Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-02-15
LATE and Standpatters In Polk
County Have Many Far
reaching Plans
WOULD ousT SENATOR DowELL
Postmaster Mckay Feels That They
Are After His Scalp in Order to
Make Room for George L. Dobson
= State Census Work Progressing
Fairly Well.
to Tirnes-Republican.

dictate that he would like a seat in the
United States senate the forces OF the
standpat element in Polk county are
lining up against the possibility OF his
being a candidate Two days ago, 1t
leaks out, Ellis Peirce of the postoffice
force, went to Postmaster John Nc
Kay and told him that he had had a
talk with LATE Young on the return OF
the latter from Panama and that they
had agreed that Joseph l. Myerly, of
Des Moines, was the proper person to
support for senator from this county
to succeed Senator C. c. DoWell. 1t
is reported that Mr.. PIERCE advanced
the argument that Mr. Myerly had
supported Congressman j. A. L. Hull
at the last campaign and was an anti
Cummins man, and as the governor
was thought to be ambitious to go TO
tho senate it would be we'll to have
Polk county's delegation lined up in
the anti-Cummins column.
Postmaster Mckay did not take
kindly to the idea, and in fact was
up in arms against it in a minute. 1t
leaks out that he has been told that
Mr.. Myerly was one of the chief in
stigators in the movement to get him
out of the postoffice in order to make
place for eX-Secretary of State
George l.. Dobson. Recently a United
States postal inspector visited Des
Moines and dug into the newspape
files to ascertain just what Mr.. Nc
Kay said before the state association
of rural mail carriers; and more es-
pecially 10 ascertain whether or not he
urged the rural carriers to go after
their congressman to get the increase
in salaries that they sought, things for
which President Roosevelt has been
removing men from the service.
1t comes out now that this move
was one in which George L. Dobson
was chiefly interested and induced his
political friends to work for him. A
part of the scheme is to get for W.
V. Wilcox the position of Uncle Dick
Clarkson as pension agent, in order
to get him out of the way as cam
didate for the postoffice. Whether the
standpatters are starting in this early
to make another fight on the governor
in expectation that the biennial cleo
ton law will be knocked out or whe-
thef they are merely trying to be
forehanded is not known. Postmast-
err Mckay is understood to have given
the facts to some of his friends.
Commissioner N. S. Ketchum of the
state railroad commission has made
his report to the commission on the
Melbourne wreck and finds that the
wreck was caused by broken rail "a
bout three hundred feet east of the
bridge. He examined the ground
thoroughly and the timbers of the
bridge. He found that the timbers OF
the bridge We're seemingly in good
condition and the track and road bed
was in good condition. The railroad
commissioners office learned of the
wreck unofficially at about 10 o'clock
the morning of the wreck and Mr.,
Ketchum reached the scene at $3.50 on
the first train. He believes that the
bridge was destroyed by the momen-
tum of the train which was derailed
by the broken rail. There is SEEM
the rail. All the train went thru the
bridge except two sleepers which We're
rolled down the embankment and the
observation car which was derailed
but remained on the track. The train
according to Mr.. Ketchum was made
UP of two engines, one mail car, one
baggage car, one coach, one chair car.
four sleepers and one observation car.
1t is Mr.. Ketchum's belief that the
wreck was not one that could have
| been avoided by the operating depart
ment of the railroad. The first engine
was No. 931, i'll charge of H. q. Mich
OILS and he says his engine was not
derailed. The second engine, No. 92s,
in charge OF William Bloomfield, left
the rails, about three hundred feet
east of the bridge according to Mr..
Bloomfield, and it was at this point
that the broken rail was found.
Secretary A. H Davidson of the ex-
ecutive council finds that the returns
are improving steadily for the census
statistics. Over rs per cent of the
counties of the state have been heard
from. The auditors seem to be taking
more interest in the matter of the CEN
sus and the questions are being an
swered more carefully. One difficulty
still experienced in the country in
the agricultural cards is a failure on
the part of some of the assessors to
properly get the idea of a farm and
to comprehend what q farm is. 1t is
the intention of the executive council
that a farm shall be considered the
land farrned under one management.
If a man owns $40 acres some of the
assessors call that his farm even tho
is the intention of the council in such
a case if man farms but half of the
$40, to call that his farm and the renter
on the other half of the land would re-
port the other half as a farm. The in
formation as to whether a man is a
renter or owner is brought out by the
other questions on the card. On the
whole there is an Improvement accord
ing to Mr.. Davidson, and those coun-
ties where the attention of the auditor,
have been called to the fact that infer
Tor work is being done are especially
better. There is still room for inn
provement. however A few of the
counties have as yet made no reports at
all If these counties have Interpreted
the act of the legislature to mean that
they do not have to report till the first
day of July and expect to turn in all
their returns at that time, they are
likely to find they are mistaken. 1t has
been part of the intention that the
cards be sent in as the census progress