Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-10-23
On The Firing Line.
porter's Methods.
BY Alex Miller.

INEEEEEEEEEEGsAS
Porter's Methods.
Which one Of Shakespeare's charac-
tiers was it that sarcastically retorted
to criticism that Il was not trying
to please thee?" At any rate, in the
language of the myriad minded bard,
we give Porter's critics the come
back, HE is not trying to please Re
publicans." If he pleased Republicans
more. he would please Democrats less
and that were indeed fatal blunder.
The Cummins Republicans say Por-
ter does not make Democratic
speech at all. but that he merely as
sails Governor Cummins and his rec
ord. Well, admit the charge. What
more absolutely dominates this cam
paign than the personality Of Hand
some Albert?" And we quote the
epithet because we got it out of forty
or fifty standpat newspapers, like the
Washington Press, the Burlington
Hawkeye. the Cedar Rapids Republic
an, the Nonpareil, the Des Moines
| Capital and others. We do not claim
, authorship.
Uncle George Perkins. a pretty good
sort of Republican of the old school,
but not of the new, says Cummins Is
the issue. He is the predominant,
overshadowing issue, and why not
meet the issue instead of beating
about the bush? The Democrats are
willing to take the consequences OF
Porter's act and abide by them.
They stand behind whatever he does
or says, so let Cummins Republicans
hold their horses. This is not their
fight. It Is the Democrats own fam
lily affair.
Governor Cummins stands out pre-
eminent and alone. He is the issue.
Perkins said so. He invites COMPARE
sons with all other Republican gov
ernors and Porter would show himself
| q coward not to meet the issue. Cum
Minis stands out In the limelight in
the minds of his worshipers like the
Dictionary of Mr.. Dick" in David
Copperfeld. Why not talk about him.
Mr.. Dick talked about nothing but
his dictionary. He is pre-eminent
like Mrs. Jarley's waxworks were pre-
eminent. She thought OF nothing
but her waxworks and the progressive
Republicans think only of Cummins.
And Cummins stands for just about
as much as did Mrs. Jarleys wax
works. Look up your Dickens and
locate Mrs. farley and her wonderful
waxwork show and you will begin to
see why Cummins is made the issue
in this campaign.
| Porter shows up his extravagant
record. He gets the figures from the
books and from Republican newspa-
pers. II he is wrong about it, then
half the Republican papers are
wrong. II 1t is bad taste to make
Cumuins the issue, half the Republic
an party is wrong. Cummins makes a
great show of independence and of q
demand for his denomination. and yet
he has to fight step by step and inch
by inch in order that he may get the
nomination. There is a great demand.
q popular uprising for Cummins in
his mind, yet he only wins the nomi-
nation after one of the bitterest
fights ever seen In any party in Iowa
! He poses as q reformer, yet taxei
increased under him as under nc
former governor. He Ia railroad
nemesis, yet his labor commissioner
Brigham, rode on q railroad pass, 9
thing that even political blacklef
would have too much honor to do
and we haven't heard that Cummin,
has criticised this case Of thieyery
for that is what It was. He poses al
the friend Of the common people, ye
he spends more Of their money OF
foolish trips to launch cruisers ant
gunboats than any other governor
Iowa ever had.
And the progressivss whine because
Porter makes their idol the issue. In
stead, If Cummins is so Immaculate
and so high and mighty, they ough
to welcome the fight on his personal
ity. Surely, they have no complain
that they do not know what Porte
believes in.
Il Cummins talks 2-cent railroad fare
but does not put it in hts platform
although he holds the convention IL
the hollow of his hand. He talks
} about tariff reform, but lets the stand
patters write a high tariff platform
He talks economy, but spends more
money than any other governor. He
talks harmony, but he himself was 6
bolter when Boies ran for governor
| He is flirting with the Prohibition
lists with a half promise that he will
favor the overthrow of local self-gov
eminent in the interest Of their hob
by, while sending his henchmen abou
the state to gather in the saloon vote
And they make the charge that Por
ter is a Prohibitionist.
| We accept the challenge in so mucl
that we retort, Porter is believer IL
decent, clean, honorable living. HI
has never voted for a prohibition
measure, but he never drank drol
of whisky in his life. If he has to Ut
boozer to become governor, the
Democrats do not want him elected
The Democratic party has always
been opposed to prohibition and Ii
now. Porter stands with the party
He opposes prohibition as un-Demo
cratic, but he favors decency and
soberness and the Democratic party
stands behind him and fights for him