The representative. [volume], April 11, 1894, Image 1

About The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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. Domu'Uy lion liriiutins * -
The Represent a tive
••SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT THEY GO FORWARD
sl-00 Ive a arl in ADVANCE. ST. PAUL, MINN., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1894. VOL. 1. NO. 50.
ASTONISHING
CONVERSIONS.
James J. Hill and William R. Mer
riam Come Over to Free Sil
ver.—The World Moves.
Wonders will never cease.
A few months ago James J. Hill,
president of the Great Northern Rail
way Company, left for England, the
most earnest, avowed, single-stand
ard “gold-ocrat” in the Northwest.
We knew “Jim” was smart,—“smart
er than a steel trap,”—but we never
could understand how he could sup
port a policy which had closed up near
ly all the silver mines of Montana and
Idaho, and reduced the products of
Minnesoa, North Dakota, Washing
ton and Oregon to starvation prices;
and threatened his road with the
same bankruptcy which had overtak
en his competitors, the Northern
Pacific and the Union Pacific. Well
“Jim” went over to England, and,
whatever he saw there, he returns an
open and zealous advocate of bi
metallism: and he gives good reasons
for his new faith. He was inter
viewed by the Pioneer Press, and
here is a part of the report:
■ “President James J. Hill, of the
Great Northern, returned to his
home in St. Paul, yesterday morning
after an absence of six weeks spent
principally in England. Scotland and
France. lie made a special study of
the financial situation of the com
mercial nations while in the great
money centers of the world and hold
ing intercourse with the great finan
ciers. He said last evening to a Pio
neer Press reporter that the general
business of Europe is greatly depress
ed, and that the heavy losses in South
America. Australia and Africa and
the heavy shrinkage of business in
India has affected the general busi
ness of Great Britain particularly.
“India shows a large deficit in her
fiscal budget,” said Mr. Hill. “The
finances in France have been handled
better than those of any other nation
and she is strong in money.”
Ah! Indeed! France, be it re
membered, has SBOO,OOO of silver in
circulation; and her money supply of
all kinds is nearly SSO, per capita,
against ours of about $5, per capita.
Mark that!
Mr. Hill continues:
"The manufacturing districts of
England—Manchester, Leeds, Bir
mingham. Sheffield, and, in fact, all
—are suffering for want of markets.
I was greath struck with the impor
tance ef the United States as a cus-1
turner for their expensive goods. J
The commercial people iniboth na- 1
tions seem to look to the United
States to lead the return to cummer- j
dal prosperity. I was particularly
interested, and took occasion to look
up. as far as I could, the silver ques- 1
tion. There is no room for doubt I
that in England there is a great
change going on in the feeling of all
tiie commercial classes in regard to sil
ver. Nearly all the writers on politi
cal economy and many of tlie leading
statesmen, as well as a great many
merchants and manufacturers, are
becoming bimetallists.
“It seems to be the opinion gener
ally of the India officials that Eng
land can no more demonetize
in India by an act of parliament!
than she could make Christians of
the Mussulman and Hindoo inhabi- j
tants by an act of parliament. The j
Chinese merchants, who, by the way, ,
are the equal ol any other merchants j
in the world in the purchase, ex-1
change and distribution of commodi- [
ties of the nations with which they :
deal, have practical control of the
Indian and Eastern Asiatic trade.!
They pay them in silver and ex
change their products for commodi
ties which they convert into gold, and
the India manufacturer of cotton
goods and yarn—in passing allow me
to state that the cotton yarns of In
dia have in ten years increased from
10,000,000 to 175,000,000 weight, paying
their employes low wages in silver
bought at a heavy discount below the
gold standard—are able to undersell
tlie Manchester manufacturers who
pay gold to their employes. To make
the situation worse still for tlie Eng
lish manufacturer India insists on
levying a tax on English cotton goods
and on all English manufactures to
enable her to meet the large deficit in
her governmental expenses, and this
tax, together with the increased cost
growing out of the gold standard in
England as against the silver stand
ard in India, has practically driven
the English people out of trade.
