Newspaper Page Text
6
WR. JOHNSON'S JOKE
HOW HE HADE CONGRESSMAN
HALL'S FARM APPEAR VERY
SMALL.
HALL AMONG THE BOURBONS.
REPORTED TO HAVE DRINK MORE
WHISKY THAN EVEN THE
KENTUCKIA NS.
"SUNSET" COX ON STATEHOOD.
teekers After Consulship to Alfxun
<_ii:i—Presidential Church-
Goingr Discussed.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 28.—Congrsss
ir.an Martin N. Johnson, of North Da
kota, a Norwegian by birth, is one of
the smoothest and quietest nw.mbers
of the hous*:, but he loses never a trick
in any political game which is moving
ln North Dakota. And he has a bit of
e.\y, dry humor which shapes up in un
expected moments. A local newspaper
printc-d a paragraph about Congress-
CHAD RON, Neb., Nov. 28.— Miss Estelle
Itae Davisson, who was recently elected to
the office of county attorney in Brown county,
Is one of the best and one of the brightest
lawyers in Northwestern Nebraska. One of
the surprises in the political kaleidoscope of
the counties in this section of the state waa
tho election of a Populist over the Repub
licans. Brown county's normal Republican
majority has been about 300. But this year
the fair candidate for county attorney was
elected without an effort, although pitted
against a strong and popular gentleman on
the Republican side. Miss Davisson is a
native of lowa and has not yet reached the
man Hall's 1,800-acre farm In Missouri,
and stated that he was the largest
farmer tn the state. Representative
Johnson read the item and said in a
very serious manner, as though he
were dead in earnest:
"The item speaks volumes for Mis
souri." and it has made a strong im
pression on my mind. It would be a
great benefit and blessing to North
.Dakota if our bonanza farms could be
broken up into little holdings like that.
I do not know who has the largest farm
in North Dakota. The Grandin farm
contains about 25,000 acres and Dal
rymple has 30,000 acres. I recollect dur
ing the last congress my official duties
required me to advise the administra
tion whether or not to remove a post
master, who kept the little fourth-class
office of Pickert, in Steele county. One
of the doubts entertained at the depart
ment was whether the old farmer was
financially responsible to handle so
much public money. I found upon in
vestigation that the total receipts of
the office was $103 a year, and that
moat of the patroris were the hired
help £>f the farmer postmaster. His
farm buildings had cost $100,000, and he
had raised the year before 500,000 bush
els of wheat. I did not recommend his
removal. It is only fifty miles from
his farm to mine, in an adjoining
county. We had lived there ten years,
and yet, I declare, I had never heard
of him or his little calf pasture of half
million-bushel-wheat farm until the
postoffice muddle came up. Nobody
out there considers the Pickert farm as
anything remarkable for size, and yet I
think it would be a blessing to the state
if it and all of the bonanza farms were
broken up into little homesteads like
that of Hall's in Missouri."
* • •
Congressman Hall, by the way, is
something of a joker himself. He will
tell n good story at his own expense
as soon as he will put the butt of the
joke on another. He says that "when
a very young man. and that was many
years ago," he ypisited Kentucky on
some business in a place called Crab
Orchard.
"In a casual way," says Mr. Hall,
"I became acqualnj^d with a gentle
man I'll call Col. Poindexter. The ac
quaintance was no more, however, than
the merest introduction. On Sunday
morning, the next day after my Crab
Orchard advent, CoL Poindexter called:
' 'I feared you might be lonely, sir,
ln a strange place, and I thought lt
was as little as a perfectly idle man
like myself could do to call around
and entertain you, sir.'
"I thanked him, and he suggested a
walk.
" 'Col. Hall, sir,' remarked my friend,
as we proceeded up the quiet Sunday
street, " 'should you care to try a little
whisky this morning. I can recom
mend some which I have in my office,
sir. I kept it for myself and my par
ticular friends, sir.'
"It did not strike me as the polite
thing to refuse, and, to tell the truth,
I didn't care to say or do anytfliing to
offend my country friend, Col. Poin
dexter. I didn't know how far he might
regard a declination to drink his whis
ky as an invasion of his honor. So
we turned into the colonel's office. He
poured out a drink of whisky In a_a or
dinary water glass. He filled lt about
half. It was a tremendous drink. I
knew that; but I was in Kentucky and
I didn't care to Impair my standing
with my friend. Col. Poindexter. So
I nerved myself, raised the glass, and
the next moment had every drop of
it beneath my belt.
