Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-04-06
Seventh District Congressman
Must Reorganize His Forces
For Coming Campaign
LAFE YOUNG is LukEwARM
Has Failed to Land an Office and His
Newspaper Not Fighting Very Hard
For Either Allison or HuIl-situation
in District is Unusual - Activity
Might Come With Job.
Special to Times Republican.

| Des Moines. April 6.-When Cap
| tain j. A. I. Hull. congressman from
the Seventh district of Iowa, and
chairman of the house military at
( fairs committee, comes back to Iowa
to arrange for his campaign for re-
nomination he will find his old ma
chine shot all to pieces The fact is,
he cannot reorganize it in Polk coun
/ ty. He must organize an entirely new
machine before beginning work on his
, campaign.
port to quote Hull as saying that he
would be in no hurry to return to Des
Moines, as there is no necessity for 1t,
and that he will not have as much diff
fculty in defeating Prouty this time
as he did four years ago. Politicians
who are we'll informed on the situa-
ton are at loss to understand this
interview. AS matter of fact, the
men who were the managers for Hull
in 1904 are this year working for Judge
S. F. Prouty.
l. NJ Leisure, John Halloran. Mike
Halloran. John Starkey, Senator C. C.
Dowell, Nat Coffin, John Griffin, ,rom-
inent politicians locally, We're tn real
managers of Hulrs campaign in 1904.
This year they are supporting Judge
Prouty Among the managers OF Hulls
campaign in 1904 who are still with
him are J. l. Meyerly, who is now
postmaster, and John Ryan, the as
sistant postmaster, and w. V. Wilcox,
pension agent, all three of whom are
holding federal positions, and for that
reason eliminated from taking active
charge of the campaign, and Honor
able Ilafe Young and James u. Berry
hill
While Berryhill and Young were ac-
tive Hull men during the last cam
paign. they were not in actual charge.
They merely helped out, and are e&-
pected to do the same this year, put
they are the only two men OF the real
Hull machine outside of office holders
who are left this year.
on rle other hand, however, Prouty
still has the support of all the men
who were with him in 1904. At that
time Joe Tate, ex-county clerk; wal
ter Irish, court reporter; Joe Dyer an
attorney: W. b. Haines, an insurance
man, and Others. were the managers
of Prouty's campaign. They are all
with Prouty again this year.
One of the things that contributed 10
the defeat of Judge Prouty in l9O4
was the fact that preceding the cam
paign Hull won a notable victory IN
the Des Moines city election Mayor
Mattern was the candidate for Hull.
That was in the days when the entire
district turned on the results in the
cty of Des Moines. When Hull gained
the city election victory men VINO had
been for Prouty Topped to Hull in or
der to get positions under the CITY
government. There was an election IN
Des Moines the other day ana the re-
sult was the election of commission
of five men to govern the city VINO are
not friends of Congressman Hull. Inc
majority at least are friends of Prouty
and the commission has selected CIVIL
serv,ce commission that will select en-
nloves on merit so that at least there
will not be the advantage for Hull that
there was in 1904. The patronage CIV
en- out from the city hall has IN years
past been one Of the big factors IN the
determination of the congressman from
tho Seventh district and this is lost to
Hull this year.
These things are factors in the situa-
tion that insure at least very spirited
fight this wear. But these factors are
not all. Hon. Lafe Young, who is not
in politics for nothing, has been MAX
ing numerous journeys to Washington
for something. Lafe's. paper, the Des
Moines Capital, has been somewhat 81
lent on politics for some two or three
weeks In the meantime his journeys
to Washington continued. Last satur-
day the "mflk in the cocoanut" was
disclosed when it was published IN
Washington that Lafe wanted the ap-
pointment of public printer. 1t Is un-
derstood now that before he gets into
the fight for Hull or Allison either very
deep. they must "do something for
him" The intelligence that Lafe was
a candidate for the appointment at the
hands of the president was followed
closely by the Associated Press dis
patches that an Illinois man had been
appointed to the position. This leaves
Mr.. Young and the Daily Capital still
outside the Hull breastWorks.
Another element in the fight this
wear will be the Des Moines Daily
News. The News is flushed with vic
tory in the city election and it will give
its support to Prouty as it has in the
past and in Des Moins and the Seventh
district the News is a paper of influ-
ence.
The campaign will be two months
long. 1t opens with the speeches of
Prouty this week in Story county. II
will end on June with the primaries.