Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-06-27
JOHNSTON THREAT
CAUSES COMMENT
Hunter and His Followers
Would Like to Force a Fight
on Senator Dolliver
ARE NOT LIKELY TO SUCCEED
Railroad Forces Would be Glad to See
cumnins and DoIIivcr Attempt to
Destroy Each Other and Then Bring
in a Harmony candidate-cummins
Men Are Not Deceived.
[Ry Ora williamsl


Des Moines. June 21.-Poiticians
here are interested in the letter which
Charley Johnston sent the Iowa dele
cation, not so much that Johnston
himself presumed to thus threaten the
members of congress. but from the
fact that ii discloses the purpose of
Ed. Hunter and his associates with re-
gard to the future. The Johnston let
ter bids fair TO become as much mile
stone III thd progress of the present
campaign as Elkins letter and Jack
sons letter
The fact is that these railroad at
torneys and lobbyists would like to
have the progressives in the egisla-
ture begin fight against Dolliver.
They are ready to leisl encouragement
to this movement. The belief pre-
walls In progressive circles that what
they are getting at is a fight between
Cummins and Dolllver, which they
hope would get to point where they
would mutually destroy each other;
then the railroad forces would bring
in harmony candidate for senator,
who would carry off the victory. These
railroad politicians would be willing
to encourage the especial friends of
Cummins to get him Immediately into
the race for senator not because they
love Cummins, but because they
would be willing to do almost anything
TO encompass the defeat of Dolliver.
Their pretensions of friendship for
Cummins, however, deceive nobody,
and it is beyond probability that the
governor will be drawn into any such
controversy with Doliiver as the rail-
roads would like.
The Johnston letter to the members
of congress is regarded by everyone as
the open threat of Ed Hunter and his
henchmen against the congressional
delegation, threat that unless the
members of congress and the sena-
tors are willing to join in and approve
of the movement Of Hunter to deliber
ately steal the republican convention
they may expect nothing from this
gang of political thieves in the future
1t means that unless Ed Hunter is
able to accomplish his desire of steal
ing the state convention he will put up
boiling state ticket and will en-
courage either independent candidates
in the congressional district or DEM
ocratic candidates so as to make
sure of the defeat of a majority of
the congressman. He knows very
well that under such circumstances
the republican majority in the state
legislature would be entirely wiped
out. He will be able to control a suf-
ficient number of democrats or inde-
pendent members of the legislature so
that he could dictate who the next
United States senator would be. Thus
he would not only get revenge but he
would gain some willing servants in
public offices.
It is recollected that some years ago,
j. W. Blythe elected Benton j. Hall,
a democrat, to congress in the First
not because the republican nominee
was unworthy but because the republi-
can nominee was such a high minded
man that he could not be wholly sub
servient to corporation interests. The
fact that Blythe supported Hall is
susceptible of definite proof. Now the
suspicion prevails in the same con-
gressional district that Blythe has
plotted to destroy all who had a part
in ending the public career of Blythes
special pet, Tom Hedge. He got his
revenge on Carpenter at the congress
sional convention and he got his re-
venge on Kennedy who also Joined in
the movement to defeat Hedge at the
general election in November
This Johnston letter reveals the fact
that the movement is not to be con-
fined to any section of the state, but
Just why Ed Hunter should have made
use of Charley Johnston as the instru-
ment thru which to discipline the Iowa
congressional delegation, passes all
ance politically is that Governor Cum
minis was the attorney. years ago, for
Johnston's wife in a little matter in
court. which cost Johnston a good
many thousand dollars in the item of
alimony. Here in Des Moines, where
the reason for Johnstons bitterness
against the governor is we'll known.
he has no influence whatever. That
Hunter should regard him as big
enough to discipline the congressional
delegation is an amusing thing. If the
letter was one which came from
Johnston alone and represented him
self alone, it would be treated here as
huge joke.
1t is probable that this letter will
precipitate, as apparently it was in
tended to do, the long deferred crisis
in political affairs in the state, it is
virtual notice by the railroad pOiitf-
clans to the congressional delegation
that the fact of this delegation stand
ing by President Roosevelt in his fight
for rate control deserved condemnation
at the hands of those who pretended
to control the republican party in
Iowa. The senators and congressman
are therefore both face to face with the
necessity of choosing whether they will
go further with Hunter. Blythe. Elkins,