The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-12
HAIL, AN IOWA MAN
PRE-EMINENT IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
AT PRESENT MOMENT.
HAWKEYED0M TO THE FRONT

Writes of the Men from the Great
Agricultural state of the North
west Who Are to Aid President
Roosevelt in Guiding safely the
ship of state.
Copyright 1902 by Amos J.Cummings0
Washington. Jan. 1.-THE man from
Iowa is in the front He has been here
some time, but never more prominently
than now. He fills the eye of the
people completely. and he is canned
meat for the newspapers. While sight
ing the guns in the Senate and doing
out the ammunition in the House, he
is to be absolutely at the front in the
cabinet. With Gov. Shaw and James
Wilson among the confidential advis
ers of the dashing and youthful Presi
dent, the Hawkeye State has an eyrie
in the Roosevelt administration equally
as lofty as that held by the Empire
state in the eight years of Grover
Clevelands presidency. With Daniel
Manning. Charles S. Fairchild, and
William c. Whitney among the MEM
bers of the Cleveland cabinet in his
first term, and Daniel S. Lamont and
Wilson S. Bissell in his second term,
New York easily held the lead in the
executive branch of the government.
To-day Iowa is in a position equally
as influential Shaw is the equal OF
either Manning or Fairchild in finan-
cial ability, and Wilson is far more
acceptable to the farmers than the
nonentities filling the Agricultural De-
oartment in the eight years reign OF
Grover Cleveland. 1t is well to remem-
Der, however, that New YORK mas
thirty-four members in the House or
Representatives, and Iowa less than a
third of that number. Nevertheless
there is no captiousness among the
New York members. All are rejoicing
to see the man from Iowa stride TO
the front. Times are ripe for such an
advancement There is far more sun
shine now than there was eight years
ago. The Cleveland administration
was obliged to sell bonds in time or
peace to avoid national bankruptcy;
the present administration is buying
bonds in the face of war in the Phlllp-
pines, backed by treasury richer
than any known in the history of the
country. This is the time for the man
from Iowa to come to the front With
an available cash balance of $75,O0O,OOO
TO say nothing of $50, 900 set aside
as a gold reserve, it is more than salts
factory to have an Iowa man in the
front The satisfaction, however, be-
comes profound when you add to the
reserve 81, 000. 600 in gold coin and bull
lion and $43.0O0,000 in gold certificates.
1t becomes magnificently astounding
when, aside from this, you reflect that
the books show $317, 000, 900 in gold coin
pledged to the redemption of out
standing gold certificates, making
grand total of 1851, 900, 900 gold in the
treasury 1t reaches the sublimity Of
gorgeousness when you think that 1t is
all in the hands of the man from Iowa
at a salary of $4,000 a year.
Aside from this princely salary, the
man from Iowa is well fortified. With
this Overlooking treasury under his
nose. he is at the front of both Houses
of Congress. In the Senate, William
B Allison is at the helm. With eight
years in the House of Representatives
and thirty in the Senate, Allison has
really been the nest egg of the Iowa
delegation. He is chairman of the pow
erful Committee OH Appropriations.
Thus an Iowa man as Secretary of the
Treasury may revise the estimates for
the great appropriation bills, and an
Iowa man in the Senate be a leading
factor in the distribution of the mon
ey Allison has been at the front
many years. He had served only one
term in the House when he vaulted
into the Ways and Means under the
benign influence of Speaker ColfaX,
and remained there six years. On en-
tering the Senate, he nestled in the
Committee on Appropriations, and has
remained there since the 4th of March,
1873 Eighteen years of this time has
he been it's chairman. He maintains
his place at the front by general con-
sent. Sagacious. deliberate, industrious,
extremely careful, energetic when oc-
csson demands, wisely considerable,
and of strict integrity, he will I'M
doubtedly remain there as long as he is
"A senator. He will be seventy-three
years old next March, but looks like
a man in the prime of life. Allison is
the best preserved American of his age
in that body. With broad shoulders
and strong limbs, his sinews are like
steel and his eyes clear and bright.
His cheeks show the glow of health.
With an iron-gray tinge to his hair,
there is no indication of badness. Iron
in will and determination, he easily
preserves his equanimity. and never
loses his temper in the whirlwinds of
passion attending legislation. With
the possible exception of Eugene Hale,
Allison has the most absolute self-con-
troll of any man in the Senate. he
possesses the unbounded confidence of
his colleagues without regard to party.
Senator Spooner, of Wisconsin, once
said that Allison was better informed
as 10 the resources of the government
than any other man in Congress. Sem.
ator Chiffon, of Texas, paid him higher
compliment. He declared that in the
absence of official data. the Senate
would accept any statement the sen
ator from Iowa might make. 1t will
be a sorry day for the nation when
men like Allison are no longer at the
front even II they hail from Iowa.
at the front in the House. He is the
Reed. Through the preservation OF
the Reed rules he maintained and
Wields the same absolute power as did
the man from Maine. He does it. how
ever. much more gracefully and with
apparent impartiality The mailed hand
IS there, but II is always covered with
a kid glove. The minority take their
pills sugar coated. and they have no
bitter taste in the mouth. Reeds ar
loitrary rulings were made and enforce
ed with an almost total disregard oil
the amenities of parliamentary war
fare. AS for personal rights and civil
titles, they were completely ignored. The
squirting of his victims seemed to it'll
late his risibilities and add to his per-
sonal enjoyment The result might
have easily been foresen. At the end
~ bte frst term a & Sneaker the f1inor-