" 'Would you like another glass, sir?'
asked the colonel, his face beaming
with evident pleasure at my appre
ciation of his whisky.
"Determined to make as good an Im
pression as might be, I declined the
water. Col. Poindexter then cheered
himself with a very moderate swallow
of his medicine. Still, I could see that
I had completely mastered his good
opinion. He couldn't think better of
tne If we'd been friends from the cra
lle. As we stepped into the street, he
called eagerly across to a friend who
chanced to be passing.
" 'Col. Peyton, would you mind step
ping across, sir?' Col. Peyton com
plied at once. 'Col. Peyton,' continued
my new friend and admrer, 'allow me
to make you acquainted with my frind,
Col. Hall.' And then, in a glow and
burst together, he went on: 'Col. Pey
ton, I want you to know Col. Hall. He
is one of my best frends and a perfect
gentleman, sir. Yes, sir; Col. Peyton,
a perfectly gentleman, sir. Col. Pey
ton, I just saw my friend, Col. Hall,
take the biggest drink of liquor, sir,
without sugar or water, I ever saw a
man take in my life, sir.'
"Here both Col. Peyton and Col.
Poindexter beamed on me with such
an atmosphere of friendly approval
that I never forgot it. "And," con
cluded Representative Hall, "I am
very popular In Crab Orchard to this
day."
• * a
Did you ever hear of "fairy stones?"
They are odd, rare, peculiar gems.
Maj. Asa Rogers, formerly confiden
tial secretary to Gen. Mahone, owns a
mine of "fairy stones" down in Vir
ginia, and there are numerous fine
specimens of that mineral curiosity
there. They are of a crystalline forma
tion, which has assumed the shape, in
the perfect specimens, of a Maltese
cross. Over in Patrick county, where
they are found (and it is the only place
in the world), the natives have a le
gend that when the news came of the
crucifixion the gnomes fell to work
making these crosses. They are con
sidered very lucky by the natives and
are worn as talismans against ill luck.
The major was over there on a pros
pecting tour, onee — prospecting for
moonshine whisky, it is said — heard
age or 23. She imbibed her first notions
of law on her father's knee. Miss Davisson
is an able lawyer and a graduate of Mich
igan university. She attended the public
schools of Sibley, 10. In 1886 she came to
Long Pine, Neb., her present home, and
finished her secular education in the high
school. In 1894 she entered the law depart
ment of the state university at Lincoln, and
two years later came out of lt a full-fledged
lawyer. She was nominated as a fusion can
didate and won easily. Miss Davisson is the
only woman In Nebraska, perhaps in the
country, that has been elected to the position
of county attorney.
the legend, saw the stones, and bought
the ledge where they are found.
* • •
Gov. Toole, of Montana, who was a
member of congress and very influen
tial ln securing statehood for the Da
kotas, Montana, and Washington, says
that but for "Sunset" Cox, statehood
could not have been accomplished. The
young delegates from the territories
could secure the aid of no one of the
older congressmen until "Sunßet" Cox
espoused their cause. No man ever
made a more scholarly, eloquent, and
effective appeal for statehood, than
Mr. Cox made when he spoke for those
vassal territories as follows:
"It Is impossible. Mr. Speaker, to
resist the demand of such a state, even
when divided. Tou cannot chain tKis
Prometheus to a rock. Why should
such a country, so rich and prosperous
and Intelligent, be governed differently
from Georgia or Massachusetts, Illinois
or New York? You cannot keep such a
people down. Refuse to admit this
state and its territorial sisters? Why,
sir, you may enact that frost shall
cease in the north and blooms In the
south, or try to fix the figure of
Proteus by stature, but you cannot
prevent the people of this territory
from their demand, and you must ac
cede to it; and, if this congress does
not, we know that the next congress
will.
"The spirit of this people of the
Northwest is that of unbounded push
and energy. They are the men who
have tunneled our mountains, who
have delved our mines, who have
bridged our rivers, who have brought
every part of our empire within the
reach of foreign and home markets,
who have made possible our grand
growth and splendid development. They
are the men who have made our na
tional life. There is no parallel in
history to their achievements. You
cannot hold them as captives to the
federal system. You must give them
self-reliant manhood.
