Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-16
NO DEBATE AFTER ALL.

NO DEBATE AFTER ALL.
The debate at Spirit Lake was not a
debate at all, as the event turned out.
knowing that a campaign document in
the form of four-page newspaper
supplement had been circulated broad
cast by the Perkins managers thruout
Dickinson county and northwest Iowa,
containing false charges and misrepre-
sensations concerning him. Governor
Cummins took up each charge serea-
TIM, stating the real facts. quoting Of
fetal records and demanding that Per-
kins tell the people why he had mis-
represented, but Perkins ignored the
an answer to any of them. He stuck
to his set speech attacking Cummins'
record as a republican. Cummins gave
hin enough to do in the way of an ar
gulnent to keep him busy, but Perkins
said that he had come there against his
will ana did not care to argue.
litical influence of the o. the North
western, the Rock Island the Milwau-
leee and the Illinois Central railroads
were all for Perkins and asked Perkins
to tell those people why that was so,
but Perkins ignored the question.
I'm Mr.. Perkins paper and in his
campaign supplement the charge had
been made that Cummins. when a
member Of the legislature, had opposed
Larrabee in the latter's efforts to Sc
cure railway regulation. This supple
:nent contained a group picture of
.Cummins with twelve other legislators
who, it was charged, had boasted of
serving the railways. In view of this,
Cummins showed that he had opposed
onsy a bill introduced by Berryhill
which would have been demonstrations
al, and that he actually helped to draft
ing the Iowa railway commission power
to regulate rates. To prove that he
had helped Larrabee, he read letter
from the ex-governor, in which the lat
ter said: Il have much pride in our
law of IS, which you helped much to
frame l know you are strain
ing every nerve to free our state from
corporation domination. You should
have the support of all our people in
your contest" Cummins then asked
Perkins to apologize for misrepresent-
ing him, or explain why he did it, but
Perkins ignored the question.
Cummins then quoted from Mr.. Per-
kins' newspaper in 1888, showing that
while he was helping Larrabee Perkins
was webbing and cautioning the legis-
lature to go slow. Cummins then
asked Perkins to defend his record as
shown by these editorials, but Perkins
ignored the question.
Then Cummins showed that he fav-
! favored the Crossley bill and when that
had been killed he had favored the
Flsnniken bill. Perkins campaign
supplement had charged Cummins with
insincertiy on this issue because his
friends had defeated the bill intro
duced by the standpatters to conf1ne
primaries to county elections only.
Cummins then demanded that Perkins
tell those people where he stood on the
primary; whether if nominated and
elected he would recommend a state
wide primary, but Perkins ignored the
question.
Cummins was numerically severe on
Perkins, but he was justified from the
nature of the campaign document
which the railroads had circulated in
the interests of Mr.. Perkins. The facts
are that Perkins is not speech maker
and can't debate. Had he tried to meet
the governors argument he would have
been lost. He ignored the alternatives
argument and delivered set speech in
which he admitted that he was
standpatter when the republican con-
vention stood pat, and a progressive
when the republican convention de-
clared for progression. He presented
himself as a republican first, last and
all of the time charging Cummins with
having deserted the party on the pro-
flibition question. He devoted most of
his time to showing that Cunmins when
private citizen in the practice of law,
had served railroads and corporations |
mostly because they were his clients
He twitted Cummins about his admis- |
sion that Iowa's rate on butter and |
eggs to eastern markets was too high. |
He said he was opposed to Cummins' |
views on Canadian reciprocity and was |
net candidate for the United States
senate and was not trying to regulate
all the affairs of the universe.
Perkins part in the debate was a |
disappointment, but it was unfair to
pit him against a man like Cummins |
He does not measure shoe high. He |
would not have been there, either, if
he could have had his own way about
it. Pete Marcy, a railroad politician,