Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-06-17
PR|MARYN[ARAIBAND
EVIDENCES OF ACTIVITY IN IOWA
POLITICS BEHIND THE
CURTAIN.
MAIN SHOW TO OPEN
WITHIN NEXT FEW MONTHS
DoweIl Will Be Candidate For Con-
gresham Hull's Seat-TaIk of At
torney General Byers For Successor
to Congressman Smith Disturbs Pol E.
itieians-6iennial Peace Plea.
Special to Times-Republican.


Des Moines, June 1.-THE next pri-
mary election in state affairs is just
twelve months away lacking a few
days and while politics is singularly
quiet on the outside there seems to
be considerable shifting of the scenes
behind the curtain preparatory to OPP
ening the main show. Politicians are
now sparring for places. 1t is talked
about Des Moines that there is no
doubt but that Senator c. C. Dowell
will be candidate for congress
against Hull, an ambition he has been
nursing for some campaigns back. 1t
is practically a certainty that Repre-
sentative John Sullivan of Polk, will
be q candidate for Dowelrs place in
the senate and there is talk also of
County Attorney Lawrence DeGraff
being a candidate for the same posi-
ton.
Judge S. f. Prouty has been in the
city for several days but this far has
avoided the reporters. He has run three
times against Hull and the last time
the vote was nearly tie, going finally
to Hull by a few votes. This leaves
it in such shape that it is difficult to
tell whether Prouty will be a candi-
date again or not.
Senator c. G. Saunders of Council
Bluffs, was in Des Moines yesterday
and today. He was discovered in the
office of Attorney General Byers at the
state house but claimed he was here
attending the commencement exercises
of Drake University of which he is an
alumnus. Senator Saunders is UNDER
stood to be a supporter of Congress
man Smith and recent talk of .Attor-
aey General Byers for Congressman
Smiths place is said to have made
Smiths friends uneasy. Senator
Saunders would not talk of Ninth dis
trict politics for publication but he
thinks the reelection of Judge Smith
is without question.
Recent utterances from Washington
to the effect that members of the Iowa
delegation, the big majority of which
is now progressive. desired an era of
peace and good will in Iowa politics
is being in a measure repudiated from
some quarters at least. 1t has been
common for many years for the Iowa
| delegation at Washington to wish for
peace and good will at home and no
| fight anywhere, SO the recent Wash
| ngton dispatches were not much Of. a
surprise. Expressions from Washing
ton wishing for peace have nearly all
ways been considered in the light of
dictations and were not much relished.
II is learned that some Of the mem
bers at least propose to keep hands off
and merely ask for their own re-elec-
ton.
The number of saloons in Iowa is
growing less and the amount of the
lnulct tax they pay on the average IS
| growing more. This will be shown
] along with great deal of other VAL
liable information in the forthcoming
volume of the Iowa Official Register
which will come from the secretary of
states office inside of a few days.
Two years ago the official register
contained the first published informa-
ton of the mulct tax. 1t showed a
total of forty-three counties, fifty-one
townships and 242 cities in which sa-
looms We're operating under the mulct
law. There We're then Ito saloons
These figures We're for the conditions
on Sept 80, 1906. The forthcoming
volume gives the figures for Sept. 80
1908, and shows that at that time there
were forty counties. forty townships
and 224 cities and towns operating I'M
der the nt1lct law, with 1912 saloons
Gr,ndy. Monroe and Muscatine are the
three counties that operated under the
mulct tax law in 1906 and do not oper-
ate under the law now.
The statistics in the official register
show further that while for the yea,
ending Sept 30, 1906. there was col
lected by the cities and towns as city
tax under the mulct law s377,os2. an
average Of sS6585 for each saloon
there was s3s3,09o.74 or an average OF
s900.S6 collected for the year ending
Sept. 30, 1908.
The only other statistics gathered on
the saloon question was in 1899 when
the state auditors office gathered facts
showing saloons under the mulct Law
to be operating in forty eight counties
when there were 1880 saloons and the
average tax paid was sS64.45. The fig
ures show the amount collected to BIZ
s35, 400. short OF the total tax.
The new official register this veal
will have many additional features tt
that Of two years ago. 1t will contain
"a brief history of the formation o.
each county Of the state, pictures ani
biographies of all the members Of the
last legislature list Of the circuit ant
district court judges since the forma.
ton of the state, the semi officia
primary election votes for both June
and November with a comparative