Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-05-15
Walter Wellman's Estimate Of
Iowa Governors Speech Be
fore Senate Committee
RAILWAY ATTORNEYS JARRED
cummins Statement Of the Case the
First Real Effort in Behalf Of the
PeopIe-Its Effect Was Somewhat
Startling On the Committee Which
ls Accused Of Desire to Hear Only
One Side Of the Question.

I
concerning the vast Importance and
| true character Of the irrepressible
conflict that Is now on between the
people Of the United States, led by
resident Roosevelt on one side and the
railroad interests, represented by many
able managers and lawyers on the
other, was the one made before the
senate committee on interstate COM
merce by Governor Cunn1ins OF Iowa.
Governor Cumming statement was SO
clear and comprehensive and strikes
SO directly to the. heart Of the whole
question that it Is more than worth
while to ascertain precisely what has
did say. His testimony before the
committee created something Of -
sensation among its members and the
railroad lawyers who attended it,
! hearings. Actually he was the hrsr
witness on the side Of the people who
brought out the truth and who stated
!, that truth In language vivid and lri-
!; ;mistakable. According to Governor
I 1Cummins this is far more than 81
struggle over the shadings OF few
| rates. over whether this shipper Or
that shall be compelled to pay q few
/ cents more or less for the hauling of
4 his goods. It Is q conflict over q prin-
/ ciple wide and deep-so wide and deep
4 that in the language Of the Iowa gov
ernor 1t involves possession BY the:
railways Of q power more potential.
] than that OF congress itself, greater
! ! than the taxing power greater than
/, the protective tariff and probably
greater than any other power that can
possibly be welded In our country.
This power Is the power which now
lodges in the hands Of the men who
control the great railway systems to
i say whether one state or another
shalll prosper, or in what degree. or
what manner; whether one shall be q
manufacturing state and another
purely agricultural; whether one re-
| gion shall be able to carry on protec-
| tion to which it is naturally adapted.
while another region. equally we'll
! adpated, shall not be permitted to DO
so; in short, whether the decree OF e
railway magnate In fixing rates shall
assume a potentiality higher than
that Of natural law itself.
| Governor Cummins does not deny
| that this power must exist somewhere
|! It is power like sovereignty OF the
! taxing power which must be exercised
in some manner. It is an inevitable
| incident Of our industrial civilization.
| But he does deny-most emphatically
that it is a power which can be safe
| ly left untrammeled and Unrestricted
| in the hands Of the comparatively few
men who now control the railway sys-
| tens Of the United States He does
not deny either that what may be CALI
ed the first use OF that power may Wen
he left in the hands OF the managere
| Of the railways. They may be permit
( ted to exercise 1t according to their
| lights and needs, UP to a certain stage.
But when that stage Is passed, when
use Of the power becomes an abuse
/ when thes9 are signs that 1t Is TO de-
generate into tyranny, there should be
q. higher power in the will of the peo-
ple themselves, in the state, in the fed-
| eral government, in the law which may
be appealed to. which may restrain,
| which may operate as check and
| balance.
| AS may be easily imagined this sort
Of statement Of the case came as
revelation to many members OF the
committee. It was something new IN
| their experience. Hitherto the clever
railway lawyers had had things all
| their own way before the committees.
Here was the other side Of the case
the peoples side. And here, too. was
foeman worthy their steel The re-
suit was that Governor Cummins was
put under cross-examination by the
railroad lawyers and in attendanc0
upon the committee and for five hours
| the battle of wits ragged over the com-
mittee table. The Iowa statesman held
his own to the end, and for the frst
time since these one-sided hearings
began, hearings intended to slatter the
popular argument, and to entrench th4
railroads more firmly in the house ot
their senatorial friends-the railroad
people were nervous as to what the re-
suit may be when the case in its new
form is appealed to the public judge
ment.