The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-04-05
aowAss LOSS AT WASHINGTON.
Through, Misguided Counsel the State
Sas Thrown Away Five Out of
Six influential Chairman.
ships in the National


ances, friends OF long ago, former
sehoolmates IN Keokuk. Burlington,
Mount Pleasant, and other parts of
Iowa. frequently write to the newsboy
! of The Gate City making inquiry
concerning public men and affairs,
particularly concerning Iowa men.
their doings and sayings. Recently
several letters have come asking for
comparison to be made between the
Iowa delegation at present in congress
and the Iowa delegation under the
! late dynasty.
1t would be difficult to answer this
question definitely. primarily because
comparisons are always odious, and
secondarily because analogies are
often-times dangerous Under the AL
lison-Gear dynasty, which ruled Iowa
politically for many years with iron
will, velvet hand and diplomatic
SMILE the Iowa delegation in con-
gress was always solidly Republican,
excepting during the eight years that
ond district as a Democrat Under
the present dynasty there are only
three straight Republicans from Iowa
in the national house of representa-
tives, whereas formerly there were ten
straight Republicans, always reliable
crat, who was loyal to his party and
never BETRAYED the trust confided to
him by the Democratic majority of the
Second district.
Because of general conditions which
have brought about changes in her
public men, Iowa has been a great
loser in strength in the national con-
gress. Formerly Representative John
Henry Gear of the First district had
a powerful position On the committee
on ways and means; David B. Hen
derson was chairman of the commit
tee on the judiciary; John F. Lacey
was chairman of the committee on
public lands; John A. t. Hull was
chairman of the committee on mill
tary affairs; George G. Perkins was
chairman of the committee on print
ing; Robert G. Cousins was chairman
of the committee on foreign affairs;
w. P. Hepburn, chairman of the COM
mittee on interstate commerce; Wal
ter l. Hayes, Democrat, was the COM
handing minority member of the COM
mittee on rivers and harbors
Thus, seven of the eleven Iowa rep
resentatives in the congress occupied
commanding positions during the Al
lison-Gear dynasty, whereas only one
representative from Iowa today holds
a chairmanship; that OF military af
fairs, held by Representative Hull of
the Seventh district; and strenuous
effort rs being made to drive him out
of the house of representatives, and
thus deprive Iowa of all of her COM
handing positions.
Maybe the people know how to gov
ern themselves; and yet there is some
doubt of that knowledge. in the minds
of careful students of political econ
omy Ordinarily, in baseball football,
poker, the grocery, dry goods, or 9th
err mercantile business, if manager
should throw away five out of six of
his advantages in any game or in any
business you would think it to be
about time to get another manager;
or else to go out of business, or send
the stockholders to the insane asylum,
or the mad house.
But, the people of Iowa, the Repub-
lican people, too, have thrown away
five out of six influential chairman
ships in the national house of repre-
sentatives; and the Republican peo-
pie of another district are being urged
to throw away the last craftsmanship
in the possession of an Iowa congress
man. Inasmuch as Iowa had at one
time six chairmanships in the
house of representatives it will
be seen that under the old
dynasty the power of the state in
congressional affairs was six times as
great as it is today, because Iowa
now has only one Craftsmanship, that
of military affairs. in the house OF
representatives. This great loss of
political power has occurred because
of the ambitious determination of GER
tain individuals to change the repre-
sentation: and the insane consent of
thoughtless populace to permit such
changes, whereby new members of
congress from Iowa have taken the
places of those VINO achieved distino-
ton and pCwer by continuity of SER
vice. Recently President Taft in a
public utterance told the people of
Ohio that they should continue their
trained, experienced representatives in
their positions in congress. Every
man wise in political experience would
give similar advice to the people of
Ohio, of Indiana, of Iowa or of any
other commonwealth.
This brief outline of comparison
shows that Iowa has been greatly
weakened in national affairs by max
ing changes in her representation.
Iowa will be further weakened by the
retirement this year of Congressman
Dawson from the Second district:
and If like insane political conditions
prevail in the First district, Represent
alive Kennedy may be retired Just at
the time when he has achieved no.