Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-03-07
CJNM|NS MAKES REPLY
Says the Hull Convention
knitted Him and Broke All
Agreements
THANKS THEM FOR KIND WORDS
Governor Explains That He Favors
Unqualifiedly the Selection of the
Two Senators and A. B. Funk as Del
esates- att Large - viii Work For
Last Years Platform If Delegate.
special to Tlmes-Republica

Special to Times Republican
Des Moines March Polk count.
republicans had the most remarkable
/ Harmony" convention Saturday eve
known in the state. It was a harmon
ious and good natured convention. fo
the few who had managed it had 1T al
their own way and there was no one tt
protest. In fact that which most dis.
turbed the fire eaters was the.fact thai
| they were let so severely alone and they
had no opportunity to get into heated
argument. II only someone had UNI
dertaken to prevent the carrying out
! of the cut and dried program and had
suggested that it was customary for
Polk county republicans to launch cam
didacies in distant parts of the state
In antagonism to Polk county aspirants,
If only someone had got up and insin-
uated that Polk county ought not to
be so hasty in pushing to the front the
Iowa representative Of j. j. Hill and
the Northern Securities merger-then
the Harmony" would have disappeared
quickly.
The, appearance Of harmony and good
faith was maintained to the end. The
meat OF the whole was in the fact that
while the convention, strictly Hull
convention, Endorsed both Cummins and
Blythe for delegates at-large to the ma
tional convention it also put up the
strongest kind of Blythe delegation
10 carry out the instructions in the
state convention in May At the head
of the delegation is James G. Berry
hill, millionaire lumber dealer who is
bitterly opposed to any reduction OF
the tariff for obvious reasons. Next to
him Is w. O. Finkbine, the head of the
Green Bay Lumber Company, who is
in much the same fix. Then there Is
C. w. Johnson, whose wife had the au-
dacity to employ A. B. Cummtns as her
attorney on a notable occasion. Then
there is r. p. Clarkson, who so bitterly
fought the nomination of Cummins and
branded Curnmins and Dolliver as pop
ulists In his nes, Per only ti.~ce years
ago. Then there are on the delega-
ton ex-Congressman Hagar ex-Al-
derman Prouty, Representative
Watrous, ex-senator Young. ex-Rep-
resentative Berryhill ex-Sherin Will
cox, ex-Auditor Mccarthy, eX-
Treasurer Twombly. ex-County Attnr-
ney McLennan, and quite nunlper
who wanted office and failed to get It.
Nobody doubts what the delegation VIII
do at tine state convention and what
it was made up to do--work unitedly
to defeat Gov. .Cumfnins and for CIV
ing leadership of the republican party
of the state over to Mr.. Blythe.
To say that the Cumnins men were
surprised and Inundated by this action
Is putting 1T mildly. The Blythe men
were equally jubilant. 1t called forth
statement OF his personal attitude from
Gov. Cummins. who was not at the con-
vention, and has been in fact confined
at his home for several days with ILL
ness. This statement was as follows:
Tn view of the action OF the Polk
county republican convention. VEN
ture to make to the republicans of Iowa
the following statement:
Il took no part in the congressional
contest and used no influence upon
my friends or appointeeS for either
candidate. Personally l was for Mr.
Prouty, and made no effort to conceal
my preference, but a great number of
my Oldest and best friends and prac-
tically one-half my appointees were
for Mr.. Hull Both sides promised
me that I would be permitted to name
the delegates to the convention which
would select delegates to the national
and with this promise I
rested content. I appreciate the kind
things which the convention said
about me and my administration, and
! highly value the friendly spirit man
ifested In mentioning me as delegate
at-large, but cannot accept what was
upon which I held aloof from the
This fact makes it neces-
sary for me to clearly define my posi-
ton. I favor unqualifiedly the selec-
ton of Senators Allison and Deliver
and Hon. A. B. Funk. as three of the
to the national con-
vention. The two senators will have
no opposition and / intend to use all
the influence I have for Mr. Funk. If
it shall happen that / am selected as
one of the four, 1t must be understood
that I will do everything in my power
to incorporate in the next national
platform the plank OF our last
state platform respecting the tariff
and reciprocity. I helped to make it,
and 1 intend to stand by it. There
was nothing in the campaign in Polk
that called for any expression
on the subject and 1 cannot take what
was said today as substitute
for a resolution deliberately framed
and adopted without dissent by an
state convention My de-
sire in going to the national conven-
ton as a delegate is two-fold; first
that I may have the honor of voting
for Theodore Roosevelt, and second,
what we said. last year on the tariff
and reciprocity
"ALBERT b. CUMMINS"
The attitude of the Cummins men
is that of waiting to see what the state
will do. The purpose of the convention
was to launch the boom for Mr.. Blythe.
He was here and spent nearly a week
during the campaign consulting with
his friends. Soon afterwards the cam
force for Capt Hull and a vast amount
of money was spent in the last ten days.
Now it is regarded here as square and
fair fight between Cummins and Blythe
In the state convention with Cum1nins'
home delegation taken from him by
deliberate betrayal on the part of the
Hull managers and turned over to the
yOyrsrD0r'S orypOnant