Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-20
Committee.

"a have no interest in your cam
paisn for third term, but | am
free to confess the opinion that
there are few states where q man
could perpetuate himself in office
by maIignins one branch of the
general government - Senator
Steve Eikins, leader OF the railroad
fight against Rooseve|t's rate reg
ulation, in an open letter to Gov
ernor Cummins.
Special to Times Republican
Des Moines, March 20.-The receipt
In Iowa of a fve-column open letter
Virginia, chairman of the senate COM
mittee on interstate commerce, and
leader of the railroad fight against
President Roosevelt's railroad rate reg
ulation measure. attacking the candi-
dacy of Governor Cumnips, has Gre
ated sensation in Iowa politics. Ever
since the governor vetoed the Mols-
berry merger bill and took the stump in
favor of rate regulation, and especially
since he appeared before the senate
committee last summer in behalf of the
people, 1t has been known that the mer-
ger crowd headed by ]. p. Morgan. j.
j. Fill, Elkins and Aldrich, were sore at
Cummins, but no one ever dreamed
that any of these men would dare enter
the Iowa campaign openly. Mr.. Blythe.
as attorney for one of Hills merger
roads. can engage in Iowa politics, be-
l,. t.. Low. hSYT ha nv
cation must be great and the case des-
perate to induce Elkins to enter the
Iowa campaign, which he has done.
The letter is addressed to Gov A. b.
Cummins of Iowa. 1t sets forth the
following extract from Cummins' Fort
Dodge speech:
Il was invited to give my views, or
deliver my statement, rather, before
that committee The room was full to
overlooking, and ] honestly believe
was the only man in the room. unless
1t was the members of the senate, who
had not gone there on a pass, and up
on the instigations Of the railways
delivered my statement and 1t required
three quarters of an hour l pleaded
as best l could for the rights of our
people out west, for the rights of the
shippers, for the rights of good men OF
the country, for an equal and fair and
decent opportunity to carry on their
business, and l pleaded in the same
way to rectify the false determinations
of unjust and extortionate charges. 1
finished sandJsaid,. Gentlemen Il am at
your disposal They began their
CROSS examination. They cross-eXam-
ined me for six hours. Six hours just
to find out what know about the rail-
roads, and, with the exception of the
questions put to me by Senator Dolli-
Yer, and they were very few. there was
not one single question put to me from
friendly standpoint. The chairman
of that committee cross examined me
for more than four hours, and every In
curry that he made of me was made
as a hostile cross examiner and made
for the purpose of overthrowing what
/ said, and sending me home In disgust
and humiliation. In all that time that
chairman Of that important committee,
created for the purpose Of bringing out
the true state of affairs, pursued me as
a relentless lawyer would pursue hos
tile witness on cross-eXamination. I
QlQ MOI CdJS IIuCII dOoul SAios. w AAsAs
little / knew about the matter l could
tell, and what I did not know about 1T
there, was not power enough In Heaven
nor in that place down there to extort
from me. I got along fairly we'll. but
it did seem to me that once in while
that committee that had been raised
to protect me and you, that committee
that had been created to investigate
that question and expected to afford
me and you relief from those evils,
might then have expounded or suggest
ed a question that would have been
favorable to tho cause of the people.
but not So"
"That was not, however. what finally
set my indignation all afire. Sitting
on the right hand side Of the chairman
of interstate commerce committee, so
close to him that it seemed to me
their arms were INTERVIEWED in loving
association and embrace, was the gen.
eral counsel, as was Informed, for
all the railways Of the country en-
ployed for the specific purpose Of OBJ
structing and defeating the meas
ure that had been recommend
ed by the president Of the
UnlleQ hStdleS, anu lol WiliSi Soui SCH
ator (referring to Mr.. Dolliver. for you
were speaking in this time at his home
town. Is at this moment SO valiantly
fighting. 4 saw that man? don't care
much about that, as you know would
Just as soon be cross-examined by an
attorney Of the railway companies up
on this subject as the chairman of the
interstate commerce committee of the
senate. there is no difference between
them,-I saw that man pass to your
chairman, say your chairman, be-
cause every senator in that
legislative tribunal represents all
the people OF, the land. and he had
sworn to do his duty faithfully and
with fidelity saw that man pass up
to that chairman a score of questions
to be put ito me. 1t was not my
friends, the cross examination, it was
not the difficulty of the inquiries that
were put to me, but, when l saw that
man sitting side by side, in complete
communion In utter and entire sym
pathy with the counsel of the very
companies that it was the very duty of
the United States government to reg
ulate and restrict, my Indignation
overcame my discretion, and I said
then, and I have oft times since, that
so long as God gave me voice and
strength l would denounce that infamy
from one border of our country to the
other
A few days later you made speech