Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-10-04
PRINTED REPORT
MAS ERRONEOUS
Politicians Plotting Against the
State Officials Have Evident
]y Failed Ingloriously
ART WORK FOR STATE CAPITOL
Statement Made in NOTORIOUS Des
Moines Paper, Announced That La
Dor Assembly Had Joined the CRU
sade Against Prof. E. e. Garnsey,
Who Has Been Employed.
Special to Times-Republican.


Des Moihes Oct 4. - 1T transplres
that the first printed report OF what
was done by the trades and labor as
sembly of Des Moines in reference to
the art work for the state capitol was
erroneous. 1t was given publicity IN q
local paper notorious for it's systemar-
c effort to belittle the state admlnis-
tration and republican state officials
and announced that he laboring men
were prepared to joi- in the fight.
The headlines are worthy OF speclHc
mention. They were:
Labor Assembly Joins Crusade
Against Garnsey."
"passes Resolution in Opposition to
the Contract Entered into by the tx-
ecutive Council
Suggest that Graft may have Ex-
isted.'
These headings were given and Cir
culated over the state as part OF
the petty political war against the re-
+, publican state administration. The
significance of it will be seen when
| it is noticed that the attempt was
made to fasten it upon the executive
council, consisting of MessrS. Cum
MINIS, Gilbertson. Martin and Carroll;
! when, as a matter of fact, that body
has no more to do with it than has
the curators of the state historical So
ciety or the judges of the supreme
court.
But as matter of fact the article
which followed this sensational and
! preiudicial announcement did not In
clude the resolution. nor any part OF
it, nor any statement Of what 1T really
contained. AS matter of fact tins
resolution makes no reference what
ever to the art work for which Profess
sor E. r, Garnsey has been employed.
nor does ii suggest graft in the
slightest degree. 1t is not even ad-
dressed to the body having proper au-
thority and responsibility, but to Gov
ernor Cummins, who has, of course.
nothing whatever to do with the CAR
rying out of the will of the legisla-
ture regarding repair and completion
of the capitol. Here is the resolutions:
'It being known by the members OF
this body that the magnificent struc-
ture known as the Iowa state capito,
building, was built entirely by day
labor under the supervision of COM
petent superintendent at an expense
of nearly $4,000,000 and that sac
structure has been the pride of the In
habitants of this great state not only
for it's magnificence. but from the fact
that in the expenditure of this large
sum of money the finger of scorn has
never been pointed towards anyone
who had any part of the work or
supervision of this structure. And
now, as there is considerable repair-
ing and rebuilding to be done, occa-
stoned by the recent fire loss, and no.
ting in the daily press that this work
is to be let to contractor from a dis
tant state at cost which we believc
to be far in excess of the value of the
work to be done. Therefore we petit
ion you to use all your power and In
fuence to repair this building in the
same manner as it was originally con-
structed, which was by day labor un-
der a competent superintendent. and
to the entire satisfaction of the tax
payers Of this state"
1t will be noted that the persons who
prepared this statement were so gross
ly ignorant of the commonest facts that
by a million dollars. The reference,
however, is distinctly to the contract
for the repair and rebuilding occas-
ioned by the fire loss, all of which is
to be done by a Council Bluffs firm,
and with which Professor Garnsey has
nothing to do. 1t is regarded as some
what strange that the laboring men
made no objection to the enormous
contract made with Des Moines man
last year for the major portion of the
work, or to the contract for the ware
house. or that for the new roof, nor
to the scores of other contracts which
have been made for different parts of
the work The intimation also, that
the capitol was built entirely without
letting of contracts for work requiring
special skill or ability, is not true. The
fact is that very great part of the
repair work and reconstruction work
on the state capitol the past two years
has been done by day labor under a
competent superintendent and this
work is going on all the time. So far
as it is possible to do the work in this
way, 1T has been done.
But the fact that the published an
nouncement of what the traces and
labor assembly had done differed so
greatly from it's real action, suggests
that the politicians who plotted to have
the laboring men back them up in their
fight against the state officials failed
ingloriously. What was published was
what had been planned, but 1T was not
what was done. A member of the trades
and labor assembly stated yesterday
that the members of the assembly feel
humiliated to think that an effort has
been made to drag their body into poll
tics in this way and had been made