Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-06-08
Secret of the Tremendous Fight
They Are Making Against
Governor CumminS
FoREsAW THE FIGHT
Former Governor Knew the Power Of
the Corporations in Politics and Ex-
pressed the Wish That the Railroads
Might Be Defeated in Their Effort
to Regain Control.
IBy Ora williams.l

TO TimeS-Pepublican.

ny VIA w lliiiHio'J
Special TO Times publican.
Des Moines, June S.--If ever there
was any doubt in the mind of anyone
as to the pernicious activity of the
railroads In the Iowa campaign as in
the nation at large, the accumulation
of evidence on that point within the
past few weeks ought to have removed
the last shadow of that doubt.
The campaign of the railroads. II
must BE- understood, has not been so
aggressively for any candidate as
against one candidate. The whole
fight has been. not to elect someone
governor but to defeat Governor Cum
Minis
Governor Larrabee saw clearly at
the outset the character Of the fight.
He expressed the wish that the "reser-
vation might be cleaned up and that
Blythe might be eliminated from Iowa
politics. Then he pointed out in later
letter just what he meant by declar-
ing for Cummins as a recognized lead
When the Perkins campaign became
a failure thru long series of blunders.
beginning with the Elkins letter which
was inspired by Shaw and under the
manage cement first of Attorney Call,
then of Senator Jackson and later of
Will Parrott, it utterly broke down
and the management was turned over
to Ed Hunter. then it was that the
Blythe Reservation" counties We're
brought into line in solid phalanx
against the governor with the excep-
ton of few where the revolt got
way from the pass distributors. The
campaign is absolutely in the nands of
Hunter who represents the railroads
and allied interests, and the fact that
in the major two-thirds of Iowa only
a half dozen counties have been car
ried for Perkins, shows the character
of the fight.
The Burlington railroad is respon-
sible for 80 per cent of all the dele
gates for Perkins. save those delivered
by the Rock Island influence. The
Rock Island influence was the chief
factor in Johnson. Iowa and Cass
counties. For instance, in Iowa City,
a few days before the caucuses, rep
resentative of the Rock Island saw a
firm which has a big contract for
hauling with the Rock Island and that
firm Immediately went to work for an
anti-Cummins delegation. In Cass a
dozen or more well known farmers
were furnished passes by the Rock Is
land just before the primary.
Down In Montgomery county Judge
Mcpherson, whose leanings and asso-
Citations are we'll understood by all law
yers stood out in the street and ped
died tickets for the caucus, and march
ed men up to the polls to make them
vote against Cummins. This is the
same man who got drunk at a banquet
in Council Bluffs and delivered a
maudlin speech insulting to his hosts
and highly disgraceful all round.
In a town not far from Des Moinss
the caucuses were to be held recently,
and there were a good many railroad
men to be reckoned with. The attor-
ney for the railroad which runs thru
the town received the day before the
caucus, telegram FROM the general
solicitor of the railroad telling him that
his company expected him to deliver
the town for Perkins. 1t was a fiat
footed declaration for Perkins by the
railroad management. The attorney
was not of that kind. however, and he
went right out on the street and show
ed the telegram to all who cared to
know.
The negotiations resulting in con-
tract for the delivery of the entire
delegation of Allison's friends in a
bunch in consideration of giving
a job somewhere were con-
Quoted wholly by Hunter and others
of the railroad politicians.
1t is stated that an argument put up
to the big railroad magnates to induce
them to be doubly liberal in their con-
tributions is that in case Cummins is
elected there will be legislation look
ing to reduction of freight and passen-
ger fares in Iowa. An indication of
the sentiment in this direction is given
in Washington county, where Clifford
Thorne, a brilliant young lawyer, is a
candidate for the legislative nomina
ton on a platform demanding reduc-
ton in fares on the Iowa railroads
Mr.. Thorne favers a bill to compel re-
duction in passenger fares. and he
would start an extensive campaign for |
better freight rates for Iowa people. |
Altho he is in a county long count
ed as absolutely under the domination
and control of the railroads, it is stated
there is good ground for believing he
will be elected.
Whatever the outcome this summer,
the contest is not ended and the rail-
roads know this fact.
CLAIMED FOR cUMMINs.