A Senate Candidate Brings Home the Bacon

Congressman John L. Wilson dropped into the city unexpectedly Friday evening and registered at the Butler. He retired early, but was up with the milkmen yesterday morning and was on his feet until 11 o'clock last night, when he left for Spokane, where he will attend a meeting tomorrow evening at the Knights Templar. Mr. Wilson is a candidate for United States senator, and he does not hesitate to admit the fact. He will use all honorable means to be elected, but is not counting his chickens before they are hatched. He will come over from Spokane next fall with a strong following from the surrounding counties, and he expects to be able to swing King and Pierce counties into line.

Mr. Wilson was seen at the Butler Hotel last evening and asked the object of his sudden visit to Seattle. He replied: "I am following out a practice established from the first day I was a candidate—that, whenever in the state, I travel over as much territory as possible, communicating with the people, thereby ascertaining in the fullest degree possible all needs, and thus placing myself in a more thorough degree able to carry out the wishes of our constituency while in Washington City. I have found that a personal contact and acquaintance with the people, listening to what they say and wish in the way of appropriations, visiting the places themselves, assists me wonderfully in carrying on the work entrusted to my care. My intention, when I left home, was to go into the Skagit valley, look after the interests of the people who suffered from the recent overflows of the river and ascertain what is necessary to avoid and provide against such disastrous visitations in the future. However, I have met with so many delays along the line of travel and a previous promise to attend a meeting of the Knights Templars in Spokane Monday evening compels me to defer my visit to Skagit county until a later day."

Mr. Wilson was full of information concerning the work of Congress and matters of national importance in general. Asked about special appropriations obtained in the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and first term of the Fifty-third Congress directly beneficial to this state, he said: "The aggregate amount of appropriations is $1,235,000. This does not include allowances for United States courts, pay of officers, increased appropriations for presidential post offices, increased star routes, both steamboat and otherwise, because I had not the opportunity or time to figure them all out. Taking the leading appropriations secured by the delegation in common, this list fairly represents the special appropriations for this state."

He then cited lighthouses, harbor improvements, public buildings, Indian treaty commissions and reservation surveys, the Puget Sound dry dock, the United States penitentiary at Walla Walla, and other items. "It may be proper for me to say that the delegation has in every way endeavored to promote the various interests of the state, as an examination of the records will disclose," he said. "Upon the question of fortifications, public lands, public buildings, the question of the government purchasing coal on Puget Sound for use on American men-of-war, the construction of lighthouses, appropriations for rivers and harbors, additional surveys in order to obtain additional information of other places that can be improved, pushing along the dry dock, opening of Indian reservations, all these have received every attention that the people could have demanded."

He called the best legislation of the last session an amendment to the sundry civil appropriation bill that allowed state authorities to save the land grants for the agricultural college, normal school, state capital, and other institutions. "The law permits the governor, upon application to the commissioner of the general land office, to withdraw the land from settlement," he explained. "It saves the grant."

Asked whether he was a candidate for re-election to Congress, Wilson said: "No, I'm not a candidate for re-election to Congress, but I'm a candidate for United States senator. I want the people to know that I'm after the position. I shall use every means honorable to the people, to the state, to the Republican party and to myself to secure election. I am earnestly solicitous for this promotion. While profoundly sensible and grateful for what I have heretofore had, I would be even more so if, along the lines of what is right, just and for the best interests of the entire people, they would favorably consider my candidacy. If elected I will serve the people as faithfully, honorably and energetically in the future as I have in the past."

On the tariff, he said the country was at the beginning of a tariff discussion and hoped citizens would soon see what action the government was taking. On party prospects, he said he found a good feeling prevailing in the Eastern counties and an upward tendency in business affairs. "We are going to make a strong, vigorous campaign, and one that in my judgment will be completely successful," he said.