"The historian of Rome draws a pic
ture of the proud Queen of Palmyra, ar
rayed in purple and loaded with golden
chains to aggrandize the procession in
honor of the conquerer of Asia. It
needs no such imagination to picture
j the condition of our inchoate states in
the West, They will wear no golden
chains. No, sir! They will march In
on procession of dishonor. Such exhibi
tions do not belong to our country. Our
people are not to be led in fetters at
the car of an imperial congress. Why,
such exhibitions were unfit even for
pagan Rome. So that in every possi
ble equipment, whether divided or
united, this remarkable territory Is
ready to join that circle of felicity
which makes up the federal fratern
ity."
The bill was passed and approved by
President Cleveland in February, 1889.
The proclamation of statehood was is
sued by President Harrison July 4,
IJ.S9.
• * *
Nothing could be more pathetic than
the following true story: A poor man.
clad in tattered garments, called at m
basement door in Northeast Washing
ton yesterday and asked for something
to eat, as he was nearly famished. The
lady of the house viewed his tatters
a moment, and then requested the man
ot leave her premises, saying she was
afraid he might steal something. "For
the present," replied the man, "I am a
beggar, but I don't steal. If I were a
thief I would not be wearing these
tattered clothes."
. He was given a good, square meal,
and the lady's husband was Influential
enough to secure him employment.
• • *
The officeseekers will soon overrun
the city. There is one office which is
desirable, for which there will be many
candiates, and that is the position of
consul to Alexandria, Egypt. It is
usually sought, and has usually been
held by literary men. Eight years ago
Eugene Field wanted it, but President
Harrison would not give It to him, al
though Private Secretary Halford used
his best efforts in behalf of the brill
iant journalist. The opposition aspir
ants started a story to the effect that
Eugene Field, whom every one knew
to be the soul of honor, wanted the
place in order that he might be In a
position to assist Mid further the in-
THE SAINT PAUL GLOBE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1806.
terests of a vast corporation he was
conected with, organized for the pur
pose of drawing off the waters of the
Mediterranean sea and Irrigating and
reclaiming the desert lands of Sahara.
It Is almost Incomprehensible that such
a story could have had credence. It is
so wild and chimerical. But lt really
produced the effect of delaying the ap
pointment, and Field withdrew his ap
plication with indignation.
• • •
Church-going people in Washington
are pleased to note that all our presi
idents have been accustomed to attend
divine service. Lincoln, Grant, Hayes,
Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland and Harri
son have been regular attendants at
church, at least once a week. Lincoln
attended the New York Avenue Pres
byterian church. Grant went to the
Metropolitan Methodist, and Hayes to
the Foundry Methodist churches. Gar
field attended the Christian (Camp
belllte) church, where he had often
preached. President Arthur was an
Episcopalean, and attended St. John's,
directly opposite the White house.
President Cleveland attended the First
Presbyterian, and President Harrison
the Connecticut Avenue Presbyterian
church; and all of the presidents have
manifested interest in spiritual affairs.
The churches attended by presidents
and their families always have large
congregations, but the other churches
sometimes have to devise attractions
to secure good congregations. An am
bitious young preacher once advertised
a discourse on "The Experiences of a
Government Employe." That was a
subject which appealed directly to a
very large proportion of the Washing
ton people, and they attended in large
numbers, expecting to hear a woeful
tale of the removal of a clerk from one
of the departments, and ready to sym
pathize with the unfortunate individ
ual. The congregation expressed disap
pointment when it was found that the
sermon was based upon an accident in
the life of Zaccheus, who, it will be re
membered, was employed as a taxgath
erer under the Roman emperor nearly
2,000 years ago. The young preacher
will not be able to get so large a con
gregation again, no matter how much
printer's ink he may use. He secured
an audience under false pretenses.
m
ANOTHER PINK PILL ENTHUSIAST.
Mrs. Beebe Says She Would Not Be
Without Them tor Any Induce
ment — Cured Her of a Bad Case of
Chronic Rheumatism.
Prom the World-Herald, Omaha, Neb.
Mrs. Henry T. Beebe, who for the past
fourteen years has resided at No. 2411
Caldwell Street. Omaha, Nebraska,
and who has a 'large circle of friends
and acquaintances ln that vicinity, is
an enthusiastic admirer of Dr. Wil
liams' Pink Pills for Pale People. Mrs.
Beebe says she would not be without
Pink Pills for any inducement, as they
have proved to be such a blessing to
her ln the past few years.
For many years Mrs. Beebe has been
a sufferer from a severe and very
peculiar form of chronic rheumatism
which gave her no rest night or day.
Up to three years ago she did not
know what It was to be relieved from
pain ln some location or other, and
at times, usually at night, she was
tortured with a concentration of rheu
matism in some one joint, usually in
the cords of the wrist. After trying
several kinds of remedies recommended
by her friends, she began taking Pink
Pills, and quickly found relief.
