Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-09-07

a time when every citizen oil TINS coun-
try was Mortified and shocked by the
violation of the sacred trust imposed
on our insurance officials, that of gath
ering here and there thruout this broad
land the funds to be held in trust for
the widows and orphans, and with that
same power and eloquence, the COVER
nor summed up the entire wrong. COM
nitted Under the Dngley tariff The
amount of graft Of all the Insurance
companies for all time Will not equal
one-tifth of the amount of which our
people are robbed every year by ex-
cessive tariffs Never have | heard
or read such language from any demo-
crat. How temperate and moderate,
compared with this statement of Gov
ernor Cummins, Is the thoroughly
democratic statement of the great iet.3
er of the minority in the house of rep
resentarives, John Sharp Williams.
when he said: The thing down to the
heart and bottom of which you have
got to go, and that you have to plant
in the hearts of the people is the fact
that this thing is wrong that is, 1t Is
all wrong if the American system of
government and the American institu-
tons are right
Let me say to this audience, and
thru this audience to Governor Cum
Minis, il, the wrongs are one-fifth as bad
as portrayed by him, why should we be
longer compelled to endure themo
"A session Of congress has passed
since that speech was made and no
relief has been granted. If the COVER
nor was right, was not the Waterloo
,,t.~ 49,
date relief?"
The Primary Law.
Mr.. Porter then took up the primary
law question declaring he and his
party stood for just primary law
and expressed the belief that such an
enactment was now only a matter of
working out details. He then attempt
ed to show Cummins is only a recent
recruit to the primary law by claim
ing the governor when member Of
the legislature voted against making
the railroad commission elective.
Passing to what he termed the last
affirmative demand of the Cummins'
republican platform. Mr. Porter sought
to show that Governor Cumnlins. in the
earlier terms of his service in that ca
pacity, did not take cognizance of rail-
road domination in politics.
He said:
First suggestion we have from Mr..
Cumrnins showing that he had awak-
ened to the fact that Iowa was being
controlled by the railroads. was after
he had served as governor for nearly
five years and about the same time
that his ambition to be governor for
fhn fhtrI hn o,1x, tr,1,N
fully answered the emergency was
made known to the public From
that time on, many and vigorous have
been the verbal assaults he has made
on tae railway companies of this
state; and after a strenuous cam
paigr, the like of which has never
occurred in Iowa. we'll known to all
of you. the republican party was per-
suaded that the emergency had. ar
rived, and that Mr.. Cummins was the
only man who fully measured up to
it, With committee on resolutions,
headed by the able editor of his Off
cial paper, how strange it is the
emergency which required this unus-
ual procedure, is not more fully dis
closed in the platform presented to
that convention. In less than a dozen
lines Of printed matter, is contained
the entire declaration of that platform
on this important question; and while
the declaration is made that statutes
are favored which will purge from
the politics of our state and nation
the influence Of corporate power, the
method how and when this is to be
accomplished is left in oblivion. After
such campaign and violent assertions
that this was a campaign of principles
and not men, this plank of the platform
reminds one of the old story of the
great mountain that growled and rum-
bled and toiled and To- 1t brought forth
a mouse. How striking in contrast the
plain and specific declaration of the
democratic platform. Not content
alone with declaring our purpose to
eliminate the railroads from the pol
itcs of the state, we go to the very
root of the matter by pointing out a
way to remove the inducements the
railroads have to enter politics."
Railroad Assessments.
The speaker then took up the ques-
ton of railroad assessments, criticising
first the method or lack of method,
adopted by the executive council in ar
irving at the assessments and then
claiming that there had been no sub
stantial increase in the railroad taxes
and that the taxes, measured by the
net earnings, were less than ten years
ago He gave the democratic position
aus follows;
What Democrats Would Do?
t"The democratic party Of Iowa say
thru it's platform that the taxation Of
the railroads being unequal and un-
just; confided to persons not versed in
the subject and busy with other du-
/ ties; induces the railroads to enter pol
itics; that the best solution Of The
whole matter would be to appoint by
the legislature in joint session nom
partisan commission of experts and
men Of established reputation, to per-
form this most important duty for the
state; and to the end that every rail-
road in Iowa, great or small, would
bear its just proportion of the taxation
of this state thus removing the
strongest incentive the railways have
to become active in state politics"
Economy in Government.
After discussing rates, ETC., Mr.. Por
ter took up other state matters, say
ing:
There is one principle in state gov
eminent that I am persuaded every
good citizen, irrespective of party, can
indorse. We all want to see our fair
state maintained in all of it's several
governmental branches, but surely we
also want to see it done with some re-