The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-26
'CUMMINs AGAIN
GRLLS ELKINs
Governor Tells Senator He Wears
Railroad Brand and Is
Unfit for Office.

/ SpeCl0l TO 4n6 sJOurHd!s+ Il
Des Moines, Iowa, March 26.-Gov-
ernor A. b. Cummins today made public |
an open letter to Senator Stephen b:
Elkins Of West Virginia, chairman OF |
| the interstate commerce committee or |
| the United States senate, replying to
| letter by Senator Elkins in which the |
| senator accused the governor of false
statements in charges against Elklns IN
campaign speeches.
Governor Cummins not only refuses to
| retract the first charges he made, but
| reiterates them, goes Somewhat into de
tails to substantiate. them, and includes
a caustic declaration that Senator FL
| kins wrote the~letter IN the interest Of
railroads, whose domination in politics
| Governor Cummins has made the. issue
| in this state
Governor Cummins says in part:
"Ycur entrance into the Iowa cam
paign is unexpected, but L assure you
it is not unwelcome. Before you came
were fighting me with might and main,
and, if the railway companies and coal
trusts of West Virginia desire to add
their strength to the corporations al
ready opposing ME, it may make the
fight of national interest, but it will
make no difference with the outcome.
Does Not Believe Elkins. y, !
~ tell you frankly in the beginning
that when you say, have no interest,"
in your campaign for third term I
do not believe YOU You have not
chosen this particular time to write to
me an eighteen letter and give it
to the press thruout the country sim
ply to correct alleged > mistakes. in
speeches that L have made in the state
of Iowa or to vindicate the fidelity Of
the Interstate committee against my
criticisms. You understand perfectly
that the issue in Iowa at the present
moment is whether the corporations,
and especially the railway com~anies,
q shall be permitted to dominate / e pol
icy of the state, and your purpose is to
4 give your influence to the railways here,
just as | have charged that you gave it
4 to them when [ appeared before the in
terstate commerce committee in Wash
4 ington.'
i Cross-examined by Elkins.
Then sthe governor reasserts that he
4 was cross examined for nearly six hours
by Elklns, that the questions were pre-
\ sented IN manner which would charac-
terlze the examination of an advocate
4 for cause he represented. The gov:
Z ernor gives the names of the senators
4 and others who sat in the room wherein
81
i the senate last spring held it's rate in
3 curry The charge that an attorney
for the railroads sat just behind Elkins,
: counseled with him, and passed him
questions which were asked witness. the
q governor refuses to alter in any respect.
He admits he did not know at the time
4 who the attorney was, but later ascer-
3 tanned that it was former Senator
D Faulkner, hired especially by the rail
roads to oppose railroad legislation.
a Elkins Arraigned.
y When I discovered;' says the gov
a ernor. ''Who this man was and his bust
ness there, it seemed to me that a more
u shocking and indefensible spectacle
could not be presented You were
y charged with an: important duty, one
d affecting not only the interests of rail
y ways but Of millions of people. You
n were IN large sense judge sworn
g TO render true Judgment; and yet,
+ while the trial: was proceedings and
d before you delivered your judg ment,
IA sci of a lawyer who was there to de-
81 fend the railways against the proposed
" authority Of the interstate commerce
a commission. If you can find better
u words to characterize such a proceed
n ing than I have used, it is because
your vocabulary is larger and you can
put condemnation in more emphatic
terms. You may believe that an in
vestlgat1on carried on in this manner is
IN accordance with fairness and de-
:cency. 1 do not. You may continue
. IN your belief if you. like, but shall
continue in my denunciation. r's
Il Cumnins' Purpose. ,.~
Il am trying to convince the voters
of Iowa. continued the governor
"that men with environments such as
: yours. ought not to hold public office
for the obvious reason that. corporations
should not make the law, but should
be regulated by the law. ..~ ...z
- venture now on the proof that
your letter to me is not in good faitl
are opposing me for renominati
First, [ have been giving my views oil
your conduct, at the time appeared
before your committee, ever since
returned from Washington and, it ha
I. been a part Of fifty speeches | hav,
made all over the state of Iowa, an,
90 yet 1T seems not to have come to you
:, notice nor to have excited your inter
10 est until now. Second, your fidelity ha
u been repeatedly questioned from place
81 81 much higher than / occupy, for month
90 past, and yet you have been dumb a
an oyster.
81 ... Why Shun Elkins? -
-" believe I am right in saying tina
the governor of your own state is
> republican, and it would be natural tina
os7 If he wanted to communicate anything
,oo to the United States senate of whic
- you are, member he would select vo
1873 as the medium. It appears, however
.4e that month and half ago, when you
governor desired to protest against til
100 tyrannous practices Of the railroads i
79922 West Virginia, he sent his complaint t
i35 Senator Tillman.
Al Here the governor quoted the lette
a a1e Of the governor Of West Virginia t
'Ao Tillman, in which he declared the stat
rs was helpless and hopelessly in the gras
t. of the railroads and associated coz
coo companies. He also quotes prominen
7s4 newspaper correspondents and magazin
o., writer's who have spoken in no unce1
500 tain tones of Senator Elkins and hi
railroad affiliations The governor r
100 sumes, concerning these articles: 0
90 Here IS an impeachment of you
zoo integrity of more gravity than you ca
IA possibly find in my language, and We
have not heard Of you writing to tn
governor of your state or to the pul
sur fishers Of the periodicals which hav
der imputed these things to you. ;,
a .a The truth is, says the governor. tha
Of Elkins has firmly established his rep,
tation as the advocate Of the railroad
Il ~. u = q rET 4