Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-10-31
HEPBURN HAS
HARD Fight
Hawaii's Friend Beset
With Many Foes
and Aging

DIES MONIES, Ia, Oct. 3. - Coz.
William Peters Hepburn, member of
the House from the Eighth Iowa Dis
trict, chairman of the Committee ON
! Interstate and Foreign Commerce,
and one of the most conspicuous fig
ures on the Republican side in tito
lower body of Congress, has q large
and variegated assortment of trouble
on his hands. II Is talked in both
Republican and Democratic circles
that Col. Hepburn may meet his Wa
terloo in this campaign.
| "A close struggle is now on in the
district and while Col. Hepburn in
recent years has been elected by sub
stantial pluralities, he Is now hard
pressed and 1t is regarded hero rs
certain that If he escapes actual de-
feat he will at most find himself re-
turned to Congress by narrow mar
gin.
Until lately, II has been generally
supposed. that Colonel Hepburn was
safe. Now IL is admitted by the Re-
publican leaders here that the Eighth
district Is enc of the weak spots of
Iowa, so far as the Congressional
ticket Is concerned. 1t may be az
pected that the struggle of Repro.en-
tative Hepburn to save himself from
defeat will attract national notice for
the reason that he IS prominent be-
cause OF his committee position in
connection with all subjects of rail-
road and commerce legislation.
fractional Strife
The dangerous position in which
Colonel Hepburn finds himself Is in
some degree an outgrowth of the
protracted factional war that has
ragged for years in Iowa between The
Cummins and the anti-Cummlns
forces or the progressives and the
standpatters. One of the first re-
suits OF the growth of the progress
sive movement was to force out OF
Congress Colonel David b. Hendef-
son, former Speaker of the House.
long Representative from the Third
district. This was followed bv the
defeat at TIE polls two years ago of
Major John +. Lacey, who had long
represented the Sixth district in tho
House. Then came the retirement Of
Representative Cousins. of the Fifth
district, and Representative Birdsail,
of the Third district. both of whom,
and particularly Cousins. were OPP
posed by the progressives. In the
primaries OF the Seventh district a
few months ago Representative Hull
narrowly escaped being beaten a
large share of the progrcssives of the
district turning against him. Now
Colonel Hepburn is in jeopardy.
Railroad Rate Champion
About the time the fight began in
, Congress for railroad rate Legislation
. Representative Hepburn was freely
: charged by his opponents IN the dis
trlct and In the State with being Il
railroad sympathizer. Iowa became
a center of agitation for the Govern
ment regulation of rates The sell.
timent for such legislation sraw
strong in his district. and II was not
long until Colonel Hepburn became
one of the active champions of rail-
road rate legislation and one of the
closest advisers of the President on
the subject. His course. however
has not served entirely to still the OF
position of the radical Republicans
They feel that in most of the con tests
they have had in the State Colonel
Hepburn has ranged himself on the
side of the standpatters and has sci.
dom overlooked an opportunity tc
down the Cummins movement. II Il
true that in the recent Allison-Cum-
Minis contest, Colonel Hepburn asTuf
ed practically a neutral attitude, but
this has not served to remove the bit.
ter feelings of good many of tht
radical members OF his party.
Has a Lively Fos
The Democratic nominee for the
House In the Eighth district is State
Senator W. ID. Jameson, editor of tn,
Shenandoah World, a young man %
'"l' Npili'N anu iuuCu tHeIby. jam
lesson is making careful canvass O.
the entire district, speaking In ewes,
county and township. as far as pos
sible. Colonel Hepburn is also on til,
stump, but he is now pressing har,
I on the age. of 10 and is not able {:
y go at his political foes in the ham
} mer-and-tongs fashion that he did II
| his younger and harder days.
In the seventh district Representa-
tive Hull will bc'returned withou
| question, although he is encounter
| ing strong opposition from organic,
l labor. In the Sixth district there |,
close contest between n. T. Ken
dali, who has been Speaker of tn
House in the Iowa Legislature, an,
| ID, w Hamilton. Mr.. Hamilton /
N now the Democratic member Of Cpn