t will
| come and look up at you and make
| a noise. If you don't pay any at
| tention TO that II will soon get i'm
| patient and will stand up and paw
your legs with it's front feet to at
| tract your attention.
Representative Lilly has two farms
\ and there he is spending most OF
i his summer. He was born and raised
\ on the farm and. unlike most boys
| with that experience, he is very
| time he can spare from his law office
| on the farm. He is addicted to fish
| ing and hunting. He breeds and
| keeps Jersey dairy stock and has a
| beautiful herd. He also takes de-
| light in poultry raising and spe-
I'VE find that they do better and are
more profitable for this section of the
1 country"
| An interesting illustration of why
the farmers of his district are es-
| pecially interested in having freight
| rates lowered is given by Repre-
| sentative John n. Tillman of Ar
kansas. He calls on John Huls of Prairie
| Grove, Ark, as witness. This mar
Huls testifles that he recently bought
six bushels Of rye-''not the kind you
pour down the throat, but the kind
| you sow on the rich soil in the
Prairie Grove valley" Tillman ex.
| plains. Huls says he gave 60 cents
bushel for this rye in Kansas and
the freight on the same was a dollar
bushel.
Another neighbor of Represents.
melons to New York city. They gave
him Z cents each for the melons ir
the field, the freight to New York
| was 21 cents each and the consumer
paid s1.50 each for the melons.
The fellow who created the
| wealth, the acknowledgement
Tillman emphasizes-"got next te
nothing for 1t, while the man wht
made the last sale and who was ir
no sense responsible for the crea
tion of this wealth, got $3.50 for eacf
melon"
Mai. Harry B. Hawes, who repre-
sents the eleventh district Of Mis-
souri,, has several interesting hob
bies. For many years he was presi
dent of the Mississippi Valley Kenne
Club and a delegate to the American
Kennel Club. His hobby has beer
the raising Of dogs. Being invited
to address the State University a
Columbia and permitted to select hi