Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-22

mess world 1t secured the protest of
thousands of honest. faithful employees.
who had been made to believe that Il
the Interstate commerce commission
should be given the power to fix a
rate. the railway companies would re-
duce the compensation of the men in
their service. 1t established prolific
literary bureaus from which emanated
great quantities of printed matter. and
these documents We're circulated in
every mail thruout the whole coun-
try. 1t hired agents to travel all over
the United States, endeavoring to in
duce newspapers to publish ready
made editorials, and to print false
and misleading statistics of infinite
variety. In these and kindred ways,
the railway companies have made
their fight at Washington, and while
the railway lobby in Des Moines is not
so extensive, and has not adopted all
these methods, 1T has pursued the
same general plan. 1t has cultivated
friendly relations with the legislature
1t has been constant with its argu-
ments. in season and out of season.
against primary law. 1T has tried to
reach the people in various communi-
ties, by letter and by personal solicit
tation, to the end that they might be
induced to advise their senators and
representatives that the voters were
opposed to a primary law.
1t Takes Money.
1t requires money to maintain
lobby. Salaries, hotel bills, stenograph-
ers, travelling expenses and many other
expenditures must be provided for,
and these expenditures must come di-
rectly from the treasures of the rail-
way corporations.
1t is perfectly fair for railway COM
pany to appear, thru it's representa-
tives, before the appropriate commit
tees of the general assembly, and either
object to or favor any proposed legisla-
ton that affects its properties l have,
however, no sympathy with q lobby
that goes beyond a fair presentation of
argument. l can understand how these
companies justify to themselves the
maintenance Of a lobby that keeps con-
slant watch over bills that affect either
the revenues or the management of
railroads. Bear in mind that the point
of my charge against the railway lobby
in Des Moines this winter, in so far as it
has opposed the primary election meas
ure, is this: That railway companies
have no interest, or ought to have no
interest, in such measure. 1t does
not touch either their business their
receipts or the management OF their
properties in the remotest degree. 1t
relates to the form of our government
and concerns only the individual voter.
For a railway lobby to oppose In any
manner such q measure, or to interfere
in any way with it's passage, is fntoler-
able, and can mean but one thing,
namely, that the railway companies
are determined to dominate, II they
can, our political affairs.
Legislators Not Bribed.
Your second question is:
aSecond-What legislators, If any,
have been the recipients Of this mon
eye"
In the address to republican voters
expressly or impliedly, accuse any
member of the general assembly of be-
ing bribed or of accepting money to
influence his official action. did not,
expressly or implicitly, impugn the
honesty of any member. There is no
possible Interpretation or. construction
of my language that imputes to any
member a want of honor or lack OF
did not intend to reflect
upon the motives of the general assem-
bly,, nor upon any member of the body,
nor did 1 even remotely suggest that
those who opposed the passage of the
primary election law We're not doing
so conscientiously. The charge that l
made was that the railway companies
of the state were maintaining lobby
in the city of Des Moines for the pur-
pose of defeating the proposed law, and
that they were using the power that
money and organization create to effect
their object.
Stick to Charge.
/ retract nothing from this charge.
I believe it to be true, and relterate
lit. without change or modification. 1t
must be obvious to you that from this
charge no such inference can he drawn
as is suggested in the resolution.
recognize that there may be honest diff
ferences upon this measure or any
other. It is we'll known that the rail-
way companies have made and are
making tremendous efforts at Wash
ington. thru an organized lobby and
JlTu the VI IiohSS, W VIZ
feat the bill extending the power of the
interstate commerce commission.
Nevertheless, there are members of
congress who are fighting the bill who
are Just as honest as these who are
supporting it. My answer, therefore, to
your second question is that l have not
said that legislators have been the re-
cipients or money from the railway
companies, and there is no ingenuity of
construction that can torture my state
ment into such a conclusion.
Your third question is:
"Third-Who are the masters of in
trigue that are spending the winter in
Des Moines,' and where are they locat-
ed 2"
4 must decline to accept this question
as a serious one cannot determine
whether the purpose is to make me de-
fend my rhetoric or to furnish direc-
tory. If the former, 1 must submit to
any criticism that your better taste
may suggest; if the latter, l reply that
the names Of the men composing the
active railway lobby in Des lMoines are
as we'll known to you as they are to me,
and very respectfully suggest that the
most casual examination of the hotel
registers will furnish a guide to their
rooms.
Respectfully submitted,
Albert B. Cummins