Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-01-02
ON The HOME STRETCH.
Bicknell's Comment and Other Gossip on the
Great Senatorial Battle.

popularity and strength, should win the
speakership. itswill only complicate the
main question He has repeatedly de-
clared, and he is q man of his word, that
he will not use the power of the speak
crship TO punish Gear men, but will rec
ognize ability in organizing the house.
OF course he will have to take care of
his friends, and that means that the
men VINO are Tor Iummins viii get III.
best places. 1t will be very strange II
these places are not used to help bring
over some doubtful members, if there
are any such by that time. Every one
expects that the speakership will be
used for all ii is worth by the side that
gets it. The Gear people do not for
moment admit that there is any chance
of their losing the speakership. They
insist that they have it beyond all rea-
sonable chance. and this view is ex-
pressed by more than the immediate
managers. 1t is held by those who have
so far never been mistaken in political
Judgment, who express it privately and
With the utmost confidence. The margin
is not What it was claimed to be in the
early and bT,:ffng stage of the game,
but ii is asserted to be enough, with
four or FIVE to spare and more coming.
The Cummins and Eaton managers
have grown more confident day by day.
They. too, did some bluffing. and did
Lit Well. They met the Gear claim of "a
votes in the house With a claim of AZ
to 30. but of course that was only for a
purpose. Every one knows that neither
side has over 30 voses, or any sure pros
lpect or hope OF that many right now,
however it may be in a day or two. The
Eaton claim. for private information,
has been 40 and lately Al to 45. and their
conversation has been such as to indi-
cate that they are more hopeful than
they were week ago. The Gear man
ayers have pulled five votes away from
them during the week and promise more
tonight, but the Eaton men think they
have withstood the onslaught of the
powerful Geal. forces pretty we'll 1t now
remains to be seen whether the few re-
naming days of the contest will give
the Gear people time enough to con-
lvince all the Gear men and some doubt
tfui ones that Senator Gears interest re-
lquires them TO vote for Bowen.
A good many politicians have been
willing and are still willing to accept
any prophesy that j. w. Blythe may
make. They have so much confidence
lin his political generalship that they do
rot believe it is possible that he would
| walk into such fight without knowing
absolutely- that he had the votes to win.
/ Hundreds of smart men are following
his leadership without asking many
iquestions, confident that he will be sue
cessful and will not carry them into the
lditch With him.
AT the same time every observer nc
matter what his interest may be. is
Mr.. Cummins and his
lclose advisers and lieutenants for the
lsplendid fight they are putting up.
They are up against ii" declared a
Heading Cummins man the other day,
lreferring to the position of the Gear
managers. He meant that for the first
/ time they have met force that IS wor-
THY of their best efforts. The tenacity
1 With which they have clung TO the en-
Itcrprise of sending Mr. Cummins to the
i senate has surprised all hut themselves
land they ought TO be filed with salts
4 faction that they have been able to hole
out so long against such tremendous
;odds. They have a pretty good organi-
Ization. too. / is not as far-reaching ol
as reliable as the one they are opposing
but it is keeping up a good front and
steiving the Gear machine "a hard rur
for the money" as they say on the turf
4 That the men who have been SO long anC
i closely associated in this hard fight vii
latick together in the future politics oi
1.-The state is certain. They are in much
the same position that Benjamin Frank
Hin said the colonst leaders We're: Il
llthey don't hang together they will as
s lsuredly hang separately. For they vii
have the Gear people to reckon with ii
4 the future Win or lose. a fight like thi.
slisn't over in day. The Cummins lead
lcrs are prepared to continue the fgh
indefinitely, they say. In this PROPOSE
q tion not all their men are agreed, bu
there are enough to make a very for
/ midable force. They have earned tbs
l,sl.t 70 - respected ~ :.;ast II g: ..:a..
done during the past six months
a The senatorial campaign reached th,
|poster stage last saturday. Big litho
graphed portraits of both Gear ant
I Cummins appeared in the windows ant
elsewhere. The local cummins senti
ment was manifested by the large pre-
lponderance of Cummins pictures in th
iwindows along the business streets |,
fact. it was only an occasional windov
that displayed both and very few tina
had only that of Gear. Among the lat
tier, however. was the Homestead of
: flee. which took this occasion to show it
colors in many windows.
! 7NM1laulg
ii