Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-11-22
Recent Conference at Creston
Decides to Submit State Nom
nations to Primary
FAuLT-FlNDlNa GATHERING
The President, Hepburn, Credit Cur
rency and O.her Matters Condemned,
While Bryar Stood Alone as Worthy
of Neutrality-suspicious. Not En-
dorsed for Congress.
to Tilnes-Republican.

no state caucus of democratic leaders
to decide on the candidates for the
state offices before the primary next
June. This was one of the things
WOW of the democratic chiefs OF the
Eighth district at Creston the other
day. With The exception Of the IN
formation published in the local papers
of Creston the newspapers of the state
were nearly silent on the meeting and
the democrats of this city, including
Hon. Jerry b. Sullivan, are authority
for the statement that what the news
papers of the state did print concern
ing the meeting was wrong.
In the first place the accounts sent
out got it that the meeting passed
resolutions endorsing credit currency
Mr.. Sullivan and others say that the
resolutions condemned credit currency
and condemned the president for the
part he has taken in the currency
matter The resolutions condemned
Hepburn for the position NE has taken
| in the matter Of river improvements
and In generally favoring the corpora
tions. and endorsed Bryan for the
democratic nomination for president.
During the discussion preceding the
enactment CT the primary election law
at the last session of the legislature
1t was pointed out that there was
nothing to prevent minority parties
calling caucuses and thus selecting
their cand dates IL they wished to
do so. At least the candidates could
be agreed upon tho of course 1t would
be necessary to have a vote at the
primary and make the legal selection
at that time and in that way.
This matter was brought up at the
democratic conference at Creston and
| was mentioned. 1t was thought that
because of The fact that the conference
was more or less local in the Eighth
district an6 was not called by any OF
the state committee nor to be state
wide meeting, any action on state mat
tiers or state candidates would be out
of place. 1t was then suggested that
the resolutions ask the state commit
tee to call such a meeting, but this
matter dropped the understanding be-
ing that The sentiment was against
any such action and in favor of MAX
| ing the selections thru the primary
| election.
While no action was taken on a
candidate for congress from the
Eighth district 1t was generally under
stood that Claude r. Porter will be
the only democratic candidate out.
Railroad Commissioner N. s. Ket-
chum has proposed tentatively
scheme fol. fixing express rates which
is being studied by the other commits
l,sioners and shippers with much inter-
est and may be adopted by the board
| if after careful investigation by Mr..
Ketchum and his colleagues, it bears
all the tests, and that outcome is pre-
saged by the fact that it has stood ev-
cry test 50 far put upon it.
| Mr.. Ketchum has suggested that
since the Jaw passed by the last gener-
al assembly requires the board of COM
mfssioners; to fix express rates, the
board should do it by making simple
rule applying its freight classification
as to less than car loads of merchan-
disc. WITH such modification of the
rates as would be equitable compensa-
ton for the carrying Of the feight on
passenger trains.
There IS no classification Of mer-
chandise carried by the express COM
panies new, except in such notable in
stances al, currency, diamonds, etc. The
rate is determined, theoretically, by the
distance travelled. ~
Under the Ketchum rule the mer-
chandise carried by the express COM
panies or by the railroads in their
baggage cars, would be given the
classification that the same commodt-
ties have under the freight rate sched-
ule.
1t has been suggested that on the
four classes under which merchandise
Is handled by the railroads as freight in
less than car lots the express rate
that is, The rate for handling the bus
mess on passenger trains-may be
fixed at three times the freight rate,
which, experiments have shown, would
be material reduction of the present
express rate This is only tentatively
suggested, Of course, subject to change
on Investigation by Mr.. Ketchum, and
lis used here merely to illustrate the
idea he has advanced.
He would add four other classes to