Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-09-12

y contaminated with democracy.
d The first suggestion we have fror
d Mr. Cummins showing that he ha
awakened to the fact that Iowa wa
u being controlled by the railroads
t was after he had served as governo
e for nearly five years and about tn
s same time that his ambition to b.
e governor for the third term, as tn
only man who fully answered tn,
a emergency" was made known tt
3 the public. From that time on, man.
and vigorous have been the verba
assaults he has made on the railwa,
companies of this state; and after +:
strenuous campaign, the like of whicl
I, has never occurred in Iowa, wei
known to all of you, the republican
party was persuaded that the "emer
, gency" had arrived, and that Mr.
Cummins was the only man who full,
: measured up to it. With a committee
on resolutions, headed by the able
editor of his official paper, how
strange it is the emergency" which
required this unusual procedure. is
not more fully disclosed IN the plat.
form presented to that convention
In less than dozen lines of printed
matter, is contained the entire dec.
laration OF. that platform on this i'm.
portant question; and while the dec
laration is made that statutes are fav-
ored which will purge from the poll
tics of our state and nation the in
fluence of corporate power, the meth
cd how and when this is to be accom-
plished is left in oblivion. After such
a campaign and violent assertions
that this was campaign of princi-
pies and not men, this plank of the
platform reminds one of the old story
OF the great mountain that growled
and -umbled and oiled, and 10, it
brought forth mouse. How STR
ing in contrast the plan and specl-
fic declaration of the democratic plat
form. Not content alone with declar-
ing our purpose to eliminate the rail-
roads from the politics of the state,
we go to the very root of the matter
by pointing out way to remove the
inducements the railroads have to
enter politics. l am at loss to un-
derstand how it is, that there is a.
single thing in this campaign on the
part of the Governor, except his
election to a third term as means OF
reaching the United States senate,
why it is not to be found in the
lengthy platform written by his
friends and adopted by convention
absolutely in his personal control. No
man however wise or discerning, I'M
acquainted with other facts, could
read the platform and from that be
apprlsed OF the crisis that hal re1,-
dered imperative his third nornina-
ton
Few of US realize the great power
vested in the executive council in the
matter of the taxation OF the rail.
roads of this state The Importance
of this work cannot be overeslimatea
BY conversation with many people,
have found that they have not stop.
ped to think that while ne property
OF the individual taxpayer is valued
by man living In the same town
ship and supposedly acquainted with
values, that the 10000 miles of rall.
road in Iowa, with the gross earn.
ings in Iowa of about 10000, 900, and
an assessed valuation at the present
time of about $6O.OOO,OO0, is invested
In the hands OF four men, in addition
to their responsibility of their several
respective offices. | assume that. as
a rule, the men who are selected for
the OFFICES of governor, secretary of
state, treasurer and auditor, are usu-
ally selected with view to the other
duties OF those respective offices: and
apprehend, for illustration, in the
selection of an auditor of state, that
the people have in mind, when test
ing his qualifications, the duties that
pertain directly to that Office; the
control of the insurance companies
and banking interests of lnls state,
etc., and that he is not selected with
view to his knowledge and ability
TO pass upon the value of the railroad
property And, undoubtedly, in times
past. while the people of this state
had In mind making their selection
for the four offices composing the ex-
ecutive council the qualifications
which render the candidate fit or un.
tit for the duties appertaining to that
particular office, that the railroads
had in view but one of these pertain
ing to that office, the fixing of the val
uation OF their property on which they
must pay taxes in each taxing dis.
trict in the state. No man in Iowa is
better qualified to speak along these
lines than Lieutenant Governor Her.
riott, who for several years, while fill
ing the office of state treasurer, was
called upon to assist in the making
of the assessment of the railroads. In
a published article reprinted from
"Wallace's Farmer" in 1900, | find
this statement: "a study of the as
sessments of any one year or series
OF years shows that neither gross
earnings nor any other fact has been
uniformly taken by the executive
council as a basis or determining fac
tor. There has been neither sense
nor system in the assessment of the
railroads. Chaos is the only descrip-
tive in Webster applicable. am not
alone in SO thinking; the most vehe-
ment denunciation of the method, or
lack OF method, in vogue in assessing
railroads ! have ever seen or heard
has been uttered by the attorneys and
TAX commissioners Of Iowa railroads.
at the annual hearing before the ex-
ecutive council. An exhibit of the as
sessments clearly demonstrates the
grave injustice inflicted on the rail-
roads and on the public and explains
the enforced participation of our rail-
roads in politics and the severe con-
domination of the procedure of our
council by all who have given the
matter any serious thought" Permit
me to digress long enough to remark
that back of 1900 Mr.. Herriott seems
to have had some idea of the roal-
roads participation in Iowa politics,
though at that time Mr.. Cummins was
appearing for the Des Moines Union
railway before John Herriott, as a
member OF lne executive council, and
1t was not until six long years after
wards that Governor Cummins seem
ingly awOke to the fact of the rail