The Detroit times., 1910-04-11
Monday. April |.
1910 (,
Iowa. Capital of insurgency; Why2
RY EDMUND VANCE COOKE.

There have been three movements
Of revolt coming out OF the west. The
1Tst was the gfeenback movement.
anG Gen. Weaver, or Iowa, was its
prophet II rose high enough TO put
reIrose into congress and 10
poll a respectable vote for president
The second was the Populist move.
ment. and II rose high enough TO cap
turc senatorships and governorshlps.
anu SO impressed itself upon the coun-
Try that Bryanistic democracy absorb
ed many OF It's doctrines, and. in turn,
passed them on 10 Rooseyeltian Re
publicanism.
The third movement which comes
out OF the west Is the insurgent move
ment the progressive movement, with
sils lisa and for revision and toe "loWay
'Idee."
Now, why should Iowa be the storm
center OF this new movement? Had
IL originated In Pittsburg. where life
is so wretched for many that whole
tenements live without sanitation, and
women carry the family supply OF
water from a common neigh0orhood
penstock up 10 their squalid third
floor backs one could readily under
stand the protest.
Had il sprung up In Chicago, where
thousands OF children go breahfastless
70 school, and the health officers pois-
oned the garbage cans last winter 70
prevent people from feeding out OF
! them, IL would appear 70 be an indis-
| putable evidence OF cause and effect.
But why Iowa?
III Iowa life lives easily. With some
coal mining, some manufacturing,
Iowa is still an agricultural state. It's
cities are small. its farms many, It's
slums infrequent. and dire poverty Al
most unknown. This. upon the sur
face al least, but this does not mean
that Iowa is entirely yirtuous ana
happy
There Is no wickedness which Iowa
/ doesn't know, no skull-dugcery OF
which her politicians are not capable.
no fetid depravity which Iowa doesn''
copy in her small way
IL word. Iowa Is very human. bu.
all that doesn't explain why Iowa Is
the fountain head of insurgency Il
merely confutes the idea, If any such
exists, rlat Iowa is so truly righteOu
that she is in the reforming business
as a healthy exercise in soul-calis
themes.
Ask any stand-patter (and while he
answers 10 the name, he sQuirms un
DER it,} what is the cause OF insur
cency and the chances are good that
he will answer. Albert Beard Cum
Minis
Ask him why he opposes insur-
gency and the chances again are that
he will respond Albert Beard Cum
Minis"
The stand-patters freely admit tina;
! Mr. Cummins is not their political
idol They accuse him Of being a
selfish, ambitious demagog They
claim that while ne is, or has been
the beneficiary OF the railroad inter
ests, the brewing interests and the
insurance interests. he also acquires
the gOyernorship and senatorship a
the friend Of the oppressed, This
they DO not consider fair. They pic
ture him a accepting railroad fee
, with one hahd while the other Is way
ing in eloquent gesture as he declares
Rather would | love this good righ'
arm than quit the cause etc, etc
They shUr him ~ yoiF. 'lpun- ~
knees az night praying his God 10 de
liver him from the corporations. an
the next morning cheerfully tuckina
tainted money into his jeans, the same
coming 70 his law firm as payment
cor railroad lobbying, thus, like tn
prcverbial Terry, saving his soul and
his bacon at the same time.
Put YOU protest. these are weak
resses rather than elements OF
te. - t. Gsy1,,
ing the fight OF the trustitied tho
privileged and the incorporate al
present. Furthermore, ne is not ar
isolated phenomenon. Why are the
majority of the Iowa representative
insurgents? Above all, what caused
DOlliver, Cummins' associate and sen
Tor, 20 about, face after years and
years OF standpattery? Could so old
a campaiener be stampeded by the
white orihamme which waves about
the brow Of Cummns?"
When YOU mention Dolliver the
average stand-patter sroans and zoe
up In the air Words are Of no value
% explain or condone the apostacy o.
Jonathan =. Doliver. for Doliver was
the idol Of the stand-pa.ters. Their
Henry OF Navarro
They can only explain Dolliyer by
admitting that he must have conceiv
ell Iowa to be hopelessly insurgent
and that brings Us back 10 the main
question, What made ii 500"
Why should this state, as safely Re
publican as Pennsylvania. have re-
belled against its political gods
/ Rooseveitism? But Roosevelt's intiu
ence. whatever II may have been. was
nationwide and might more appro
priateiy have been expected 90 break
ont in New York, which was closest
20 his personality.