New-York tribune., 1911-09-06
CUMM|NS GIVES VIEWS
Iowa Senator Tells Why He Is
Against the President.
OPPOSED TO DENOMINATION
Asserts Mr.. Taft Always Has
Stood for the Policy of
the Reactionaries.

Des Mones. Sept, 5--Senator Albert
B. Cunmins in signed statement to-day
states in "hill Of particulars" the reasons
why he thinks President Taft should not
Ne reelected. He says that on all vital
questions the allies and supporters of Mr..
Taft have been the reactionaries and
stand-patters' in the Senate and House.
and that II the Republican party believes
IN perpetuating this leadership st cannot do
better than renominate Mr.. Taft. Mr..
Cummins says he does not believe in this,
and therefore hopes for the nomination of
q Progressive Republican. The statement
follows:
II is 10 be understood that my opposi-
tion 10 the denomination OF Taft Is based
solely upon his attitude toward puono
questions, and my conviction that the con-
vention ought TO nominate n candldate LOT
President who will be strongest in the
election. .
| have no other than the most friendly
feeling for the President. With the pre-
lminary and explanatory suggestions /
present my bill of particulars.
IL will be conceded. ] suppose, that
President Taft's alignment must be defined
chiefly;
!. BY his position upon the Payne-Al-
drich tariff law.
2. BY his position upon the bill for the
further regulationS of interstate conHn,on, ,
s. BY his position upon the change made
in the postal savings law. Just as IL was
being passed I'm the Senate
4 BY his position upon the proposed IN
come tax law, which was sought TO be IN
corporated into the Payne-Aldrich tariff
act.
g. BY his attitude toward the control and
disposition Of our public domain.
s BY his position on the Canadian tarifr
bill passed at the extra session Just Gloseo
bfG n frRntleS.
s. BY his vetoes of the woolen scneoule,
the free list and the resolution admitting
New Mexico and Arizona as states.
II Is manifest that space to analyze eecn
OF these measures and argue at length
their merits or dement's is not available.
shall content myself in the MAN. there-
fore with merely recalling 10 the minds
of the people the lineup on each of them.
/ The Payne-Aldrich tariff law. Mr..
Taft's associates in the making of this law,
which he declared TO be the pest eieL
passed upon the subject, were Mr.. Aldrlch
and his followers in the Senate; Mr.. fayne'
Mr.. Dalzell, Mr.. Cannon and their follow
ers in the House. II seems 10 me ! an
justified in the conclusion that he did not
take the Progressive view" with respect
80 this measure. s
during the present administration is the
act amending and enarging what is com
monty known as the interstate commerce
law. President Taft made legislation upon
the subject the prominent feature OF the
frst regular session after he was in
augurated Through his Attorney General
he presented TO Congress bill whlch was
introduced in the Senate, referred TO the
Committee on Interstate Commerce ana
reported back TO the Senate precisely as
the Attorney General wrote IT,, ana as
President Taft apparently believed 1t ought
TO be enacted.
Calls II Step Backward.
II this bill had passed as insisted upon
by the President the work or nearly
Of hp0n
swCpt away and we would have taken a
long step backward in the regulation OF
our railways.
committee under the coercion of Mr. Aldrlch
and with his declaration that not letter
or a line should be changed in ii. 1t came
n 10 the Senate and was opened up for dis
Al cusslon Many parts Of IL were so bad that
II they found no defenders and such effort
~ as was made TO defend the administration
bin was led by Mr.. Aldrlch and MT. FL
1t was reconstructed upon the floor Of
The Senate by the Progressives~ against the
violent opposition Of the Teactionaries who
were acting for the President. ! believe
that people generally Will agree with me
shat with respect to this measure Mr. Taft
did not take the Progressive view OF the
subject.
9. Before the present administration
came in postal savings bill had been
practically agreed upon in the Senate. and
the fight which the Progressives had made
was TO insure the deposit OF the money
put into the postof1ces in the banks of the
local communities We had won out. but
lust as we were on the point of passing
the bill, President Taft had sufficient in
fuence 10 rowrite that part Of the bill, and
everybody recognizes that the law as Il
was finally adopted, IN that respect. was
victory for the great city banks and a
defeat for the small country banks. Again
the President was found in the company
Of the reactiOnaries and not with the Pro-
sresSives
g. The Progressivcs were exceedingly
anxious TO attach an income tax law To the
Payne-AldriCh tariff act We had good rea-
son 10 believe that the President was with
us in this effort, but at the moment when
# seemed likely 10 succeed. the President,
under the leadership Of Mr.. Aldrich and
his close associates, brought forward the
so-called corporation tax law and defeated
the proposal 10 levy a tax upon the great
incomes of the country. He did this
through the instrumentality Of the most
pronounced reactionaries of Congress.
think il must he conceded that whatever
else may be said Of his action, he did not
take "the progressive View
Doubtful Of Any Acton.
We were encouraged by TIE suggestion
that we would be able TO obtain an amend
rnent 10 the Constitution and We could then
have an income tax law Of unquestioned va
Hdity. but the Constitution has not yet been
hc ic