Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-06
GOVERNOR SAYS 1T WILL PROVE
"a BOON TO THE PEoPLEroF.s
~ IOWA l----,7sses


In An Address Before the jefferson
County Farmers Institute He,
Charges the Railroads With Over
Capitalization and Undue Efforts to
Obtain Political Influence.
Fairfield, Feb. 5.--(SpeciaD -Declar-
Ing that the railroads control the state
OF Iowa and that the people are being
cheated out of their rights, Governor
Cummins on Saturday made plea to
the farmers of Jefferson county for
the primary election bill and incidents
ally urged his hearers to do all in
their power to block the efforts of the
railroads to broaden their influence
over affairs Of government. The gov4
ernor spoke before the Jefferson couns
ty Farmers Institute meeting at the
public library building Saturday after
noon and was greeted by large
crowd. He told his hearers that tho
railroads of the country are criminally
capttaltzing their property for almost
twice what 1t is worth and are making
the public pay the interest on the SUR
plus. Il am going to do all can," he
declared, ito put the railroads out OF
politics in Iowa whether the G. B. a
c., or not" The speaker was espe.
cially insistent about the primary cleo.
tion law and declared emphatically
that the voters Of the state should sup.
port the measure providing for such a
change In the system Of choosing cans
didates for all political offices, His
address was much the same as the one
delivered last October before the insti.i
tute held at Ottumwa by the Wapello
county branch Of the Corn Belt Meat
prt1tiaceI. ION EXCEPT for
| i.1nterpolaHOn OF the argumeYl Lrre4ba g
primary election bill,
CongratuIates Iowa Farmers.
i am here" said the governor. after
having been introduced by j. P. Mana.
trey, chairman of the institute. Ato
congratulate you, farmers of Jefferson
county. No one SO well deserves the
congratulations of every lover of hui,
manity as does the Iowa farmer, Z
congratulate you because you .laye the
disposition to gather together as YOU
nave today and discuss the questions
that concern you. There is no area on
the face of the earth that is the equal
OF Iowa in an agricultural way. OF It's
surface 97s per cent is capable of sue.
cessful cultivation It is the garden
spot Of the earth. These gatherings
like this one today are the places
where you meet each other and get
your ideas. You keep the best ones
and discard the worst. But there ID
something else besides farming, ims
portant as that science is. that should
interest you.'
Here the speaker described impres<
sively the ceremonies at which he ass
sisted last summer, when Iowa's bat.
tie flags were transferred from the
second floor in the capitol building to
the inches around the rotunda. It waa
a scene, he said, which he would never
forget and especially significant waa
the sentence made immortal by Line
coin, which is inscribed on the wallis
of the capitol: "This nation under God
shall have a new birth of freedom, that
government by the people, OF the peos
pie and for the people, shall not per-
1sh from the earth"
Shall the Common People Ruler
This inspired sentence" continued
the governor, stands guard over those
old, tattered flags of the civil war. And
that is one Of the things your insti-
tute should take under consideration.
What does government by the people.
Of the people. for the people mean /?
What does it mean when we say, as
we do here in America, that the COM
mon people shall rule? And want you
to understand me when say .com-
mon people, I do not mean the poor.
the lowly, the destitute. those upon
whom the hand Of adversity has been
laid with unusual harshness. If you
put that construction upon my words.
revise it at once. The common people
to whom refer may be rich or poor.
great or small, famous or obscure.
| learned or unlearned, virtuous or vi
cious. They may have lived all their
lives in that beautiful sunlight of pros.
perity or deep in the shadows and the
| gloom Of affliction and poverty. They
are the men and women upon whom
the government has not and cannot
confer any privilege not shared BY all
their fellowmen and fellowwomen. The
highest moral mental and material
welfare is secured and maintained by
just laws and their vigorous execution.
Are we in any danger OF drifting
away from this fundamental principle
i think we are in little danger of al.
lowing the uncommon people to OBJ,
tain too large a share of influence oy,
Ter the government of our own affairs.
And the only reason for my coming
here this afternoon is to light anew ii
it has gone out, the flame Of patriotism
among you people.
/ The Birth of Liberty.
go back over the 5000 years since
man has inhabited the earth Never