Evening star., 1926-05-27
Loss of Cummins Would Re
Terrible Blow to State
Party, They Admit.
VOTERS, APATHETIC, SEE
RACE A SOREHEAD AFFAIR
Farm Aid Is Big Issue-Resent-
ment of Senate's Seating of
Steck Still Keen.
RY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

DES MONIES. Iowa. May 81
With the political spotlight turned full
upon 1t, Iowa Ia going about its Re
publican senatorial primary campaign
with singular calm and considerable
outward apathy.
The race Is narrowing more and
more to contest between Senator AL
bert s. Cummins. the candidate OF the
regular party men and women. and
former Senator Smith w. Brookhart.
A third candidate. Howard J. Clark.
a Des Moinss attorney Of high stand
ing, Is making an active bid for votes.
but when the showdown comes June
I. 1t Is estimated he will not get more
than rs or 20 per cent of the total vote
cast. Two other candidates are en-.
tered. They will be among the also
rams" and are not considered serious
factors. One Is Dan Reardon OF Coun-
Gil Bluffs, who Is running on wet
platform, and the other is l.. e. Eichel-
berg of Waterloo. a hardware man.
who is travelling about the State In
"fiivver." proclaiming a plan OF his
own for curing all the economic ills
Of the farmer and the laborer.
Two Issues Stand Out.
There are two big issues In the cam
paign and neither of them is prohibi-
ton. They are farmers aid and the
control by the regular wing OF the
Republican party as opposed to Brook.
hart and his insurgents.
Up to date this State is politically
dry enough to please the most exact
ing prohibitionist. There are Gases
in some of the cities and bootleggers
are not unknown. But there Is no
popular demand for a referendum on
the dry laws yet on the horizon.
On the farm question. there Is no
administration candidate in the field.
But from the standpoint of party
regularity, Senator Cummins Is the
real thing. There Is no doubt but what
the nomination of Brookhart, who has
fought the administration in the past
on every issue that has come stp,
istration forces.
So far as the Republican orEaniza-
tion of the State is concerned. the
fight has resolved itself into Cum.
Minis or chaos" to paraphrase the
Coolidge slogan of 1924. A member
Of the party organization admitted to
me that a victory for Brookhart
would throw a monkey.wrench into
the machinery here that would have
incalculable results.
But on the farm issue alone, in
which the administration Is strongly
interested in this Middle Western sec.
ton of the country and particularly
the corn belt" the situation is vast
ly different.
Clark Is Progressive.
Here is Brookhart, on one hand,
prancing UP and down the State. pro.
claiming that he Is the one Simon
pure friend Of the farmer. Mr. Clark,
who was being groomed to fight Sen
ator Cummins on a Progressive plat.
form in the expectation that Brook.
hart would remain in Washington as
Senator. is declaring himself no less
friend of the farmer and in favor of
the McNary. Haugen bill principles.
Senator Cummins and his friends
are doing their utmost to convince the
farmers that he has been first. last
and all the time a friend of the Nc.
Nary Haugen bill, which the admin.
istration has so strongly opposed.
Thousands upon thousands of leaflets
are being sent out from the various
Cummins' headquarters prcclain,ing
ilIo ACNOllOH " Tie PAAlClplcS VI luS
McNary.Haugen bill.
One of them consists of letter
from Representative Gilbert N. Hau-
gen himself in which he says: II have
always had the hearty and loyal sup.
port of Senator Cummins and every
member of the Iowa delegate in all
our efforts to pass farm relief meas.
ures having for their object to afford
relief to the farmer. 1t is
known that Senator Cum.
minis was an ardent supporter of the
measure prepared by the late Secre-
tary Wallace and introduced in the
House by me-the McNary. Haugen
BILL"
Cleveland Work Cited.
Mr.. Haugen adds'that Senator Cum
Minis. as a member of the committee
on resolutions at the Cleveland con-
vention of the Republican party, was
the author of the agricultural plank
in the platform declaring for the pol.
icy of placing agriculture on a footing
Of equality with other indlSt ries. +hot