Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-02
icy d. w. Norris, of Grinnen.l

By u. w. MOTIFS, OIL NITlflIeHJ
Senator Dolliver has written letter
to the Des Mones Commercial Club
1t is not so much the contents of the
letter as it's tone, that makes it siSniti-
cant Senator DOliver is FESTIVE under
criticism and shows it. Coming at this
| time it is an unfortunate contribution
to the discussion beccose it dlscloses
the fact that the senator is thoroughly
satisfied with the Washington view.
Now, the adverse criticisms by the
| various associations and newspapers
We're not in any case directed toWarf.
Senator Dolliver personally, but toward
the Iowa delegation as a whole. The
| people are displeased with it's attitude,
| with it's self satisfied air, with it's III
concealed supercilious contempt for
what the people may think or say, and
they have a right to say SO. No well
| informed person in Iowa questions
Senator Delivers integrity. honor or
patriotism. We know him to be the
| highest type of the American citizen,
| in character UNNECESSARILY above a ma
| iority of the men who sit in the senate.
We know where his heart is, where his
| sympathies are, nevertheless, knowing
| the bad company he is in. the mailgn
| influences around him, we cannot al
ways feel sure of his courage Senator
| Dolliver must learn, if he does not all
ready know it, that the people no long
! err respect the United States senate,
and no man can long sit IN body
where selfish interest and greed pre-
vail, without becoming more or less in
fected with the virus of that poison pc
culiar to Washington, profound con-
tempt for the people and their views 1t
has badly shattered the prestige of
several Iowa congressman and II ever
the balance between political parties
should be restored, these men will have
| to fight to be returned.
| Nearly every member of the Iowa
delegation has had something to say
| in defense of Mr.. Hepburn, and yet.
candidly, what have any of us said of
Mr.. Hepburn that he did not deserve?
What are the facts? care nothing
about the lowing cup" nothing about
| his grandstand, play in his speech In
the house; nothing about his latest
| coup-the famous Certificate of char
| acter." What are the facts? The
| president in his message virtually ask
ed congress to give the interstate COM
merce commission power to fix rates.
I quote the central idea the revised
rate to at once go into effect, and to
stay in effect unless and until the
court Of review reverses it,
| There was nothing ambiguous or
complicated about this, and it met with
a mighty response outside of the wise
| men in congress. There was not the
| faintest suggestion that the interstate
commerce commission was incompe-
tent, not the faintest suggestion that
new legal machinery was necessary.
1t was simple, and direct proposition
| to clothe the commission with the
power it must have to be vital body.
| Now Mr.. Hepburn was the chairman
| of the house committee thru which
such legislation must come. The COM
mission had been knocking at Mr.
Hepburn's door for ten years, and to
all appeals Mr.. Hepburn had turned a
deaf ear. The commission knew that
Mr.. Hepburn was hostile. When the
president took up the commissions
cause Mr.. Hepburn got angry. For a
few days he sulked but the people
began to STIR There was an ominous
and ugly sound. What took place
then? There is a man in Iowa that
belongs to class that Lincoln Steffens
calls "enemies of the republic His
name is j. W. Blythe He is great
friend of Mr.. E[epburn's; he is one Of
his advisors and has great influence
over him, and, Incidentally. he bitterly
hates President Roosevelt. This man
| also seems to hold strange and mys-
FERROUS influence, over our two senators
and Iowans have not forgotten the
| performances OF last summer by which
the Iowa delegation Joined hands with
Mr.. Blythe to hunliliate Iowa's COVER
nor. Well, Mr.. Blythe had business
in Washington. The business was SO
serious that his stay heightened into
weeks. When the pot began to boil
it was announced that Mr.. Hepburn
himself would submit bill in line with
the presidents suggestions.
The very first section of that bill
abolished the Interstate commerce
commission, the body that had given
Mr.. Hepburn so much annoyance and
that had insisted on enlarged powers.
Mr.. Hepburn saw a chance to get even
with these pestiferous fellows and he
took it, and in his speech in the house
he congratulated his colleagues that
the Townsend Esch bill would grad
ually weed out all the old members of
the commission. The next section
provided for the appointment of nine
more new judges; the next section
created new commission and gave 1t
the power to fix rates, to take effect
in sixty days, and to be suspended on
appeal, and in his speech he nalvely
admitted that heretofore the aver
age time to carry an appeal thru the
circuit and supreme courts was tour
and half years.
This, stripped of all hypocritical
pretense, was the job put UP by Mr..
Hepburn and Mr.. Blythe for the coun-
try sucker, but the sucker didn't rise
to the bait. Just how any man or any
set of men can have the gall to play
the part of injured innocence after q
performance of this kind, it is diff
cult to understand. But the world Is
full of fools, and so, to make plaus-
ible the deception, Mr.. Frank Still
man, the Washington correspondent OF
| certain Iowa newspapers, was called
| I'm. Now, Mr.. Stillman is a we'll mean
ing young man and a bright man. I'm
1 fortunately, he is laboring under the
delusion that j. w. Blythe Is the re-
publican party of Iowa, and, judging
| from the domination of the whole Iowa
| DELEGATION at Washington by Mr..
Blythe, there is some excuse for Mr..
Stilhnan's delusion. Another peculiar
| thine. about Mr.. Stillman's Washington
| a.,,r.,opdonce is this II is too often