Mrs. Beebe says: ''There is no doubt
about it, Pink Pills cured me, and I
will never be without them as long
aa I can get them at the drug store
or elsewhere. I always keep them ln
the house, and never fail to recom
mend them to anyone who is suffering
from rheumatism, as they have done
so much for me, and I know they will
do it for others.
For years I was troubled with rheu
matism in its worst form. There was
hardly a minute that I did not suffer,
during a period of twenty years. The
pain was not always in the same place,
but was all through the system. It was
worse, though, in the limbs and shoul
ders. During the day, while I was not
at ail free from pain, it was not so bad
as at night when the pain seemed
to concentrate in one spot, and was so
intense that sleep was impossible for
me or anyone around me, . and I have
paced the floor all night and thought
I could not endure it another minute.
At times the cords of my wrist would
become cramped and knotted so that
it would seem as if something was
gnawing through the bone, and the
place would be black and blue for days
after.
At last, after I had tried several
other kinds of medicines without any
effect I tried Pink Pills, and had not
taken one box when I saw that they
were helping me right along. I was
surprised that they would act so soon,
and remarked the fact to my friends.
When I had taken the second box the
rheumatism was entirely gone, ajid I
have not had it since, and that was
three years ago. I knew I was cured,
but went on taking another box as a J
safeguard against any possibility of re
newed attack. Since I have been cured
I have felt entirely like another woman.
I do not believe in proprietary medi
cines as a rule, or any other kind of
medicines, in fact, but I cannot speak
too highly for Pink Pills for Pale Peo
ple. You can say that I tried every
remedy that was recommended to me,
but the Pink Pills was the only one
that did me a particle of good, and I
would recommend them to any one that
Is suffering from any form of rheuma
tism. They are the nMdest medicine I
have ever taken. Why, you can let one
of the pills lay on your tongue until lt
dissolves, and only a pleasant taste will
result from it. One does not notice the
action of the pills either, but they do
more work in a given time than a
dozen of the ordinary bitter pills."
When asked how she came to take
Pink Pills, Mrs. Beebe said: "Well, I
saw in the paper a statement that was
sworn to by a man that had suffered
from nearly the same trouble that I
had, only I do not think it was quite
so severe, and I thought surely they
would not put in a false affidavit, and I
I was positive that no one would swear
I to a falsehood, they ought not to at
j least, and as it would cost only fifty
I cents to try it, I bought a box with the
i results I have just related to you."
Dr. Williams' Pink Pills contain, in
| a condensed form, all the elements nec-
I essary to give new life and richness to
the blood and restore shattered nerves.
i They are also a specific for troubles pe
culiar to females, such as suppressions,
irregularities and all forms of weak
ness. They build up the blood, and re
store the glow of health to pale and
sallow cheeks. In men they effect a
radical cure in all cases arising from
mental worry, overwork or excesses of
whatever nature. Pink Pills are sold
in boxes (never In loose bulk) at 50
cents a box or six boxes for $2.50. and
may be had of all druggists, or direct
by mail from Dr. Williams' Medicine
Company, Schenectady, N. Y.
m
Paul Jones' Ship.
There have been other unlucky ships before
the Texas.
The Bon Homme Richard waa one. Paul
Jones himself on taking command of her at
L'Orient, France, wrote & most doleful let
i ter about her to one of his aristocratic patron
esses in Paris. She waa "a worn-out old India
man" and "her forecastle was a Babel."
"Fourteen different languages are spoken in
my forecastle," said Jones, dismayed at the
appearance of his motley crew. Two days out
at sea the Bon Homme Richard was fouled
by her consort, the Alliance, and had the
Jibboom and foretopmast carried away. Jones
then put back to L'Orient to refit, perfectly
convinced of the unluckiness of his ship.
But that accident proved l*er salvation. On
•his return Jones found 114 American seamen
who had just been released from English
prisons by exchange. Among them was Rich
ard Dale, whom Jones at once appointed first
lieutenant. These all volunteered into the
Richard, Jones promptly discharging enough
of his polyglots to make way for them. Prior
to that he had only about* forty Americans.
This addition made 154 fighting Yankee sea
men, and they were the men who made the
Serapis sick a few weeks later off the east
coast of England.
Thus it happened that the grandest exploit
in naval history was achieved by an un
lucky ship, and she obtained the means of
achieving it through a distressing accident.
Philadelphia Times.
