The Kansas Stockman from Topeka, Kansas • 8

PAGE EIGHT THE KANSAS STOCKMAN June 15, 1922 laborer about everything demanded in the way of legislation. Agriculture, being unorganized, has been ignored until the so-called "Bloc" was formed and now we are beginning to make ourselves visible, at least, when it comes to "catching the eye of the speaker." Possibly the next few years may see the development of agricultural organizations, and the unification of the efforts of those organizations, so that when the farmer or stockman raises his voice through his representatives in Washington the cotton will fall from the ears of the members who in the past have regarded the western men usually as "rubes" and the Kansans as "hicks." There are upwards of 530 senators and representatives in Congress. Of these Kansas sends two senators and eight representatives, or a little less than 2 per cent of the whole body to Washington. But Kansas has far more than 2 per cent influence in the shaping of legislation. Senator Curtis is in the lead as chairman of the Committee on Rules in the upper house.

For the first time in history the chairmanship of the corresponding committee in the House is held also by a man from Kansas, Phil Campbell, of the Third district. Never before have two men from the same state presided over the two committees on Rules. And those committees are among the most important in either house. Senator Curtis has served a long time in Congress. He demonstrated his ability away back in the past when "Jim" Sherman, of New York, afterwards vice president, was chairman of the committee on Indian affairs, of which Curtis was a member.

If one should start to hunt up the legislative record of "Charley" Curtis he would not find it recorded among the undelivered speeches printed under "leave to print" in the Congressional Record. He would find far more in the records of the various committees on which he has served about the real work of Kansas' senior Senator. Senator Curtis is not strong on oratory. He is no John J. Ingalls, but like that bug that has no legs at all "he gets there just the same." Senator Capper, who shares with Mr.

Curtis the honor of representing Kansas in the upper house of Congress, has been but a short time in the Senate. But there is no man in that body who knows more of the needs, the aims and the desires of the farming communities than our junior Senator. And he has demonstrated his ability to make those wants and needs known to the rest of the members of "the greatest deliberative body on earth." There are few Senators who have secured more favorable mention than Senator Capper of Kansas, and none better qualified to speak for the agricultural interests of the West. I have mentioned Representative Campbell as the chairman of the Committee on Rules. In that position "Phil" holds the most important office in the House of Representatives, next to the speaker.

In fact, under the present rules, it is an open question as to which really wields the most power. The Rules Committee is really the governing body of the House and the chairman is the most influential member of the committee. It will thus be seen that Kansas, through Mr. Campbell, is a powerful worth of adjacent lands and on top of this again they demand that a speculative increase be added. As a specific illustration of these demands Mr.

Hoch said: "Take the case of the valuation put upon the land of the Rock Island railroad in my own state of Kansas. The Interstate Commerce Commission recently issued its tentative final values upon the Rock Island. It fixes the present value of the Rock Island lands in Kansas at $3,063,345. That figure gives to the Rock Island the benefit of the normal unearned increment the increment enjoyed by other lands. But, following out the direction contained in the provision of the valuation act which we are here seeking to strike out, it figures the present cost of acquisition of the same lands at $6,071,257.

Now, since the Rock Island has those lands, and dose not have to acquire them under the present state of development of the country, what reason or fairness is there in giving consideration to a speculation as to what it might cost the Rock Island to acquire them today? Is not an allowance of the present value all, in any view of the matter, that they are entitled to? "As to the final totals that might be added to railroad land values, if the contention of the railroads were agreed to in this matter of reacquisi-tion cost, it is impossible now to estimate closely. But the figures to date indicate that it would probably be double the figures on present value. It would mean certainly an additional $1,000,000,000 to railroad land values, and some estimate it as high as four or five billions. Taking two billions as an estimate, that means that in order to earn a return upon that additional amount there would be added over $100,000,000 a year to the transportation costs, the freight and passenger burden of the country." The member from the Fourth district has made a careful study of the railroad problem from all angles and his studies have fitted him to look after the interests of the western shippers without attempting to "put the railroads on the toboggan" which was apparently the ambition of some of our representatives in the past who assumed to speak for the farmers. Congressman "Jim" Strong, of the Fifth district, has the distinction of being the only member of the House from west of Chicago to hold a place on the banking and currency committee.

In that position he has been of enormous service. It was Strong's committee that framed and passed the act to re-establish the War Finance Corporation. Through that body hundreds of millions of dollars have been advanced to the banks of the West, which financial aid made it possible to market the surplus food products' of the grain fields and the ranges. Some of the eastern representatives who fought the hardest against the passage of that bill declare that "Jim" Strong forced it through by the masterly manner in which he "herded" the West and South to its support. Mr.

