Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-09
PERKINS, POLITICS AND pARrlsANsHlP.

PERKINS, POLITICS AND PARTiSANSHlP.
The Sioux City Journal resents the
Times Republicans reference to Mr..
Perkins political record as "vacillating"
and calls upon God and man to deny
that its candidate has always been in
side the republican party. Mr. Perkins
Is willing to put his political record
against that of the idol Of the Times
Repblican and that Of the T.-R. edi-
tor. In short Mr.. Perkins rejoins in a
tone that would indicate much irrita
ton and peevishness.
Still, Mr.. Perkins must stand by the
record the political record, and in
whole government, PARTISAN record
differs somewhat from a political rec
ord. State politics in Iowa exist not
between parties SO much as inside the
republican party. Here the republican
party is the people. Around the estab-
lisshed principle of protection and its
cal faith, stands the solid, phalanx Of
Iowa voters All Iowa republicans are
protectionists. 1t is inside the party
in Iowa that the political records are
made. Mr.. Perkins PARTISAN record is
on the poll books. His political record
is written in the files of the Sioux City
journal, and it is vacillating. No one
is reading Mr.. Perkins out of the re-
publican party. Reference is made to
his record within the party. And the
line of that record is as wavy as the
register of a sphygmograph.
Mr.. Perkins has stayed in the re-
publican party in Iowa. He has held
office of one kind or another by the
gift of the party nearly half the time
since he attained the right to vote. Mr.
Perkins no doubt has been republican
from principle. The T.-R. does not
that Mr.. Perkins has never been hard
to find when offices or honors We're to
be distributed. Why shouldn't Mr..
Perkins be republican? He has been
used WE'LL
Nevertheless in politics Mr.. Perkins
has been trimmer. Cautious and cold
blooded he has seen others lead forlora
hopes and bear the brunt of battle,
while he followed safely with the re-
serves, and raised the shout Of victory.
Among the men who most respect him
he is known as political "straddler"
"a .'teeterer." If there is a faction of
republicanism where he has not pitch
ed his tent at night to fold it like the
Arabs in the morning and quietly steal
away, it would be interesting to know
Of it.
Mr.. Perkins has been on both sides
ST every factional question in Iowa. He
was straddling on the prohibition
question. He bestrode rate regulation.
TIe f1uttered from limb to limb on the
primary question. He came out bold
" for rate regulation when the fight
appeared won. He had no use for
= statewide primaries when it became
evident that the measure would fail in
the legislature. He fought for the
shelter plank" in one convention, was
temporary chairman of another where
he belled the keynote of tariff revision
and today is the candidate of the adj
vocates of unchanged schedules. Ar
IDENTIFY against railroad control of politics
few months ago he is today the rep
resentative candidate of the corpora
tions and]the pleased and gratified re-
cipient of their aid. He depends and
must depend on the. standpatters and
the corporations for success in his
struggle for the nomination. A tariff
revisionist yesterday, a standpat candi-
date today; a plunled knight in the ranks
Of popular government yesterday, to-
day the champion of corporation DOM
sination of Iowa politics! Supported by
Blythe, and other Iowa railroad attor-
neys, aided by Elkins!
If this is consistency; If this is not
vacillation, the T.-R. is wrong and MIR.
Perkins is political Savaronola