Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-06-19
GATHERED BY THE WAYs1DE

AAo AI0 4u6uI2OC0 COup8ulo8s Ot0Ot
than mutuals, received In premiums
from Iowa insurers In 1914 total
Of $S,56i,76s, and paid on losses in
Iowa $4.s54,122. The Iowa companies.
on Iowa business, received $1,237, SIS
and paid out $67S.266. The state mu-
tuals received on premiums and from
other sources of revenue. in Iowa, 1914.
s926.as3 and paid in losses $3S4.5Ao.
The county mutuals received sl,sso, 4o7
and paid out $S26,S12. The business
of all these mutuals covered tornado
and hail as well as fire.
An amusing attack on Rev. William
A. Sunday has appeared in Harper's
Weekly, which is attracting some at
tention here among the very warm
friends of Billy" The writer UNDER
takes to make it appear that Billy was
sent to Colorado and his revival was
financed by persons primarily inter-
ested in drawing attention away from
the terrible conditions prevailing in
the industrial world because OF the
strike in the mining regions. Then,
also, he was sent to Paterson in order
that attention might be drawn away
from strike horrors, and likewise the
persons who pay low wages in Phila-
delphia boosted the revival that the
people might forget their poverty. In
short, an indictment was framed
against Billy as being in league with
the money power" or capitalistic forces
or something of that sort. 1t was
argued that social unrest" was re-
sponsible for Billy's success. that la
boring people could be led to forget
their novels by being reminded of
their promised heavenly home, that
when their thoughts were. turned
toward their God they forgot about
their stomachs. etc. That fails to &C
count for the situation in Des Moines,
where he scored at least as great q
triumph as any place in his experience,
where there is so little social unrest
that 1t is negligible and where there
is small complaint about low wages
causing vice and crime. The fact Is.
the Sunday movement was not fl
nanced in Des Moines by any special
class Of persons and did not confine
itself TO any class, but all were inter-
ested financially and theoiogically -
and the uplifting influence is being felt
quite as much today as the day that
he left
Curator Harlan, of the Iowa histori-
cal department, has among his collec-
tons some things that will aid some
time in Interpretation Of political con-
ditions in the great midland region. He
has. for instance, letters and other ma
ter!al showing that one Of lowa's first
United States senators participated In
political duels or in other words that
Iowa came into existence before the
time had come to Danish the duel as
one way OF settling ordinary personal
disputes, however slow we may be in
banishing international duels az one
way Of settling big disputes. Then he
also has material showing that It was
the custom in Iowa. as elsewhere, Tor
public men to profit financially. by
speculation and in other ways. by In
formation which they received in their
official capacity. That Is thing OF
the past Then he has some exhibits
of political passes and franks from
beholden to the public Of
ficials who received theu-something
now a part OF history. These and
other things in the state museum show
how rapidly we have been making his
tory even in the lifetime OF one gem
Grafton.
The good people OF Des Moines -
and some not so good-are trying to
figure out how 1t Is that, after all
the lessons that Billy Sunday left with
the dear people, 1t still was possible to
pul! off a swindle like the Drake heirs
proposition and catch so many really
we'll meaning people. One explanation
given is that because Of the mania for
closing the gambling houses and
stopping the dice throwing at the
cigar cases and forbidding other forms
of gambling. the people become ripe
for opportunities to take chance on
something-hence. the swindlers get
busy. Another thing may be that the
adoption Of blue sky law has made 1t
more difficult for people to invest in
fake mine stocks and similar swindles.
However that may be. the lesson Is be-
ing drawn from the Drake swindle that