KANSAS. 



421 



controversy. No change in the situation oc- 

 curred mi the second day: but on Jan. 12 Ko-en- 

 tliul and his 2 Democratic colleagues, who hud 

 heretofore been neutral, announced that they rc- 

 garded the Republican majority as forming the 

 only legally organized House, and that they 

 would hereafter act with it. In spite of the fact 

 that the Douglass House now contained 66 rnem- 

 I'.-rs. all holding legally issued certificates, the 

 Populist Governor, Lewelling, later in the same 

 d.-i\. sent a communication to the Dunsmore 

 House recognizing it as the legally constituted 

 House of Representatives. On the following day 

 the Populist Senate gave its recognition to the 

 Dunsmore organization, which now had every 

 equipment for the transaction of business except 

 a majority of the persons holding certificates of 

 election to the House. For several days the con- 

 test remained unchanged, each House holding 

 regular sessions. On Jan. 18 Gov. Lewelling is- 

 sued a manifesto, defending his course, from 

 which the following is an extract : 



Heing personally satisfied that the Populist House 

 had a majority of the legally elected Representatives, 

 notwithstanding the possession of the majority of cer- 

 titieutes by the opposite party, I deemed it my duty 

 to n c-ognize it as the House of Representatives. The 

 Semite "is presumed to have been governed by like 

 considerations. 



In reply, Speaker Douglass issued a counter- 

 manifesto, from which the following paragraph 

 is taken : 



It has been the universal custom in this State, nnd 

 is the accepted rule in parliamentary bodies, that 

 members whose election has been ascertained in the 

 usual way, and who have received from the consti- 

 tuted authorities the proper certificates of election, are 

 prima facie entitled to seats in the body at its organi- 

 zation. If any other rule were adopted, no legislative 

 body could ever be fairly organized, for a minority 

 i-'nild always give notice of a sufficient number of con- 

 tests to destroy the ri^ht of the majority to organize, 

 an't by placing the minority in control, it could main- 

 tain such control without limit. Every recognized 

 authority upon this question is conclusive. 



If, after a majority of the members of a House have 

 regularly organized and proceeded to business, a 

 minority of 58 members, by first mutilating an official 

 roll and calling in 10 contestants for seats, can organ- 

 i/.e a House of representatives, then one member can 

 do so with the aia of 62 contestants, and there is an 

 end to even the semblance of constitutional govern- 

 ment. If the recognition of the Governor and the 

 Senate can make such a body a part of the Legisla- 

 ture, there is little necessity of electing a House n\' 

 Representatives by the people, for its political com- 

 plexion will always be at the mercy of a partisan 

 Governor and a partisan Senate. 



On Jan. 23 a caucus of the Republican legis- 

 lators was held, at which Joseph W. Ady was 

 nominated on the third ballot as the party can- 

 didate for United States Senator, his principal 

 competitor being United States Senator B. W. 

 Perkins. The law required that on the follow- 

 ing day a ballot for Senator should be taken in 

 each House. In the Senate the Republicans 

 voted solidly for their candidate, while the Pop- 

 ulists, who had not yet agreed upon a candidate. 

 scattered their votes'. In the Dunsmore House 

 t he votes were also divided among several can- 

 didates, while the Douglass House voted for 

 Ady. Later in the same day the Populist caucus 

 succeeded in nominating Judge John Martin, a 



Democrat, as its candidate, the vote on the 

 fifteenth and final ballot being : Martin, 49; 

 Judge Frank Doster, H5. On tin- next day, 

 Jan. 25. the Houses met in joint SWSIM. 

 which the Populist Lieutenant -Governor pre- 

 sided. As he proceeded to rccogiii/.e, the Popu- 

 list House, the Republicans refused to answer 

 the roll call. Ninety-one members resjionded 

 to their names, of whom 11 were Populists hold- 

 ing seats in the Dunsmore House by virtue of 

 the attempted unseating of Republicans. With- 

 out these there was no quorum. When the vote 

 for Senator was taken, two Democrats, Senator 

 O'Brien and Representative Rosenthal, who had 

 not before recognized the I unsmore House, 

 voted with the Populists, and Wilson, the inde- 

 pendent Republican from Meade County, who up 

 to this time had been acting with the Republi- 

 cans, recognized the Populist presiding officer 

 and gave his vote to the Populist caucus candi- 

 date. The result of the ballot was the election 

 of Martin, who received 86 votes to 4 for M. W. 

 Coburn and 1 each for W. S. Hanna, F. J. Close, 

 and S. H. Snider. Before the result had been 

 announced, Senator Baker demanded that the 

 Republicans be given the right to vote. This 

 was refused, the election of Martin was de- 

 clared, and the session dissolved. Thereupon 

 the Republicans organized a second joint ses- 

 sion, elected Speaker Douglass president, and 

 passed a resolution declaring that as ten of the 

 members who had voted in the former joint ses- 

 sion were not entitled to their seats, there had 

 been no election. A ballot was then taken in 

 which 77 votes were cast for Ady, and the ses- 

 sion adjourned. This attempt to elect a Repub- 

 lican claimant to the senatorial office was soon 

 abandoned, as the Republicans could not hope 

 to secure a majority of the Legislature in a joint 

 session. Both parties now sought to affect a 

 settlement between the rival Houses, but with- 

 out success. The Republicans were anxious to 

 bring the questions at issue before the State 

 Supreme Court, but such a proposition was 

 scouted bv the Populists. Finally the Republi- 

 cans decided upon the plan of arresting Ben. C. 

 Rich, chief clerk of the Dunsmore House, and 

 bringing him before the Douglass House to an- 

 swer for contempt of the latter in interrupting 

 and hindering its proceedings. They believed 

 that Rich would resist imprisonment through 

 habeas corpus proceedings, which would bring 

 the whole question into the court. The arrest 

 was made on the afternoon of Feb. 14 by the 

 sergeant at arms of the Douglass House, but the 

 fact soon became known to the Populists, who 

 rallied and finally released him and escorted him 

 to the Governor's office. During the conflict 

 2 Republicans were knocked down, and several 

 men on each side were badly bruised. The en- 

 counter occurred in the center of the city and 

 created great excitement. 



After this episode the Populists decided to 

 lock the Republicans out of the hall of Repre- 

 sentatives. Sheriff Wilkerson, of Topeka, Re- 

 publican, was called upon by the Governor to 

 a i>t him in preventing their entrance, but re- 

 fu-eil to obey. When, therefore, on the morn- 

 ing of Feb. 15, the Republican members reached 

 the Capitol they found it guarded by Populists, 

 Rushing past the guards, in spite of threat*. 



