Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-26
CUMMINS SLAPS
SENATOR ELK|NS
REFERS TO THE INTERSTATE
COMMERCE AFFAIR
Iowa Governor Intimates That Sena-
tor Is Friendly to Railroads.
Says Elkins Cannot Elect
Hawkeye Governor
By Associate Press.

| By Associated Press.
DES MONIES, Iowa, March 25,-
Governor Cummins has mailed to Sem
ator Elkins of West Virginia reply
to the senator's letter in which he
| criticised statements made by the gov
| ernor in speeches to the voters of Iowa
regarding his examination before the
senate committee on interstate COM
merce when it had under consideration
| the railway rate bill.
| The governor says that the senator
accused him of falsehood in declaring
| that his position was hostile, that q
railroad attorney sat at the right of
Elkins during the examination, that
| Senator EllSins during the examination
| appeared to be in communion and sym
pathy with this attorney, and that the
attorney handed to Senator Elkins ques-
tions to be asked the governor,
'If," says the governor, in his letter
| to the senator you understood your
| duties and obligations as chairman of
a legislative committee to be similar to
those of an advocate. 1 have no criti-
cism to make of your conduct except to
say that you are on the side of the
railroad instead of on the side of the
people. L have thought, however, that
your duties and obligations were more
nearly like those of a judge, namely,
bias or prejudice, and then decide i'm
partially without fear or favor. You
heard patiently, but 1t was clearly ap-
parent in your examination that you
had decided the case in favor of the
railroads and were determined to shat
ter my evidence if you could. The
examination shows conclusively that
you made UP your mind that the pro-
posed authority should not be given to
iT1ta
and that the power sought to be given
was unnecessary and filled with dis
aSter to commerce. 1t is from be-
ginning to end just such a cross ex-
animation as an attorney for the rail-
road companies would have conducted,
and it was unseemly for you to as
sumo that attitude.
Scene in Committee Room
"The scene in your committee room
is sharply stamped on my memory; it
is impossible that I can be mistaken
about it. Sitting squarely at your right,
just a trifle behind you, sat a gentle
man who as 1 was afterward informed
Is ex-senator Faulkner. I Inquired
what relation he bore to the investiga-
tion, and 1 was told that he was an
employe of the railroad companies to
resist the proposed law. 1 do not know
whether the other senators saw him or
not, for their faces were turned toward
me, and therefore away from him; but
I do know that you saw him. First,
because he was so close to you that
you could not turn your head without
seeing him; second, because you were
in conversation with him a part of the
time; third, because L saw him with
his hand on your shoulder pass to you
a question which you read and then put
to me. There can be no mistake about
it, for my senses were as alert just then
as human faculties can be.
You may believe that an investiga-
ton carried on in this manner is in ac-
cordance with fairness and decency. [
do not You may continue in your be-
lief if you like, but 1 shall continue in
my denunciation.
''It appears to me that if you propose
to assail all persons and papers and
magazines that have admitted your
loyalty to the railroads and questioned
your fidelity to the people, you should
give some attention to the attacks that
come from points nearer Washington
than Iowa.
1.-The truth is. senator, that you have
fairly established the reputation of
standing by railroads in the United
States senate. 1t is most unfortunate
that a United States senator should
acquire such a reputation among the
people of the country. 1t is in the high
est degree important that the body of
which you are a member shall enjoy
the fullest public confidence. The
gravest problems which confront us are
those which relate to the regulation
and restriction of special power. These
problems will not be successfully
solved by those whose lives have been
so nodded by corporate thought and
cornorate inflence that they instinct
lively turn to corporation officials and
managers for information and guild
ance. 1t is with profound regret that
I have condemned your course, but my
regret disappears and another feeling
takes it's place when I observe that
you are not only persisting in your in
defensible attitude but are endeavoring
to reach over a thousand miles of space
and advise the Republican voters of
Iowa how to elect a governor. The
burden is too heavy for you; you can
not lift it. The task is too great for
you; you cannot accomplish it,