Omaha daily bee., 1908-05-15
IOWA PRIMARY TINE NEAR
In Three Weeks Voters Speak in Sen
atorial Contest.
CUMMMs MEN CLAIMING GAINS
Politicians Lean More to Allison ana
Ask Basis for Assurances Re-
ceived--New Elements
I'm Fight.

(FrOm Staff Correspondence
'DES MONIES Ia, May H.-(special'l )
Primary election day is just three weeks
distant and both the Allison and the cum
minis forces are claiming a victory. The
Allison forces. which are closely linked
with the standpat political forces OF the
state. claim that the silence OF many voters
in the state presages good things for All
son and the standpat state ticket Ihey
claim that many progressives Will vote ior
Allison and that the attacks on Allison
political record are reacting in taVor OF
Allison. They claim that Allison mas oeeh
lauded by all persons of all factions III
Iowa for many years and that It is too late
in the day now to begin to criticise his
official acts or charge him with intimate
connection with the Credit Mobilier scandal
and that the veteran senator, with more
than forty years in congress to his credit
is too greatly beloved by the people OF iowa
for such criticism TO have any further erect
than that OF boomerang. The Allison
forces Furthermore are claiming victory
for Allison based on township poll OF the
state, which they have made, though there
is some conflict of testimony as to Just how
the poll came out.
Claims of Cummins Men.
On the other hand the Cummins progress
governor and the progressive ticket based
on many different indications In the first
place the northern part of the state they
claim is solidly for Governor Cummins and
that in many of the northern counties
Governor Cummins will get almost all the
vote. There is reason in the claim, because
Governor Cummins has always been con-
ceded to be strong in the northern part OF
the state. On the other hand the Cummins
people claim they will carry most OF the
large cities in the southern part Of the
state, the famous Reservation. There is rea-
son for this, too, because in the old caucus
and convention days they carried the cities,
even Burlington, but lost the counties be-
cause they failed to carry the country dis
tricts in the southern part of the state
Under the primary system things are differ
ent, say the Cummins people. They point
out the fact that in southern Iowa the
farmers in the country districts are not
organized and have voted as led by their
leaders. They will be busy on their farms
and will not come out. In the northern part
of the state the farmers are organized. The
Corn Belt Meat Producers association, one
Of the strongest organizations in the west,
has most of its members in the northern
part of the state. The farmers there are
live to the ISSUES and will vote on primary
day as their fellow republicans in the cities
both north and south will do.
Change In Last Few Weeks.
The Cummins forces are also claiming
that the correspondence inquiries over the
state are In their favor. Three weeks ago
the Cummins headquarters in Des Moines
were not so hopeful. Cummins followers
were saying that something must be done
to get the people awake" They feared
that things were being allowed to drift
There is decidedly a more hopeful sign
about their headquarters now. A score OF
speakers have been put into the field. Gov
error Cummins will have made by the end
of the campaign fully 100 speeches in the
state this campaign.
The Allison forces up to recently had had
but one address, and that by Senator Dolli-
yer at Council Bluffs early in the cam
paign, really before the campaign had in
fact opened. Then he returned a week OIL
two ago and made speeches at Des Moines
Mason City Clinton and ottumwa. This
week speeches are being made by Laft
Young of Des Moines, Major Lacey OF
Oskaloosa, Congressman Birdsall and Mr.
| Torbett of Dubuque. They are all beinl
made in the southern part of the state ir
| the standpat territory, the Reservation
The northern part OF the state which 4.
| Governor Cummins' stronghold and OF
which he largely depends. is as yet undn
vaded, except for a speech by Dolliver a
Mason City and another at Clinton and
few scattering speeches by Torbett anC
persons of lesser note.