Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-02-03
"Plate' Editorials Furnished
Gratis to Country Newspap-
ers Barred Under Primary
PERKINS BELITTLEs THE LAW
Attitude of Sioux City Newspaper Sur
prises PoIiticians-Forty Paid Work
ers at Ono Time in Employ of Per-
kins' Managers-Primary Law In
tentions.
Special to rimes-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Mones, Feb. 3.-The only paid
political press bureau that ever oper-
ated in Des Moines is put out of bus
| mess by the Interpretation that At
torney General H. w. Byers puts or
the primary election law BY paid
political press bureau is meant per-
sons who do not work for legitimate
newspapers and receive their sole
but persons who send out news which
| is printed by newspapers but who re-
| ceive their compensation from some
Interest or political source other than
J the newspapers which print the matter
| they send out.
! 1t will be remem bered that follow
| ing the last convention Alex Miller of
! Washington, Iowa, who was the head
| of the real democratic literary bureau
| for that campaign, admitted In an IN
| terview that Julian Richards, who had
! been candidate for secretary OF
| state, received several hundred dollars
| for work in the interests of the stand
| pat wing of the democratic press
! bureau There were others worked
with Mr.. Richards. Richards worked
with the Perkins campaign committee
till after the republican convention.
al
primary law does not allow that sort
of thing.
1t has been the plans of the con-
Germs furnishing plate matter TO
country newspapers to furnish SUCH
| matter free TO country newspapers and
receive the compensation from the
same persons who employe the press
bureau. Recently some of the concerns
which furnish this plate matter made
an investigation of things in Iowa and
began looking up new business" for
1908. They intended to draw their
funds from the candidates but discov-
cred that the primary law will not al
low it.
The same press bureau that worked
in 1906 for George d. Perkins and
then switched off and worked for the
democratic ticket also employed large
number of other workers. At one time
there was on the pay roll of that bu-
reau forty men who were out all over
the state 'lining things up for Per-
kns." Some of these men We're Joe
Toulouse, Allen Morrison and others.
One of the memberS of that press bu-
reau of Perkins said one Sunday that
the next morning there would be twen-
ty men leave Des Moines for various
sections of the state to do political
work.
Under the new primary election law
none of this sort Of thing will be pos
sible without endangering those who
violate the law to a penalty. Recently
the Sioux City Journal, for the election
of whose editor emitted a column and
a half slur at the primary election law
among other things, saying: 'It will
be safe on the whole, to snap fingers
at, the Cummins-B -Byers big stick" and
to the Interpretation of the attorney
general that editorial mention favor
able to a candidate must be free and
without consideration and not accom-
panied by the purchase of extra copies
or of advertising space by the candi-
date because such purchase Of extra
copies or editorial space could be con-
strued as have influenced the editorial
expression the Journal declares "Bosh."
The Journal also attempts to slur
newspaper men of Des Moines who
have never received one dollar for any
thing they have written outside of the
compensation paid by the newspapers
they serve.
Many politicians are surprised at the
attitude of the Journal toward the
primary election law. Judge S. F.
Prouty, in his address in this city some
days ago, stated that he was told by
one who was employed in the Perkins
headquarters in 1906 that up to the
state convention S194,OOO had been
spent in Mr.. Perkins interest as a
candidate for governor. Bills to that
amount had been allowed and there
were $4,000 more in bills that had not
been passed upon, and still more bills.
he did not know how much, yet to
come in. OF course. Mr.. Perkins was
hardly able to afford that much out of
his own pocket, and it seems doubt
full to most politicians that disinter-
ested patriotic citizens, who had no
contribute that amount.
Attorney General Byers said on the
day that he gave his Interpretation of
the primary to the newspapers: In
giving this opinion I have taken as
the basis of my Interpretation that the
intent and purpose of the law is to
prevent votes or political influence of
any kind from being a commodity on
intends and expects that citizens shall
support candidates of their choice and
get out and work for them. but Wiler-
ever a citizen does get out and work
for a candidate it must be without
consideration, and solely because he
thinks that candidate is the best. The
purpose of the law is that the people
shall arrive at their choice of candi.