Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-17
Acceptance of Challenge Was
Complete Surprise and Scare
For Standpatters
PERKINS MEN DuMRFouNDED
All the Bluff They Had Been Talking
on the Streets of Spirit Lake Punc-
tured Like Wind Bas-Perkins
Men Had to Force Their Man Into
the Ring.
Special to Times-Republican.

Des Moines, April 17.-"Why in the
to joint debate?" is a question that is
being asked by hundreds of people over
the state as we'll as here. 1t was asked
before the debate and has been asked
since. 1t was confidently believed by
the Cummins people that the Perkins
people had or thought they had some
big thing to spring in the shape of a
letter, or some point to raise that
would, or which they thought would,
they have failed and that instead of
the Perkins people being able to spring
anything the governor YVES able to
spring the Larrabee letter, the ques-
ton has been asked with greater in
terest. Some inside history and light
is thrown on the challenge by a Spirit
Lake man, who said today:
After Cummins declined Perkins
challenge to a series of joint debates
in each congressional district the Per-
kins men here went after us hammer
and tongs. Why don't you bring on
your man?' they would demand;
What's the matter, is Cummins
afraid? This sort of thing was hard
on US, for while we knew Cummins had
good, sound reasons for refusing, those
reasons were not an adequate reply.
You know, there is a theory in Amer
lea that if a man won't fight he is
afraid. OF course this question wasn't
involved in this instance, but the Per-
kins men put it in anyway.
Then. the Perkins men began to
spread thru the county the statement
that culnmins was afraid to meet
Perkins, and when we explained the
situation to the farmers we could see
they were not entirely satisfied. Fin
ally, one morning, the Perkins fellows
simply drove us off the street and OF
that Abe Funk said to L. E. Francis,
Tell Pete Marcy to get straight, out
and out challenge in writing and III
accept it for the governor
Francis went out Of the hotel like
shot and straight to Narey's office.
Now he said, you fellows have been
daring us and daring us to joint de-
bate, we accept. Get me challenge
IN writing ana 90 IL IHlSuly qulCh.
Bring on your man
Marcy was dumbfounded. What"
he asked. 4 said, bring on your writ
ten challenge declared Francis and
then the fun began. Marcy first pro-
posed that the two speakers divide
their time We said no. Then he said
if we'd allow Perkins to open and close
he'd challenge US. Again we said no.
After trying in several other ways to
get out of the hole we'd put him into
he said he'd talk to Perkins and that
eff the old man didn't come to the
scratch" he'd lay down in the figh.
in Dickinson county.
What happened in the next three
hours and half we don't know, ex-
cept that during most of that time
Marcy was in the telephone booth. At
the end of the time he came with the
challenge and we took it up
1t is believed now that following the
refusal of Cummins to meet Perkins in
every congressional district the Per-
kins people believed the governor
would not meet him at all and were
simply running a "bluff" and trying to
make all the capital they could. When
the Cummins people took them up they
would gladly have crawled out of 1t
themselves if they had been able.