Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-11-02
On The Firing Line.
By Alex Miller
poe, cummlns Mean III

BY Alex Miller,
Does Cummlns Mean it7
The burden OF Governor Cummins
campaign speeches 10 that he Is
better protectionist than Mckinley
himself He tries to make US believe
that he is stronger tariff devotee
than Uncle Joe Cannon or than Mel.
son Dinghy was when he was alive.
II protection Is such an odious thing.
why stand for 1T. ~ why ask that he
be considered simon pure. all wool
and yard wide Republican. war.
ranted not TO rip. ravel or run down al
the heel? We. in our humble eapac.
ity as country newspaper writer. are
. IN favor Of tariff reform. We believe
In low tariff. In short. we stand
on the Waterloo platform. the best
platform promulgated In the state OF
Iowa by any party in decade. we
measure our words and repeat It, No
better platform has been written by
any PARTY since Iowa has had plat.
forms, and none as good in decade.
And we stand upon It. But we do not
go over the state proclaiming. like
Becky Sharp's rooster. that we are
protectionist with the name blown IN
the bottle.
We have no ambition to pose as
something that we are not. Nobody
who has not diseased ambition to
be reformer and sensationalist de.
| sires to pose as something he is not
| Cummins has pretended for two years
| that he is a tariff reformer, but when
he gets on the stump he sings diner
ent song. 1t is a song. not withou,
words, but without sincerity. 1t is sc
apparent that the governor is trying
| to hornswoggle the people that blind
man can see It.
/ He said In a speech not twelve
| months ago that 1.-The tariff has robbed
1 the people of FIVE times as much o.
| their wealth as the insurance compan
les all put together" Either he tole
an untruth then or he 10 fraud, ant
we do not accuse him of anything
sinister. All We do is to give thu
Secord.
/ Read II for yourself. But II tariff
reform is so popular in the Republican
party, why does Cummins hedge now
and we feel like apologiztng for usinl
his name so much. But we have thu
assurance OF the Sioux City Journa
that he Is the issue.
Old Mother Hubbard of the Elev
enth congressional district also ha
said that he recognizes the Cummin
party as the Republican party. 81
there Is nothing personal meant whel
we refer to Cummins. 1t Is more IN IL
general meaning that we apply !,
Cummins had got to standing for r.
form, but where Is there any reform
when he urges and pleads that all re
:. publicans vote the straight ticket
Congressman Lacey is standpatte
and opposed to tariff reform. VIII
does Cumming want him elected
, Hepburn is the king OF Iowa stand
patters. Why does Cummins wan
him elected? That shows his instr
certify. It shows that he is frau
reformer and has no ambition excep
to exalt Cummins and to hades VII
!. Do you believe that Cummin
actually wants to see Pete Hepbur
elected to congress? At the stat
convention. Hepburn was sent for t
come and address the conventio
and he replied, mot by a.
sight. am not in the habit of az
dressing Democratic conventions.
And yet Cummins urges everybody
| vote for every candidate on the ticl
/. ct. Do you think he is making an
t votes by that system? We do not.
, II there is anything In tariff reform
) why not stand for 1t? Will you tel
/ us? Why apologize or recede from
: position that was thought to be in
pregnable? Cummins ends every cl
max. every period. every peroratio
with, SIS there anything un-Republi,
an about that?" Which is chea
, method Of self advertising. VIVA
would you think II Cannon had to d.
tend himself from the charge Of bein
q Democrat?
Did you ever hear LaFollette apolt
giving for stand he figured out an
then occupied? And Cummins ape
LaFolletts, but he cannot deliver tn
! goods.
And so, to sum 1t all up. we hol
that we are justified in asking. Doe
Cummins really mean it7"