IiIIICDTId_yAI APOORBTOVE tftV^r'-t-l"
§3m I 1 WES H* X B IB I HBH Nm Sls the cause of much domestic ud- Ji* % Wm \*\
aaWOk 1 I H HL_ ____ HI I jT^B I IH HnH > happiness. A meanly cooked meal JL___________-___-_____—_______ ... "V
___TW H__i H HB 9S « B_f HfMr 9 B«9 > raises the Ire of a man more quickly FBI '-.>•'£'.' "^"■PY
"™^^ b_h .______________■ __n___i «__n _v IB Warn _■ warn Sln the home oirole than auy other iLfl .H^^WM Hi. I
S feature; lt makes a mau dyspeptic M VsJKgtT - '! !l«__vC-nS^Tyl___
S and when a man is dyspeptic look PlfL|2«»§.i I llwl-i -^WTO-11l I
Represents or misrepresents the goods, according to the facts MSN' MmVll
stated. Our object in advertising- is to inform the people that I husband comes from the cares and I Ji, xjyl.*. 1 ffii Wftyii. * f
, , "i . . , .?, . . - . t worries of business. A good dinne<- I ]| U . %f ia '!■§ \^ \. |
we have goods to sell which will give satisfaction. All our J cooked on a W^^r^L^^^ JL^ lit
representations are strictly true, for we try to understate \ | A -«,~I CSL-C-^al
rather than overstate. j WCffOI 91601 IMji^Slf'^^^P^Pt
Bm\£\mMt Til 1 OUDICTIIIC I' will drive away his frowns, and be- ♦' ' J fjSjjQ mSfcWKIi&W
nif W I IL__l__. Oil SB 153 I MASd ' s!de l, the y are "j™ economical, # iMf&fH JU|_______^W? I| « i
™ """ ■ iiirw ( much haudsomer thau tho old-fash- 7 ||gw^[lllj{»MM_Py i^ TO
tttmi v. , „_, ' . £ t 1 • _. ', loned stove, aud at prices that range 1 lSig i T6^^^_.fji»JiOg«__M_J_j n
will be a campaign of busy shopping-, and we are thoroug-hly prepared to '! ab °ut the same. For instance: A ' W W *Br*h\ ■t^ 1
meet the onslaught of patronage with an aggregation of stylish and up-to- Si* C A ■ (?!!» 5 klflEJllS ß
date, useful aud wetty things for the home. . < with larse square s> '/ V «->U mm \' matfES&Sen** %.
The unity of 'high qualities and low prices always prevails, and nowhere \ .SSt/ C 0 h\WSm 11 B 1
t S L7 U So s. tme^ S S ° -l CC °v. rdaaCe Wkh d63ire ' StylG aQd refined taStC be Yes - ™'^ your old stove and /£&??*? ' Hll ''-"_' «' Mh « }%
lound. Ihat*s why ours is the busiest store in town. I allow what it Is worth as first Day- WC y r '....;.: =g ~Tj
i, ment or part paymeut on a Jewel.
__^W_ A WORD j JJT LAWIP^^ jST
"^^^ WINTER Styles never so j| IndTtyle^tmei- Mirfj^MfrJk
l^^^^*fe.v -T^^^l Would doubtless be jj nTenl^er^ o'^0 '^ j Po^im?" 6 vl wFll
** ■ —^T^^m the ladies to come and •' l*^V__rj_^'fcl ' _. ~ al > ', j-pint size,
This week we place on sale Ten only. 100-Ploo a nin»_._. Co*« S VL_f I^_**W example. S AQf* MnEiH
in naviland China, in three deco?at!o.S. equll to ' ai?v^S 00 sft'fe L P+ I*^ «. ° n sal « . **»t« gi^
to start the ball rolling for Holiday trade they go <£tf_tO EA -_(ft_X Xft this week > * . •
thisweakat, peri-et of 100 plecea... S^SObQII ( S^ V " < _^_«____-_,_rw_
r ~^^.— — "-t < at, each, ,| mvo^^\. TCJI IfCTTi EG
MA|| gnn jr^ \ '•JS - ' __i
1 tIILS. 1 SETSb \^^^p^k l-~ < J^^^ml Made of heavy nickeled
An exceptionally large assortment bought JmWSmmrSmWwi. H 5 ft&D IRON<% full «i--'_r-,l !' exactl >' like cut,
55.5 J. On sale this week at. per $0 OB \^Vai i I aifl Jay O^^^^^^^^^
,z fSr t H i T^- k s „"_iv.^h Pepp " s '. th i 3sc Tsc~ Ur W rmulAMn 15
~i IVLfI LIIULHIIU COMPANY....