Strong was never a banker and it is believed that he was selected for a place on the banking committee because it was assumed that he would be a sort of innocuous legislative wall flower. Instead, he has proved to be a West factor in all legislation. He is popular, active, fair in his dealings and "on the job" at all times. Kansas has reason to feel proud of Philip Campbell. Next in length of service is Dan Anthony.

No movie actor is "Honest Dan" but a hard-working, conscientious representative of the people who sent him to Congress. I do not find him much in the limelight but as chairman of the sub-committee on military affairs of the committee on appropriations he has much to do with legislation which affects every man, woman and child in the entire country. It is that sub-committee which has charge of the appropriation of the funds for the war department and the maintenance of the army. It is a thankless task, that job of keeping down expenditures, but Dan Anthony has stuck to it in spite of the growls of the military element. He has made good and has been instrumental in keeping down the total of military expenditures.

Incidentally Mr. Anthony has stood for all legislation aimed at the betterment of conditions -among the farmers of the country and he is right on deck whenever those interests are at stake; Colonel "Ed" Little of the Second district has come to be regarded as an authority on Constitutional Law. He has occupied a very important position as chairman of the committee on the Revision of the Laws. That committee has recently completed the work of codifying the statutes at large so as to bring the "Revised Statutes" down to date. Colonel Little took no small part in this great work, which by the way, brings the great mass of legislation into compact shape so as to be available.

Colonel Little has had small opportunity to take part in the debates, but my observations lead me to the conclusion that he has accomplished more through his deeds than some voluble debaters have through columns of oratory. The Fourth district has reason to take pride in its representative, Homer Hoch. He is a member of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. No committee of the House has been kept so constantly "on the job" as Interstate and Foreign Commerce. It has jurisdiction over about everything in the way of legislation affecting the farmer that one can think of.

It is trying to shape railroad legislation which will be fair to the railroads and at the same time relieve the shipper from the rate burdens which have well nigh swamped him. It has bills to consider to regulate the control of animals affected with that dread disease known as "anthrax" and a score of other measures of like importance. The recent order of the Interstate Commerce Commission ordering a reduction of rates on freight to a point where the railroads will earn 5 per cent upon the valuation of their properties has brought to the front the whole question of railroad valuations, and the committee of which Mr. Hoch is a member has been laboring with the question of these valuations. In his speech, in the House, on the valuation bill a few days ago, Mr.

Hoch called attention to the demands of the railroads that in fixing values upon their lands the original cost shall be credited and on top of this the present value based upon the ern bull in an Eastern china shop which the Eastern bunch thought they owned. He has secured the passage of half a dozen bills through reports from his committee which are of inestimable value to the agricultural districts throughout the entire country. Notable among these is the Act, signed by the president last Tuesday, to give agriculture representation on the Federal Reserve Eoard, the Act to extend the period of redemption of farm loan bonds, and the Curtis bill, which largely increased the "turn-over capital" of the farm loan banks. The enactment of these two bills has resulted in the issue of four series of farm loan bonds, amounting in all to $290,000,000, which has been loaned to farmers at the rate of a million dollars a day at an interest charge reduced from 6 per cent to per cent. Several other bills of like character which were sponsored by Mr.

Strong have convinced some of the eastern bankers that even a Kansas farmer can frame sound banking legislation when he has the support of the right kind of a "Bloc" at his back. And James G. Strong, Kansas member of the Banking and Currency Committee, has had that support to the utmost limit. Hayes B. White is a real dirt farmer.

He has stuck to his original homestead for upwards of a third of a century. He has known Kansas from the drought and grasshopper days and knows the difference between a cyclone and a zephyr. He serves on three committees and is as popular with his colleagues on both sides of all the committee tables as he is in his own district which sent him back to succeed himself in November, 1920, by just double the majority he had two years previously. Mr. White has achieved his ambition in securing a seat in Congress through the suffrages of his neighbors.

For a man of 66 years, more than half of which were of that strenuous character which "placed Kansas on the map." He is active and aggressive. He is a thoroughly reliable member who "stands without hitching" for every measure, of interest to the West. You can bank on Hayes White every time. Coming now to the big Seventh district we run into the big man of that big district. He is "Fighting Poley Tincher." If agriculture and live stock raising ever had a "fightin' friend he is to be found in "Poley," which is understood to be short for 'Poleon, that little Corsican who through his ability as a fighter changed the map of Europe.

Tincher is a member of the Committee on Agriculture. He fights "at the drop of the hat" whenever fighting for a measure is necessary. He fought for reestablishment of the War Finance Corporation. He fought for the Grain Speculation Act and he led the fight for the bill to regulate the packing industry. Tincher has developed into a real leader.

He is so recognized by eastern as well as western members. He is one of those forceful westerners who have done so much to convince New England and New York and their immediate neighbors that the center of population is west of the Alleghenies and not on Manhattan Island or on Bunker Hill. Richard E. Bird, of the Eighth district, is the youngster of the delega-.