“London being the financial clear
ing house of the world, all payments,
whether for account of American,
French or other continental nations
to Central, South American or Asiatic
countries, are made in sterling ex
change, drawn on London; and the
Bank of England, with about £25,-
000,000 in gold, is doing a larger busi
ness than it would usually be con
sidered safe were it not for the high
credit of that bank. It seems to be
the general opinion that there is not
enough gold in the icorld to furnish a suf-
Jlciently large basis of credit. England
has been on a gold basis legally from
1816, but practically she transacted
business on a bi-metallic basis, send
ing her surplus silver to the French
mint to be coined into French coin,
..which was used in exchange with
>ance until 1873, when France stop-
V? the free coinage of silver. After
FlSclosing of the French mint in
nois>
\
1873, the Bland bill and the Sherman
bill together used enough silver to
enable England to dispose of her sur
plus silver to the United States, but
now with the repeal of the Sherman
law England is compelled to find
some other way to dispose of the
large amounts of silver received from
I her customers throughout the world.
! “When our government discontin
ued the coinage and purchase of sil
ver England was compelled to carry
her own load, and if she retains her
foreign trade it is the general opinion
of many of her leading men that this
can only be done through the remon
etization of silver. Many English
statesmen believe that a change of
ministry would make Right Hon.
Henry Arthur Balfour, the Conserva
tive leader, chancellor of the ex
chequer, and he is one of the most
pronounced and outspoken advocates
of bi-metallism in Europe.”
This is the most important piece of
news that has transpired in Minneso
ta in twenty years. Mr. Hill is the
real head of both the democratic and
republican parties in this state;—for
both of them look to him for cam
paign funds. His conversion to bi
metallism means that both the old
parties will, in their platforms, this
year, demand free-silver. This means
the laying on tl'ie shelf of Tawney,
McClear.y, Hall, Fletcher, Kiefer and
Baldwin, all of whom voted for the
single gold-standard in congress. It
means the coming to the front, in
the republican party, of such men as
Bob Dunn. Frank Day, Lainphere,
etc., who have advocated free silver;
and in the democratic party it puts
ex-Mayor Winston at the front, with
Thornton, La Due and others. It
means a revolution.
It is amusing to see how rapidly
the venerable Pioneer-Press adapts
itself to the new conditions. It has
been the most virulent howler for a
gold-basis in the world, but as soon
as Mr. Hill spoke, Wheeloek adjusts
his mouth-organ to the tune in this
fashion:
“There are few more thoughtful
students of the financial problems of
the day than Mr. James J. Hill,
whose great enterprises compel him
to give them close attention. There
is no keener observer of all the cur
rent facts bearing upon them than
he. Some of the broad results of his
observations on the financial and
monetary situation in Europe in
their relation to questions which are
now agitating this country, during
his recent trip to England and the
continent, are embodied in a cursory
interview with the Pioneer Press,
which is published in another col
umn, and will be read with great in
terest. One of the moststriking im
, pressions he brought back with him
1 is the tremendous impulse which has
been given to bi-metallisms in Eu
! rope by the course of this govern
ment in putting a stop to the coinage
!of silver. England and the contin
! ent can no longer find a market at
I our treasury for all their surplus si 1-
j ver. The enormous decline of tlie
silver rupee in India, aggravated by
the repeal of the silver coinage laws
of this country, has brought about a
state of things where English states
men as well as those of the continent
are forced to look to bimetallism as a
sole means of escape from the serious
dilemma in which the monetary situ
ation is involved. This is exactly the
consequence that was predicted by
the genuine bi-metallists in this
} country, as one of the main argu
ments for the repeal of the silverpur
, chase act. It was the sure road and
j the only road to bimetallism—to the
only bi-metallism possible—that
; founded on international agreement.
I The other road, on whose steep de
i cline the free silver men were and
: still are urging the country, leads
! straight down to monometallim of
I the worst sort —a monometallism of
depreciated silver.”
Here’s richness for you! Here is
the subtlety of the devil! He comes
over to the Bi-metallic camp and
begins by driving out the men who
have been defending silver for twen
ty years. And bi-metallism he tells
us has been helped by establishing
mono-metallism. It is as if one had
said that nothing produced the
triumph of the Union in 1865 but the
attacks of the confederates! And if
there had been no confederates there
would be to-day no Union!! Really
the gall of this rascal is paralyzing.