TBTRISfIC on all House-Furnishings, Cash or « II »,- _ _ .
■ tfllWO about One-Fifth down and balance in » !« The Ono- Price Complete 3
easy monthly payments. ■ W Hottse Furnishers. 43G W 30331^ Street, Sf, Paill,
A SOGIAMST JUDGE
—
HE WILL BE THE HEAD OF
THE KANSAS SUPREME
BENCH.
I
, __
HAS RADICAL OPINIONS.
*?r=y-
STARTLIXG EVEN T*^ THE MOST
ENTHU»_UtSTKX>OJP v -HIS ST V
PORTERS, y t-i "
ON THE RIGHT** OF- LABOR,
- 1$
Capital and Property— How He Came
to Be Selected for So High a
Positi6n.\
TOPEKA. Kan., Nov. 28.— Judge \
Frank Doster, the newly elected chief ;
justice of the sypreme court of Kan- j
sas, is a socialist and the more for
ward socialists and advocates of ex
treme reforms in Kansas are greatly
pleased with his election. He is an able j
FRANK DOSTEIR, CHIE*"" JUSTICE-ELECT OF KANSAS SUPREME COURT.
lawyer, a close student, a thoughtful
jurist and is regarded with favor by
the common people. For "six years he
has proclaimed socialistic- arid com
munistic doctrines from the stump. He
is a native of Virginia, and when a
mere boy entered the union army
from Indiana. Then he came to Kansas
and located in the practice of law at
Marion, where he still resides. Until
1888 he affiliated with the Republican
party, but was always independent in
his views, and lt waa not until the
campaign of 1890, when the farmers
alliance came near sweeping the state
that Doster promulgated the doctrines
which caused many property owners
to open their eyes. The people of the
state were astounded at his radical de«
clarations, and while he was not a can
didate for office, he was one of the lead
ing spirits In the alliance party, and
was accorded the distinction of being
its legal adviser.
APPOINTED DISTRICT JUDGE.
At that time Judge! Doster was a dis
trict judge, to which position he had
been elected as an. Independent Re
publican. He was previously appointed
to the bench by Gov. Martin, Repub
lican. In the campaign of 1890 he had
become so partisan- that the Repub
licans turned agaittst l»im, and set
about planning for Isis defeat the year
following. He had thoroughly identi
fied himself with tbe Populist party,
and, of course, became its candidate for
district judge. With the Republicans
and Democrats state pride, state credit
and the rights of property rose above
party ties, and with unanimity never
before equaled In the state they came
together for the sole and only purpose
of defeating Doster.
The district was composed of Marion,
Chase and McPherson counties. A
conference was held by the leading Re
publicans and Democrats, and it was
agreed- that Luclen ESarle, a Demo
cratic -lawyer of McPherson, should be
the candidate. In his announcement
Earle solicited the support of "all who
believe the Judiciary is the sheet an
chor of our liberties and the balance
wheel of American institutions." Judge
Doster announced that he would make
a speech in the opera house in Marion
and define his position. An immense
audience greeted him. He proclaimed
doctrines at that meeting which were
new to the people of Kansas. This was
the text of his remarkable speech:
HIS NOTIONS AS TO PROPERTY
The only law which the user of cap
ital is bound to observe is that law
which finds dtf origin, end and sanc
tion in himself—the law of self-interest.
I have asserted that the rights of a
user of a thing were paramount to the
rights of its owner.
You, as the user of a machine or the
reader of a book, have greater rights
in the same than the inventor or the
author has.
In that speech, which occupied more
than two hours, Judge Doster said:
The mutuality between capital and
labor is denied. Radical and unpopu-
lar as it may be, I deny the existence
of that mutuality between labor and
capital which we hear so constantly
asserted and which is the stock utter
ance of politicians and commercialist3
and legislators and that class of
claquers and retailers of cant phrases
who catch up other people's speech and
quote it for Its jingle and amusement
of the fancy. My contention is that
labor and capital, or, more accurately
speaking, ownership and use. or still
more -accurately speaking, creator and
created, are not mutual and equal.
The only law which the user of cap
ital is bound to observe is that law
which finds its origin, end and sanc
tion in himself. Radical utterances
these are, but I have an abiding faith
that the economic philosophy of the
near future will base Itself upon the
principles here announced. I need not
be reminded that I have advanced a
proposition at variance with the age,
and all ages, ln fact, and I am quite
well aware that as against the pre
conceived notions of the political econ
omists It is not a self-convincing one.
