Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-09-22
Republicans OF Iowa Do Not
Consider Question One Of
Prime Importance
QUESTION LITTLE UNDERSTOOD
Therefore Speakers Will Give Subject
Only Passing Notiee-Lacey to APP
peal to the Old Soldiers for Support
Pardon Probable for George
Weems.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Sept 22.-There is dis
cussion among republicans as to what
to do with the question of guaranteed
bank deposits, but the general belief
Is that the position all republican
speakers in Iowa will take will be that
the question Is not an issue in this
campaign of prime Importance and will
be settled In due time when congress
to be prepared to make considerable OF
the fact that they are favorable to
guaranteed deposits.
1t is known that a great many re-
publicans OF Iowa are favorable to the
proposition. Some few are known to
be opposed to such a move. A large
per cent of the banks of the state are
favorable TO 1t also. Early this year
letters were addressed from this city
to 200 or more bankers of the state.
One, hundred replied and of these near
ly all We're favorable to guaranteed de-
poslts. This was before the national
conventions of either party had been
held and before the matter was being
discussed to any considerable extent.
The speaking campaign for tha
democrats is already opened and that
for the republicans is about to open.
There has been some little discussion
among republicans as to what position
their speakers should take on the prop
osition, and it is understood that
large number favor saying little Or
nothing about the question but to treat
1t as one of the questions more OF
Hess new and on which public senti-
ment isrkardly ripe to express an opin-
Hon; question that will be settled on
the foundation Of broad craftsmanship
as soon as the people have discussed L
fully enough to determine what the
majority of sentiment and the safe
course is.
Congressman Lacey will appeal to
the old soldiers of Iowa, of whom there
are about $4,000, to vote for him, their
fellow comrade, in the civil war. He
will also let the state know that he is
standpatter but will carefully avoid
entering very deeply into the tariff
question. This information is gained
from his friends. 1t had been the ex-
pectation of many that the tariff Ques-
tion would be one of the main ques-
tions of discussion as to his candidacy
and that Of Governor Cummins, Lacey
recognized standpatter, and Cum
minis, a recognized revisionist, and the
republican platform calling for q re-
vision of the tariff at the next session
of congress, seemed to many to lay the
foundations for that as the real issue
before the republicans of the state In
the selection of their candidate for the
United States senate.
1t may be, of course, that Lacey's
friends in this city are not thoroughly
guarantee from the standpatters that
they will conduct a clean campaign
and will not as in former campaigns
attack the sincerity Of Governor Cum
minis, it had been hoped by many that
it would be put squarely before the
people of Iowa that in selecting e. can
iidate for the senate they would be
choosing between candidates who rep
resent quite typically the two ideas of
the protective tariff now prevalent in
the republican ranks. Furthermore i.
has been felt by many that a good
wholesome discussion of the problem,
free from all factional misrepresenta-
ton, followed by a selection by the
people, would do the party much good,
as it would show where the majority
is.
With the appointment Of J. C. San
ders as warden of the penitentiary at
Fort Madison there has been intro
duced at that place the new modern
ideas Of prison management. From the
dark, -dingy, dungeons Of few hun
dred years ago to the modern treat
ment of criminals that seeks to pro-
tect his health and give him sanitary
conditions under which to live and to
deprive him of nothing but his liber-
ty, has been a slow process. Even
in the short period Of the life of the
state Of Iowa the Improvements have
been vast, greater than the public is
aware. 4e
Those who have been following his
case and are Informed, say that George
Weems, the Dallas county boy con-
victed of the murder Of Ridpath in this
city, will be pardoned as soon as some
additional evidence has been secured.
Weems has served fifteen years and
the average term Of life prisoners is
eight years. Ut is claimed that nothing
but the conviction of innocence and
the hope Of ultimately being pardone'l
will ever keep up the courage of a life
prisoner for that length of time. There
has ever been question of the guilt
of Weems That he was with some
young rnffians on the night they COM
mitted the deed is unquestioned, but
he left them early in the evening. spent
the night with a woman, then of ques-
tionable character, but now living a
respectable life. She has been loath to
give her testimony proving his alibi