The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-10-15
some hot SHOT
FOR HEPBURN,
Bedford Free Press Fires Broad
side al Congressman.

II. c. Beard, in Bedford Free Press:
We can give some facts regarding
! Hepburn's rate regulation enthusiasm.
In 1894 Hepburn was in Mt Ayr at
tending big Republican rally. The
next day he went to Davis City on the
freight. The editor of the Press went
to kellerton on the same freight. At
the depot that DAY Colonel Hepburn
was in the care and custody of How
ard Tedford After Colonel Hepburn
had seated himself in the caboose, P.
A. Hunter of Poe township came in
the car and Tedford introduced him to
Hepburn. Mr.. Hunter said: Colonel
Hepburn, am very glad of an oppor-
tunlty to speak with you. | would like
to have you tell me what you will do
for us regarding rate regulation" Ted
ford was equal to the occasion and
called the editor of the Press from
seat in the rear and said 81 want
you to meet the Colonel" He pulled
colonel Hepburn away from Mr.. Hun
ter and prevented Mr. Hunter from
saying anything more to Hepburn. Mr.
Hunter left the car. After he had gone
away Tedford told him that Hunter
was bolter and that he could not be
depended upon politically, and Hep
| burn replied that they one time had
such men in the party in Page county,
but that they had given them notice
that their proper place was in the
| npm0rr9t artv nd Cd
to do the same to Mr.. Hunter. That
was only in 1904. yet before the next
congressional election Hepburn was
claiming to be entitled to the votes of
all Republicans because he was the
author of the measure that he had in
suited Mr.. Hunter for asking his opin-
ion upon. Is not that something like
a political chameleon would do? 1t is
a bad selection for the Hepburn sup
porters. Their candidate has every
other candidate in the state beaten to
the position by thousand miles. We
do not believe Hepburn can beat ia
mieson to any Cummins men votes.
the election of Cummins in 1906. He
had control of enough members of the
legislature recently in Des Moines to
have made Cummns senator, but moth
ing was said. He was against Cum
Minis then and had his men vote for
other than the man named by the reg
ular Republican caucus. But now, in
side of three weeks, he is trying to
change the color of his skin to fool
these Cummins men. The Cummins
men Of this county had representa-
tive on the steering committee against
Cummins and they are not apt to be
SO easily fooled. A political chame-
Surely you did not mean that when
you support Hepburn! No, it cannot
be true.
w. P. Hepburn first came into prom
inence as a railroad attorney, as a
representative of the great %" sys-
tenn. Elected TO congress in 1880, he
so persistently allied himself with the
railroads and corporate interests that
at the end of six years he was turned
Gown in disgrace, but was taken up
by the federal power and given an
appointive Office. Six years later, in
1892. he regained his seat in congress,
evidently wiser man. But in short
time the old tendencies showed them
selves again, and since then he has
been drifting farther and farther away
from the Iowa people and becoming
more and more the lieutenant Of
| Speaker Cannon and the tool of the
interests. There is not room here to
60 into detail regarding his record,
but just for example take his action
on the ship subsidy bill, which he
tried to crowd through congress; his
opposition to the Panama canal; his
opposition to the improvement of the
inland waterways, an Improvement
that is bound to come and which
means mighty lot to the farmers of
the middle west; his opposition to the
shortening of hours of railroad en-
ployes; his opposition to the en-
opposition to everything that was at
all distastefnl to the railroad element.
He has been against the farmer and
against the laboring man, practically
every time
Hepburn needs Cummins men to
work for him and Cummins men to
vote for him, but when he had votes
enough in the bunch of legislative
boilers to make Cummins senator he
was not the least bit active about de-
livering those votes to Cummins. Hep
burn always has and ALWAYS will be
against Ca,mmins