Stripped to its nakedness, the proposi
tion is that the owner of property does
not possess, with respect to such prop
erty, an equality of right with the user
of it, and upon the truth of that propo
sition let me say to you, members of
the farmers' and citizens* alliance,
and you People's party men, rests the
entire fabric of your political plat
forms and your demand for Industrial
reforms.
HIS FIRST DEFEATS.
The promulgation of this new doc
trine startled many men of Kansas who j
owned property. Railroad officials con
ferred, and a conference of leading Re
publicans was held at Topeka to map
out a programme that would surely de
feat Doster. This fight occurred when
nothing but county officers were to be
chosen. It was an oft year. Republi
cans believed that if they could unite
with the Democrats and defeat the
legal adviser of the new Populist party
it would never again rise to disturb
them. The whole power of the state
was a crushing defeat to Doster. The
Republican state league was called to
gether at the beginning of the battle,
and this address was prepared for use
in that district:
The wandering vagabonds who have
Joined the alliance for political pur
poses only, and who are trying to
make a living by the sweat of their
Jaws instead of honest toil, will, of
course, fall to pay their debts. An
epidemic of unreason swept over our
state last fall, and many of our people
"were inoculated with the pestilence.
Quarantine had been established and
i s rigidly maintained. The epidemic !s
not spreading, and many of the orig
inal victims are convalescent.
The new party, under the seductive
leadership of demagogues, who magni
fy the farmers' misfortunes and belit
tle their resources, obtained control
of the lower house of our legslature.
Its conspicuous failure as a law-mak
ing body filled the more sensible mem
bers of the*alliance with chagrin, and
they will embrace the first opportunity
offered to reinstate themselves in the
Republican party.
Kansas is marvelous in its history,
matchless in Its resources and magni
ficent in its achievements, and the par
ty that maligns the state and dishon
ors itself is already struck with the
blight of death.
DEMOCRATS SUPPORT HIM.
The judicial district central commit
tee, composed of Republicans and
Democrats, charged with the conduct of
the campaign against Doster, issued a
stirring address to the people, and
Judge Doster was defeated. But the
judge was not discouraged. He bided
his time. In the Populist state con
vention at Abilene in July last he was
unanimously nominated. The state
Democratic convention, then in session
at .Hutchinson, Indorsed the nomina
tion, and at the recent election he was
chosen chief justice of the supreme
court by 3,500 majority. Many of the
Democrats who joined the Republicans
in 1891 supported him, and some of
them were in the Domocratlc conven
tion that indorsed his candidacy along
with the other candidates on the state
Populist ticket.
CAPITAL AND ITS USERS.
When the recent campaign opened
the Republicans scattered broadcast
the extracts from Judge Doster's
speech in the famous judicial fight in
his district in 1891. He paid little at
tention to this onslaught, but prose- I
cuted his campaign, dealing with the
money question, which he declared
was the paramount issue in this cam
paign. A local paper published at Le
Roy, the home of the new
Populist governor-elect, wrote Judge
Doster early in September ask
ing him to explain his radi
cal declarations, "that the right of the
user of property are paramount to the
rights of the owner." On the 3d of
September he addressed a letter to th»
local publisher in which he said:
"To the first inquiry concerning the
relative rights of users and owners of
property, I answer that I never ex
pressed such a view as an abstract
proposition of social right, and never
uttered the words quoted, singly and
alone, to express any completed un
qualified thought. I did, however, use
such language, but in a sense and with
a meaning limited and special, and ln
connection with other -language which
plainly showed that It was us*« in
a qualified and special sense, and illus
trated my meaning by reference to in
stances which plainly showed the lim- I
ited and special application made of it
NOT CORRECTLY QUOTED.
The quotation is a garbled, isolated
extract taken from a public address o f
several years asar^wrested from its
context, perverted in meaning and de
prived of the benefit of all accompany
ing explanatory language. Its circula
tion in the partisan press in this muti
lated form is an apt Instance of the
truth of the old proverb that "a half
truth is a whole lie." I was discussing
the claimed "mutuality" between labor
and capital, and had by processes of
reasoning (immaterial to the purposes
of this explanation and Immaterial
whether right or wrong) reduced the
words "labor" and "capital," in their (
last analysis, to what I deemed their
equivalent expressions, "use" and
"ownership" — "use" by the laborer,
"ownership" by the capitalist. I then !
asserted in the user of capital a right
paramount to the owner, but in imme
diate connection therewith I drew a
distinction between kinds of capital.
