Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-31
IRy Ora Milliamsl

Was Albert b. Cummtns as a legis-
lator eighteen years ago, standpatter
and a reactionary. and George d. Per-
kins a progressive thru whose influence
Iowa's great railroad reform was eff
fected in opposition to the views OF
Cummins?
Such is sought to be conveyed as an
impression in the latest epistle winch
the Blythe Call Elkins combine has
caused to be directed to the people OF
Iowa, over the signature of John jack
son. of Sioux City. Jackson wrote, re-
lating to Cummins:
You were elected to this legislature
IN democratic ticket for the express
purpose of defeating such legislation
crate reguation) and it was thru the
efforts of Governor Larrabee and Mr..
Perkins that law was passed over
your head controlling railroad rates IN
Iowa"
John Jackson would hardly have
signed this assertion which does such
violence to history had he known the
truth. He probably assumed That
others had no more knowledge of the
facts than he had. The writer was at
that time and for several years after
wards CITY editor of the Iowa State
Register Some facts of history may be
of interest to the people of the state IN
connection with the Jackson state
ment.
In the first place there was held dur
ing the legislative session of 1888, the
twenty second general assembly, re-
publican state convention, and A. b.
Cummins, then recently elected to the
house. was invited to speak to the con-
yention along with Dolliver, Hepburn
and others. and was only prevented
from so doing by illness. This ought to
be an answer to the barefaced false
hood of Cummins being elected as a
democrat.
When the legislature met Governor
Larrabee made certain recommends
lions relative to reform in the laws on
railroad rate regulation. growing large
ly out Of the complaints of jobbers and
shippers of discriminate The re-
form movement was largely a jobbers
movement. In January there was
held in Des Moines a great state con-
vention of jobbers for the purpose OF
furthering the reform work. Governor
Larra'bee attended and spoke and COM
mended what the convention did.
committee on resolutions considered
the bills pending in the legislature, and
recommended to the convention for APP
prevail house file 19, by Cummins, a bill
to empower the railroad commission to
fix maximum freight rates and to
classify freight. This report was
unanimously adopted and it formed the
basis for the legislative work Of the
session of 1888 and the present law UNI
der which Iowa rates are made by
commission.
Governor Larrabee had recommend
ed a bill to fix a small number of rates
on commodities and then to empower
the commission to change these and
make others. The bill which was i'm
sisted upon as against the Cummins'
bill was to fix by law the maximum
rates, a wholly impracticable meas
ure, a plan which in other states has
been since declared unconstitutional,
and which is not not now used any
where Representative Cummins OPP
posed this plan and stood out stoutly
for the plan of empowering the COM
MISSION 10 llA luc IlldAiiIuIl htSS ~
plan which forms the very essence of
the Iowa law as it stands today. The
record fails to show that George ID.
Perkins did anything to sustain this
sensible position.
The bill which was finally passed
was a compromise measure. prepared
in conference committee in the clos
ing days, of the session. Representa-
tive Cummins was a member of that
committee and did more than any other
one man to prepare the details of the
law as it is at present. His view pre-
vailed as to what policy should be pur-
sued. He wrote a large part of the law
as it today stands. And when Cover
nor Larrabee, in closing his term re-
ferred to this work he commended it
in the most fattering terms.
.