Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-09-27
THE ISSUE.
EX-GOVERNOR LARRABEE
FOR THE PEOPLE
Urges Support Of Governor Cummins
in His Fight in Iowa.


Ex-Gov. William Larrabee: what are
Governor Cummins' offenses? l under
stand they bring great many charges
against him. What are they? / can tell
YOU. Governor Cummins was employed
some years ago to help break down the
barb wire monopoly in this state. He was
engaged several years in great suit.
remember the state legislature took UP
the matter and he conducted 1t to sue
cessful issue. / think that was the first
time there was any disposition of the
monopolies to find fault with Mr.. Cum
Minis The next offense was when he
was elected member of the legislature.
The railroad men expected him to serve
them because he had been in their en-
ploy before that as a railroad engineer
and also as an attorney. They expected
him to serve them after he was elected
10 the state office, just as they expected
Senator James F. Wilson to serve them.
Senator Wilson, after he was elected sem
ator OF the United States declined to ac-
Ccpt a railroad pass. He said: have
different clientage now ] am at work
for my client. / am not at liberty to ac-
cept any favors from the corporations
any more Thomas Updegraff was in the
same position. He had been railroad
attorney; he was elected member OF
congress, and he served his constituents
"
had employed him turned upon like
tiger and tried to destroy him. Governor
Cummins in the Twenty-second general
assembly acted the part of falthfui
member of the legislature. He exercised
his best Judgment.
III was told the other day by one of
the corporation managers in this state
that / had written a letter giving too
much credit to the part Governor Cum
Minis took in that railway legislation in
1883. ! said to him that i knew that
Governor Cummins was a good friend
to the legislature in 1883, and that law
stands on our statute books today. He
was appointed a member of the confer
cnce committee that put the finishing
touches upon that law. He was put
upon that committee upon my recon-
nlendation | said that he wasn't the
servant of the corporations, although
they expected him to serve them, that
he was a fair, square man, and that was
all we wanted of that legislature. You
remember how the Legislature was mis-
represented 1t was charged 1T showed
a spirit of anarchy i'm respect to rights
Of property that We were going to de-
stroy railroads and all that. i saw he
was fair man, and | saw that he got
on that committee and he voted for
the law, as did every other member OF
the general assembly, and that law has
never had a word changed from that
day until this.
Ills next offense was, if | remember
correctly. he vetoed what Is called the
Molesberry bill That was bill that
would practically turn the state into
kind of New Jersey a corporation state,
a state for the purpose of manufacturing
corporations. He incurred the dislike OF
the railway men when he vetoed that
measure.
II think the next offense was, as a
member of the executive council, Whlch
increased the assessments of the railway
property in this state, and this was the
greatest offense of ALL He had to make
q strong contest to succeed in increasing
the assessment One who has never
served on that executive council does not
know the pressure that is brought
on a man TO hold the railway assessment
down. He resisted improper pressure and
raised the assessment. and this was his
greatest offense of all. 81 as
But another followed: The bribing
power Of the railway companies in the
state of Iowa is the railway pass 1t is
the commencement of bribery system
that they have carried on for years. 1t
is very seductive little piece of paste
board but a man that would refuse a
fifty or a thousand dollar bill will accept
a, railway pass as a courtesy. He sue
ceeded in urging upon the legislature ana
getting the legislature to pass law pro-
hibiting the use of free pass. 1t was
a grand thing to do, step in the right
direction; to bring the state out from
under this corporation domination. Now
that is about, as / understand 1t, llst
; ofohis offenses, and 1 would like to ask
! you if they are serious in your estima-
ton.
~ am told that he has increased the
assessment of our real estate in Iowa;
that he has increased our taxes. now
unless the law has been changed since
/ was a member of the executive council,
the governor has no more to do in hXlns
the assessment of real estate, nor as
much as your board of supervisors have.
The executive council can equallze the as
sessments which are made in the various
counties, they can take off from one ana
put on to another, deduct from one and
add to another they cannot add to the as-
gregate unless the law has been changed
as / remember it. This statement that
he has increased your taxation is falsl-
fication 1t is an effort to impose upon
YOU by making you think that he has IN
creased your taxation when he has not
done anything of the sort On the other
hand he has helped all the real estate
owners because he has increased the tax
alton of the railway companies, the share
that they bear of the taxation they bear
in this state, and that is the reason they
wish to defeat him. Be true to a man in
political life who shows independence of
character who is not willing to serve
those corporations.
Some say he is democrat Well
don't care if he is n democrat so long as
he does as good square work as he has
been doing in his political life. | am
willing il there are fifty thousand demo-
cratic votes for him, as some say there
will be. During the last fifty years /
have frequently voted for good demo-
crat and if you call him a democrat IL
he is nominated. nothing will give me
more pleasure than to vote for demo-
crat again. / can say to you, ladies and
gentlemen, in my opinion, he is more
nearly an Abraham Lincoln republican
than the men who are trying to steal the
nomination from him in the state this
year.
"But they say he Is ambitious! Like
Brutus they desire to Stay him because
he is ambtious and what n spectacle
1t would be to see Brutus and Cato and
casca and ella and Betillus and Ira
bonias washing their hands up to their
elbows in his blood. And then from diff
fcrent parts of the state you would see
these great headlines in the corporation
journals: Peace, freedom and liberty to
corporations -