Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-03-16
SUCCESS.
WOULD EMBARRASS
PARTY MANAGERS WOULD HAVE
DIFFICULTY IN DEFENDING
RECORD.
COMMERCIAL ENrERPRisEs
: NOT MAKING IOWA GREATER
stauneh standpat Journal Raises Per-
<insnt Question in ouhsrnatorial Con.
tsst-HoIdsn's Committee Appears =
Be Withholding Facts Regarding
Idaho Deai-poIitical News.
pecial to rimes.Republlcan.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines, March 16.-Will the re-
publicans OF Iowa now face and dis
cuss frankly the weak spots in the pos
sible candidacy Of one aspirant for
party leadership this year, or will they
wait until in the campaign they shall
be forced, If the non-partisan candi-
dacy succeeds, to defend and explain?
That Is question raised by the Adair
News, staunch standpat journal
The Adair News wants the party to
face the facts regarding the various
commercial enterprises in which
Prof. P. G. Holden has been engaged at
times as a partner of his political spon-
sors.
A great many farmers want to know
why so much stress has been placed
upon seed corn testers and so little
upon seed corn itself.
Others will want to know how many
men have been induced by Holden to
those who have been induced by him
directly to buy Idaho land.
Some will want to know why one
who has protested to be so loyal to
Iowa doesn't pay taxes on square
foot Of Iowa land but all his land in
vestments have been in the sagebrush
country.
It has been explained that Holden
merely went to Idaho for his health
and spent a summer there: but there
are conflicting stories as to what really
happened, and nobody seems able to
tell the facts.
There has been a disposition to leave
the matter alone and to permit the
Holden political committee to bring out
the facts but that committee is not
disposed to do so. The committee has
recently added to its force, one Profess
sor Jones, who managed one OF the big
Idaho land schemes into which many
thousands Of dollars of Iowa money
was invested but thus far he has not
spoken on that subject.
Now the Adair News insists upon
having the matter exploited SO that
the republicans may not go bNndly into
something ahta may embarrass them IN
the campaign should they decide it was
best not to nominate republican for
party leader this year and follow the
| advice of F. NJ. HubbeM. b. Murphy,
George Wells, ]. B. Hungerford, Ed
Meredith and others.
80
The Adair News article, which is by
"Craddock'' is as follows:
"There will have to be show down
in this Holden matter. A good many
who have felt for some time that Mr..
Holden was assuming things that were
not true. that he was establishing a
reputation on false things and yet they
have refrained from saying anything
because they disliked what might be
termed personalities In politics.
"Holden was interested In COM
PAW holding. q patent on seed corn
tester and 1t was intended to be called
after him and he was expected to work
the farmers into buying 1t. When the
stock was sold around it was stated to
BUYERS that Holden was back OF IT and
bthat It would have a great sale because
he would tell the farmers to buy 1T.
.In the Idaho land deal there was
plea that Holden knew farming better
than ANYBODY, knew the best place to
70. and his company expected to sell
the land in this particular tract be-
cause Holden would boom 1t. There has
Do0n
out with the expectation that Holden
would get the farmers to bite. In two
Of these companies Ed Meredith. OF
Successful Farming. had large inter-
est. and he used Holden to help Hoat
them. OF course now he Is boosting
Holden for all there Ks in 1T.
"There has been an assumption that
the farmers would buy musty cheese
IL only Holden told them to do So but
they didn't and they are not now
flocking very fast to his standard IN the
matter of the governorsh1p. The
farmers are doing their own thinking
and will do their own voting Holden
will have to come to a show down;
there is no escape
"Just to think Of George w. Clarke
working some interest in that way! He
could not do 1t to save his life. for ne
is not constituted that way. He goes
along modestly, expecting people to
take him for what he Is really
worth, and Is not trying to ere
ate false impression as to his
values to the farmer, the laborer
or the business man. He is candi-
date only on his merit as a man and as
one who has had much experience ana
who dearly loves his native state AND
what an excellent governor he VIII
make II nominated and elected, which
I fully believe will be the result"
The reports as to what happened in
Washington county at the republican
primaries last week were conflicting
and not wholly accurate. 1t was clean
sweep for the progressives and com
nlete rout of the standpatters, and that
after a hard fght. The fierceness OF
the contest was shown by the fact that