The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-08-03
WILL OPPOSE HEPBURN
A. !. Smith, of Mt. Ayr, will Contest
With Present Congressman for
Nomination Next Year.


hands, or made any claims as to how
strong they were. 1t now looks as if
they would make the fight to defeat
Hepburn for denomination next year,
and A. /. Smith, the law partner of
Chairman Spence of the republican
state committee has decided to make
the race and will launch an active
campaign for the honor, The Register
and Leader, of Tuesday, has the follow
ing:
Reference was made in The Register
and Leader on Sunday to the delicate
situation in the Eighth district, and the
likelihood that Colonel Hepburn would
have opposition. The announcement Of
the candidacy Of Mr.. Smith is believed
to be the first gun in the general cam
paign of opposition to Colonel Hepburn.
1t is thought by politicians that Mr..
Sm this entry will be followed by the
announcement of candidates in almost
every county in the district, all de-
signed to effect a combination fatal to
Colonel Hepburn.
That Mr.. Smiths candidacy is in per-
feet good faith is indicated by his state
ment last night to a representative of
The Register and Leader who visited
Mount Ayr, that he was not to be
aligned with tho "stand pat" element
within the party. / am not stand
patter," said he, "and have no desire
to be one." Colonel Hepburn is one of
the leaders of that element. He it was
who was chosen to be temporary chair
man of the republican state convention
which adopted the platform utterance
last year, for whose reatfirmation the
standpatters say they will stand
next year, in favor of reciprocity in
noncompetitive products only. Mr..
Smith said last night also, that he was
in dead earnest about his candidacy
and believed that the district MAS:
ready to consider the serious claims of
republicans whose friends were ready
to present them to the voters.
Considerable interest attaches to the
probable action of Chairman Spence.
He has been four times chairman of the
republican state central committee.
He is rated as one of the shrewdest men
engaged in politics in Iowa. No other
chairman ever served SO long at the
head of the organization and no other
chairman has a better record in the
matter of effective majorities. He was
mentioned for the United States dis
trict attorneyship until recently, when
he refused to consider it and gave his
support to Col. Nj. L. Temple.
Mr.. Spence occupied more or less
neutral attitude during the preconven-
tion fight of 1901, when Governor
Cummins was nominated at Cedar
Rapids. But after the convention he
was chosen chairman over r. w. Clay
ton of the Sixth district, who, really,
was the reservation choice for the
Office, and the committee standing five
and five, not counting Mr.. Spence. He
was reelected without opposition the
next year and the next and in 1904. The
last time, without doubt, he was
chosen at the instance of the standpat
element Of the committee, which was in
control Of the committee. In the cam
paigns, Of course he was absolutely
loyal to the interests Of the republican
ticket from top to bottom.
Mr.. Smith always has been more or
less allied with the progressive republi-
cans of the Eighth district, and with
them dominated it at different times
against the standpat element. Ring
gold always has been doubtful county,
in the Judgment of the progressives.
With Mr.. Smith as candidate for con-
gress they believe that they will be able
to carry the county as they did in 1901.
Congressman Hepburn is in the Philip
pines. His friends all of the time have
insisted that he would have no opposi-
tion and if he did it would not cut much
figure and would be localized. The
early announcements of Mr. Smith, if
followed by announcements in other
counties as expected, may indicate to
them more formidable general opposi-
tion than they have been figuring on.
Decatur county sent Cummins man
to the legislature in 1899, at the same
time that Ringgold sent DIR. Prentiss,
who went against Gear. Taylor sent
Blakemore at the same time. Adams
county has been counted as in precari-
GUS shape, and it was at Corning, there
fore, that the great Hepburn Wallace
railroad debate came off. Colonel Hep
burns labor speech at Honolulu is said
to have affected Union county. There
are other sections in which there is
said to be smouldering revolution
against the Hepburn organization.
The politicians wait to see if the
Smith announcement is signal for a
general movement in all of the counties
on the part Of the progressive republi-
cans.