Evening star., 1948-06-10
The Political Min J
Retiring Senator Copper !
Crusuded for Just Causes
Set Up Record as a Legislator in
Five Consecutive Terms

Set Up Record as a Legislator in
Five Consecutive Terms
By Gould Lincoln
Not many men have been elected to serve
five consecutive terms of six gears each in
the Senate Of the United States-and have
then voluntarily determined to retire. Not
many men at the age Of 50 have been able to
attend day after day the sessions Of the Upper
House of Congress. Senator Arthur Capper OF
Kansas is one of the very few.
When he made his recent decision not to
seek denomination and reelection, the Kansas
Senator took his colleagues and the Republic
cans of Kansas by surprise. He had, indeed,
said earlier he would run-and the mild
nered, slender and soft-voiced Senator Capper
has never run from q fight. It was not there
fore, the threat of severe competition from a
much younger opponent-former Gov. Andrew
Schoeppel-which took him out of the race.
He Just decided for himself that he had had
enough; that he preferred not to 60 through
the heat Of another campaign: that he would
go back to Topeka and continue the pubaica-
ton of the many Capper newspapers and
periodicals. B..
Friend Of the Farmer.
It's often said the farmer needs friend.
Arthur Capper has been the answer to the
prayer of many farmers During his long serv-
ice in the Senate he sponsored some OF the
most important legislation enacted to aid the
farmers of the country-and he is winding up
that long service as chairman of the Senate
Committee on Agriculture. He was co-author
of the Capper- Volstead Act-not the prohibit
ton law although the Kansas Senator has
always been q dry-personally as we'll as po-
itically. The CapperVolstead Act provided
a foundation on which all the farm co-opera-
tives have flourished, exempting them from
the operation of the antitrust laws and Civ
ing other benefits He was co-author, too, OF
the Capper Tincher Act-the first Federal law
for the regulation of the grain exchanges. and
of the Capper- -Katchman Act, the basis of the
annual appropriations made by Congress for
the All clubs Senator Capper, too, sponsored
the legislation which finally resulted in pre-
viding that one member of the Federal Reserve
Board should be representative of agricultural
interests of the country
The Kansas Senator made his debut in the
Senate in March, 1919. World War had just
closed and Woodrow Wilson was soon to be-
gin his fight for League of Nations. 1t is OF
more than passing interest that Senator
Capper was in sympathy with the League of
Nations, that he was one of the So-called mild
reservationists" who hoped to get the United
States into the League without doing violence
either to the League or to the Constitution
and interest of the United States OF America
As he is concluding his Senate career, he is
the ranking Republican on the Foreign Rela-
tions Committee, next to Chairman Vanden-
berg-whom Senator Capper has stanchly
supported in all recent questions OF foreign
policy. Indeed, Senator Capper stood aside
when the Eightieth Congress organized so that
Senator Vandenberg might become chairman
of the priced Foreign Relations Committee.
Crusader for Just Causes.
Senator Capper, for all his mild manner. has
always been crusader for causes he consid-
cred just. With tremendous persistence. he
has been an effective operator, too. For ex-
ample, he went down the line for national
prohibition. His retirement from the Senate
Is reminiscent of the passing OF an era-the
so-called dry era. Another cause which he
espoused was that of the National Capital and
its voteless population. For years he headed
the Senate Committee on the District of Co.
umbia-and he had a hand in its develop
ment-as q city of great beauty and dignity
worthy of the country. Year in and year out
he labored to give the people Of the Capital
City the right-denied to the people of no other
capital city in democratic nation-to have
hand in their own government. 1t is one of his
regrets that he leaves the Senate with this end
still unattained.
The Kansan is leaving public Office on no
note of pessimism. 1--WE have he says, the
greatest, most beneficial and most satisfac-
tory system of government in the world" He
is convinced that things are getting better,
not worse"
Coming from the progressive Midwest, Sem
ator Capper was great admirer of the first
Roosevelt-T r. Indeed, it was the split in the
Republican ranks over Roosevelt and his Bull
Moose ticket which caused Senator Capper to
lose his first try for Governor Of Kansas-he
was defeated by his Democratic opponent be-
cause stand-pat Republicans voted for the
Democrat. Senator Capper, in his newspapers.
had supported T. r. Although he had no use
for the New Deal of the second Roosevelt
F. D. R.-Senator Capper was always on friend
ly personal relations with him.
Twice a Governor of Kansas and for 80
years Senator of the United States, Mr.. Cap
per will be missed-make no mistake about
that.