Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-10-06
PROSPECTS GOOD
FOR PRIMARY LAW
Sentiment in Favor of Such a
Measure Growing Among
the Legislators
AN1,-pAss LAW SEEMS LIKELY
Sentiment Such That the Legislators
Are Likely to Openly Oppose the Bill
Many Try to Kill It With Amend
ments-Tne Iowa Butter and Cheese
Products.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican
Des Moines, Oct. 6.--Prospects We're
never better for the passage Of the
primary election law than at this time.
and the prospects are every day grow
ing brighter. AS to the anti-pass law
it is being said at the state house that
there will be no opposition to 1t. 1t is
held that there is no legitimate rea-
son for opposing the anti-pass law
and that public sentiment on the ques
ton, which is decidedly apparent not
only in Iowa but in all the adjoining
states, Is such that no one will be all
lowed to or will dare to openly oppose
the bill. The only method of defeat
ing 1t can be to resort to loading 1t
down with amendments. The friends
of the measure are preparing for this,
however, and it is believed that when
the measure comes to a vote there
will be found to be no opposition to It,
AS to the primary election law, those
who are watching the matter closely
say that the measure is gaining votes
every day. In the senate at the last
session, 1t will be remembered, the
measure lost by vote Of 10 to 25. 1t
is asserted now that two or three were
absent when that vote was taken who
favored the bill, and Il was asserted
today on the best of authority that as
surances have been received lately
from four members OF the senate who
voted against the measure before that
they will now vote in favor of it. This
would leave the measure a majority in
the senate. The bill did not come
to vote in the house at the last ses-
sion. but assurances have been OBJ
tanned that the house at the coming
session will have even greater ma,
5ority In favor of the primary election
law than will the senate.
It Is, Of course, recognized by all the
friends of the primary election law
that a great many of those who are
really opposed to a law Of that kind
will not oppose the measure openly.
They will declare themselves in favor
Of primary election law in the abb
stract, but will be unable to find any
primary election law in the concrete
that they can support. When it is
stated that there Is now in sight ma
jority for the passage Of primary
election law, 1t is meant a majority for
a bill such as Governor Cummins will
recommend, and such as he has out
lined in a general way in the addresses
which he has been delivering during
the past summer in various parts of
the state. The governor has addressed
perhaps 175.000 people during the
summer and has talked personally to
several, hundred and he has told that
he found no one who said he was op-
posed to primary election law.
It is probable that the bill presented
to the legislature will be much along
the lines of the bill presented last
year by Senator Crossley, who is now
at work on the measure. The conven-
tions will all likely be retained accord
ing to the intentions Of those who have
discussed the measure proposed, but
with authority only to canvas the re-
turns from the primary vote and TO
draft resolutions.
One provision that is likely to be in
corporated in the measure is one set
IlluS lAO OdIC Ol LILO a. lIttlS
before the middle Of August, thus
giving about three months between the
primary election date and the cleo
ton. 1t is argued that the primary
would thus fall on a date when the
farmers could best attend the primary
it being directly after harvest time
and as the town people can go to the
primaries one day as we'll as another,
date in August will suit them as well
as any.
While Iowa is the greatest state In
the union as to the amount of butter
made, and is second to no country on
the globe except Holland, there is not
a great deal of butter manufactured
here. That is there is not nearly as
much butter made here in proportion
to the number of farms and acres un-
der cultivation that there is in other
places There are only about seven
cows to each creamery patron in this
state, while in New York, for instance,
there are twenty-five. Those who are
familiar with the dairy business in
this state say that the farmers are not
given to milking cows as they are
elsewhere The Iowa farmer abhors
milking. In hard times the number of
cows to each creamery patron greatly
increases During the hard times of
1895 to 1897 the number was the high
est in the history of the state for the
reason that there was nothing else that
the farmer could sell that would bring
him money. With oats at 10 cents and
corn at Is, the biggest profit was in
butter at Is cents pound. AS soon
as corn went up to 40 cents and oats in
proportion, the farmers stopped milk
ing COWS, though there is money in it
vet. State Dairy Commissioner Fl. r.
Wright claims that in the southern
part of the state which used to be one
of the best dairy sections to be found
anywhere, the farms which now have
fine barns and farms are the ones
where some farmer has grown rich OF
the surplus Of his neighbor and he told