Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-07-28

His next offense was. If / remember
correctly, he vetoed what lis called the
Molesberry bill That was bill that
would practically turn the state into
kind of New Jersey, corporation
state, a state for the purpose of man
ufacturing corporations. TIe incurred
the dislike Of the railway men when he
vetoed that measure.
| think the next offense was, as
member of the executive council, which
increased the assessments OF the rail-
way property In this state, and this
was the greatest offense Of all. He had
to make a strong contest to succeed
in increasing the assessment. One
who has never served on that execu-
tive council does not know the pressure
that is brought On a man to hold the
railway assessment down. He resist
ed improper pressure and raised the
assessment and this was his greatest
offense of all.
But another followed The bribina
power of the railway companies In the
state of Iowa is the railway pass. 1t
is the commencement Of bribery sys-
tenn that they have carried on for
years. 1t Is very seductive little
piece of pasteboard, but man that
would refuse a fifty or thousand dol
lar bill will accept a railway pass as
courtesy. He succeeded in urging up
on the legislature and getting the Leg
islature to pass a law prohibiting the
use Of a free pass 1t was a. grand
thing to do. step in the right direc>
tion to bring the state out from uri-
der this corporation domination Now
that is about, as understand it, a list
of his offenses, and l would like to ask
you If they are serious in your esti-
nation.
am told that he has increased the
assessment of our real estate in Iowa;
that he has increased our taxes. Now,
unless the law has been changed since
I was member of the executive coun-
ell, the governor has no more to do
in fixing the assessment of real estate
nor as much as your board Of super
visors have. The executive council can
equalize the assessments which are
made in the various counties, they can
take off from one and put on to an
other, deduct from one and add to an
other; they cannot add to the aggre-
gate unless the law has been changed
as 1 remember 1T. The law has not
been changed This statement that he
has increased your taxation is falsi-
fication. 1t is an effort to impose upon
you by making you think that he has
increased your taxation when he has
not done anything of the sort On the
other hand, he has helped all the real
estate owners because he has in
creased the taxation of the railway
companies. the share that they bear OF
the taxation they bear in this state,
and that is the reason they wish to de-
feat him. Be true to man in political
life who shows independence of char
acter who is not willing to serve those
corporations.
Some say he is democrat. Well,
don't care if he is democrat so long
as he does as good square work as he
has been doing in his political life. I
am willing. If there are fifty thousand
democratic votes for him, as some say
there will be. During the last fifty
years ! have frequently voted for
good democrat and if you call him
democrat, il he is nominated, nothing
will give me more pleasure than to
vote for a democrat again. ] can say
to you, ladies and gentlemen, in my
opinion, he is more nearly an Abraham
Lincoln republican than the men who
are trying to steal the nomination from
him in the state this year.
But they say he is ambitious! Like
Brutus they desire to slay him because
he is ambitious; and what a spectacle
it would be to see Brutus and Cato
and Casca and ella and Betillus and
Trabonias washing their hands up to
their elbows in his blood. And then
from different parts of the state you
would see these great headlines in the
corporation journals: Peace, freedom
and liberty to corporations"
The people became restless more
than twenty years ago. In
1897 they began to demand an amend
ment to that law. The board of trades
organizations thruout the United
States held convention and they
passed resolutions and they appointed