He steals our overcoat, gets into it
and then kicks us for having worn it.
Joe! Joe! How the devil must smile
every time he thinks of you?
And Hill and the Pioneer Press are
both wrong when they say that Eng
land can no longer sell her surplus
silver to the United States. She has
no surplus. She produces no silver.
Every dollar she gets is needed for
her trade in China, India and Japan.
This is the great silver-producing re
gion of the world.
And then comes ex-Governor Wil
liam R. Merriam, and he too takes
up the cudgels for free-silver. We
quote:
“Ex-Gov. Merriam, who has been
absent from the city for about two
months for the sake of rest and recre
ation, returned yesterday from the
East. Most of liis time was spent in
Thomasville, Ga. When seen by a
Pioneer Press reporter last evening
in regard to the financial situation
lIMPERFECT PAGE*
in the different parts of the countrv
he had visited he said:
“I found that the South, more es
pecially the agricultural section, had
not felt the depression so much as we
have at the North. This is largely
due to the fact that they have had
several years of poor results. The
far-reaching events of last year have
not seemed to touch the strictly
agricultural portion of that section,
so things are in a normal condition.
The country generally is not prosper
ous on account of the low price of
cotton which has prevailed.
“After I left the South I went to
New York, where I spent Some little
time.
“The great problem of what is to
become of silver must be solved, but
there seems to be a feeling among
the other great trading nations of
the world that sooner or later some
plan will be determined upon by
which silver can be used as money on
a basis that will keep it equal to
gold. I am fully convinced that the
amount oj gold in circulation in the world
does not form a broad enough basis for
all the banking and credit facilities for use
in commerce. The silver must be
utilized, and in a few years we may
expect to see the representatives of
all the great nations gathered to
gether to determine upon the rela
tive ratio of the two metals.”
Gov. Merriam is one of the shrewd
est financiers and politicians in Min
nesota, and he “smelleth the battle
afar off.”
Brethren,—keep the bed-clothes
well tucked under and around you,
PREMIUMS
A GREAT OFFER.
cflESflfrsi „
COLUMN r
In English or Norwegian, and the Rep
resentative, for one year, all for
ONE DOLLAR!
The Arena Publishing Company, of Boston, has un
dertaken the publishing of this famous book, of which
300,000 COPIES
have been sold on both sides of the Atlantic, and will at
once put forth editions in English and Norwegian.
This is a special offer, and Good for Only
Three Months. No other commission or rebate
can be allowed on these orders; but one dollar must ac
company each subscription. As these books retail for
fifty cents, this makes the Repesentative cost but
Fifty cents a year.
“We make the same offer for ‘The Golden Bottle.'
One dollar will pay for a copy of it, and for the Repre
sentative for one year. A Swedish edition is now be
ing printed and will soon be ready for distribution. Ap
plications will be filled according to date of receipt of or
der.” Address.
The Representative,
673 Wabasha St., - ST. PAUL, MINN,
for these scamps propose to root
their way into your free-silver bed,
and nose you out onto the floor.
Within three months you will have
to produce affidavits to prove that
you were not gold-bugs.
And all this shows how necessary it
is to maintain the distinctive plat
form of the Peoples party. If we put
all our eggs into a silver basket the
old partied will steal the basket, eggs
and all. I. D.^j
A Sad Loss. 4^
It is with profound sorrow that we
chronicle the sudden and unexpected
death of Hon. Charles Canning, of
Duluth, one of the leading Alliance
men and Populists of this state. He
was present at our last annual meet
ing and appeared to be in splendid
health. He died of nervous exhaus
tion on his farm at Hendrum. He
will be universally lamented wher
ever known, as an earnest, honest,
able man. Peace to his spirit wher
ever it may be.
P. S.—Just as we go to press we
learn, from the morning papers, that
he committed suicide, by drowning
himself in the Red River, during a
temporary fit of insanity;—caused it
is said, by depression on account of
the A. P. A. victory in Duluth over
the Populists.
He will be enrolled as one of the
long line of martyrs in behalf of re
form and good government. I. D.
For Sale Cheap.— A genuine '
“Smith Grubber.” See full page adv. 1
in this issue. Enquire at this office.
