The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-10-22

ncer. No man dared to fight them.
Cummins's first show of independence
of the railroads was when as a men,
Der of the general assembly he sup
ported an amendment to the constitu-
ton adapted to prevent railroads
from escaping liability for accidents
to employees. Yet at that time Cum
minis was railroad attorney. 1t was
during the time Cummins was COVER
nor that Iowa not only shook off most
of it's railroad shackles, but became
one of the first states of the Union to
put on a complete antitrust program.
Cummins got passed two-cent fare
law, an antipass law, primary cleo
ton law, a provision limiting the
hours of work for railroad employees,
law to prevent corporations from
contributing to campaign funds,
campaign-publicity law, pure-food
law, and a pure-seed law. He vetoed
bill removing the debt limit of cor
porations, law which was drawn in
the interest of certain railroads. The
plan was to New Jerseyize Iowa.
Cummins was urged by old friends
to sign the bill-in fact, most of his
more intimate associates both in and
out of the legal profession favored
| il. But he refused
There was naturally complete
break between Cummins and the rail-
IroaIs, whose fight was led by ]. W.
Blythe of Burlington, general solicit
tor tor one of the big lines and re-
graded as the railroads political
agent in Iowa. The Blythe machine
known as THE Reservation" be-
cause of the completeness and
strength of its organization-had the
southern half of the state under its
thumb so firmly that Cummins's first
race for governor seemed well-nigh
hopeless. Cummins's success in that
Icampaign is still talked of in Iowa
as one of the big feats in the politi-
cal annals of the state. Then he was
elected twice more, both times on a
platform that was antipass, antirail-
road, antilobby, for statewide pri-
maries and equal taxation. However,
Blythe and his Reservation sue
ceeded n two occasions in postpon-
ling Cummins's entrance into the
United States senate. w.
It was while governor that Cum
minis gained national attention as a
leading exponent of the so-callei
|'Towa idea for the revision of the
tariff He was, and is, regarded as
the father of the Iowa idea, but as
matter of fact the propaganda is
said to have been brought to Iowa
from Washington in 1903 or 1904 by
George Roberts, formerly of Fort
Dodge, Iowa, later director of the
mint, with headquarters in Washing
ton. and now banker in New York
City. The Iowa idea was based on
the proposition that there should be
mo shelter to monopoly'-which
phraseology later appeared in a Re
publican national platform. In nut
shell, the Iowa idea was that the tariff
equal the difference between the cost
of production at home and abroad,
plus reasonable margin for the pro-
lection of those employed in Ameri-
can industries; that the reasonable
margin should not be sufficient to
give protection to monopolistic inter-
ests. Cummins declared that while
he was a Republican he was con-
WINGED that his party must revise the
tariff downward If it intended to
handle the trust question, for the
tariff, he said, was the mother of
trusts.
One of Cummins's biggest cases as
a young lawyer was when he broke
up the Barbed-Wire trust. This was
about 35 years ago when he was just
beginning to be noticed. The Barbed-
Wire trust had a corner on barbed
wire throughout the entire country.
1t was an important commodity in the
west in those days, and the prices
were exorbitant and constantly going
higher. James Wilson, afterward sec
rotary Of agriculture; Henry Wallace,
one of Iowa's prominent men, and
number of others got together to
fight the trust which claimed patents
on all devices for making barbed
wire. They organized company and
started barbed-wire factory. I'm
mediately the trust started suit for
patent infringements. The Iowans lost
their first case. Then they looked
about for another lawyer. They hit
upon young Albert B. Cummins. And
how do you suppose Cummins pre-
pared for It?
He got himself jumper and paid
of overalls, went into the barbed-wire