Quoting enough of the address to
show the distinction drawn, I said:
"Before passing from this subject let
me draw a distinction proper to be ob
served, and yet so plainly existing that
i lt would seem superfluous to call atten-
tion to it. * • * The distinction ]
wish to draw exists between that capi
tal in which use and ownership can be
combined, or more accurately speak
ing, in which ownership exists for pur
poses of use, and that capital which
exists for purposes of ownership alone
—that capital which the owner holds
not for purposes of use by himself, but
for use by some one else.
RIGHTS OF LABOR.
"It is manifest that in one of thes«
cases mutuality does not exist between
labor and capital, or between laborei
and capitalist, because the qualities ol
ownership and use are combined in on .
person; In fact, the distinction be
tween laborer and capitalist is blotted
out, and the two are amalgamated into
one, and the man— the human being
possesses in such case as absolute a
right to his capital, that is, his tools 01
his clothes or other articles of persona
use as he does to the limbs of his body
because they are, like his limbs, the
instruments with which he labors
which he uses.
"But on the other hand, the man whc
possesses a thing not for the purposes
of his own use, but for purposes ol
somebody else's use, and whose interest
in it is limited to the compensation
which he can extort from others foi
the privilege of using it occupies ar
entirely different position and must be
viewed from an entirely different
standpoint."
I then illustrated the kind of property
falling within the last mentioned class
and the line of distinction between it
and the one first mentioned by citing
the monopolies and the quasi public
institutions, such as the trusts and
combines, the railroads, etc., claiming
that as to such the paramount right ol
the user existed not only in the nature
of the property and purposes to which
dedicated by the owner, but the same
had been confirmed to him by legisla
tive enactment and decision of the
courts.
DOSTER HAS PRECEDENTS.
While not a part of the address in
question, I take the liberty in elucida
tion of the distinction I tried to draw
between the two classes of property
and in defense of the position assumed
by me to cite some eminent Republican
authority.
William A. Phillips, twice Republican
congressman from the state of Kansas,
says in his book, "Labor, Land and
Law," pages 421-2, "capital Is of two
kinds. The capital which is produced
for use and used by the man who owns
it, such as houses, cattle, homes, ve
hicles, furniture, machinery, etc. Then
there is a capital a man has accumu
lated that he does not personally need
or use. Out of this he expects to make
an income from those he permits lo
use it. This is the kind of capital that
requires the supervision of the public,
or it will impoverish all labor and
create an aristocracy among men."
Out of this kind of capital Chiei
Justice Waite, of the United States
supreme court, in his celebrated deci
sion of Munn against The People of
Illinois. (94 United States supreme
court report), affirming the right of
the legislature to control the charges
of railroad, warehouse and other like
companies, said: "When, therefore,
one devotes his property to a use in
which the public has an interest, he. in
effect, grants to the public an interest
in that use, and must submit to be
controlled by the public for the com
mon good to the extent of the interest
he has thus created."
FAVORS WOMAN SUFFRAGE.
If, therefore, when a man dedicates*
his property to the use of the public
he grants to the public an interest in
the use of the same, and must submit .
to public control in respect to such use,
it necessarily follows that the rights
of the public, to wit — the users, are
paramount to those of the owners.
As to whether I ever said that "rent
Is robbery," or anything equivalent to
It, I answer, No. In published Fourth
of July addresses, when describing the
conditions of unrest throughout the
world, and in speaking of the various
classes of dissatisfied people and their
theories and complaints, I said: "Do
you know that a million of men have
arisen who challenge the conscience of
your life and the utility of your
methods; who denounce your political
economy as a sham and a fraud; who
declare that money is useless, that rent
is robbery," etc. I merely stated the
fact that such extreme views were held
by classes of dissatisfied people without
indorsing in the slightest degree the
opinions held by them. These purport
ed quotations are partisan libels, utter
ly baseless so far as anything I ever
said or any views I ever entertained.
Judge Doster is the recognized cham
pion of woman suffrage in Kansas. He
has advocated the right of women to
vote in every speech made in the re
cent and former campaigns. He se
cured a resolution favoring equal suf
frage in the Populist state convention
in 1894, after one of the hottest fights
ever waged in a political convention in
this state. Now that their champion
has been elevated to the supreme bench
the women of Kansas believe that their
complete enfranchisement Is not far
distant.