ACCEPTS.
Col. Davidson Accepts the Populist
Nomination for Mayor,
And Makes a Square-Toed Prom
ise to Enforce the Laws if
Elected.
The Right Man in the Right Place.
The Populist convention did its
work well.
In placing the name of 061. James
H. Davidson at the head of its ticket,
it did the very best thing it could
possibly have done.
No citizen of St. Paul is more widely
and more favorably known.
No citizen of St. Paul is better
qualified by nature, training, and ex
perience to discharge the duties of
that office, and none is more deserv
ing.
What is the one general demand
made by all classes of citizens? We
answer, Relief from the oppressive
burdens that now rest upon them—
rigid economy in the management of
our municipal affairs—and simple en
forcement of the laws.
How a-e they to effect this?
Solely by electing a mayor and other
municipal officers who will use econ-
omv in the business affairs of the city
and who will enforce obedience of the
laws. That is clear.
Col. Davidson pledges himself
squarely and unequivocally to these
issues. No other candidate has done
so. His letter of acceptance is tem
perate and conservative.
The republican and democratic par
ties are both divided within them
sekg£s. Col. Davidson will carry the
strength of the populist and
labor parties, in addition to his own
strong personal following. The pop
ulists alone cast 3,578 votes in the
the last election. Of all citizens who
are interested in municipal reform
and retrenchment we ask, What par
ty offers you a better prospect of
carrying your views into effect?
* *
*
COL. DAVIDSON’S LETTER OF ACCEP
„ TANCE.
St. Paul, Minn., April 7, 1894.
John F. Krieger, Chairman, M. R.
Prendergast, Secretary, Peoples
Party Convention.
Gentlemen of the Committee:
During the old soldiers’ encamp
ment at Lafayette, Ind., whileat work
on the floor of the convention trying
to secure the national encampment
of the Grand Army of the Republic
for St. Paul in 1895. I received a brief
telegram announcing that I had been
nominated for your candidate as
mayor, which has been confirmed
since my return home. I realize that
a great battle for the tax-payers and
voters of St. Paul must be fought.
Whoever fights that battle worthily j
and well, whether he win or lose the
victory, has before him no easy task, i
The “wage earners” of St. Paul con
stitute by far the largest class of
voters, and the organizations you re
present number in their ranks about,
y ,OOO legal voters in this city.
To be the standard-bearer of this
army of “labor and reform” involves
a heavy responsibility. The voters of
St. Paul differ widely in their views;
on national questions and social cus
toms, but you have not required me
to pledge myself to any of the policies
that govern men in national or state
elections, and only to stand for reform
in municipal affairs. A common dis
tress, and the misfortunes that en
viron us on every hand, has weakened
party political ties in municipal af
fairs and drawn all classes into bonds
of closer sympathy. The rich as well
as the poor are groaning under heavy
burdens that now rest upon us as a
people.
This condition of distress is as real
along Summit avenue and the streets
on St. Anthony hill as on the flats and
along the low-lands bordering the
river. We all suffer from a common
calamity.
The people are all ready and all
clamoring for reform, for anything
that will lessen these burdens and
render life and the persuit of happi
ness more tolerable.
You have boldly announced as one of
your principles (the platform, I ob
serve. has never been published in
full) the clearand manly enunciation:
“Obedience to and enforcement of
law is right. It embodies the best
citizenship and the noblest patriot
ism. We demand nothing more and
will be satisfied with mothing less.”
The protection of all is equal to all,
and obedience should be as cheerful
and as universal. If bad laws are on
the statute books they should be re
pealed or modified.
An executive officer ought not to
assume legislative authority to prac
tically repeal or relieve from the pen
alty of violated law. This would lead
to anarchy, and would be most heart
ily condemned by all good citizens.
It is his duty simply, without partial
ity. fear or favor, and without oppres
sion or malice, firmly and kindly to
enforce the law, and leave it to the
courts to interpret and to the legisla
ture or the common council to repeal
or modify obnoxious laws.
If elected, I will simply, but firmly,
enforce the laws and ordinances to
the best of my ability. Ihopeeach
candidate nominated for mayor will
with equal plainness meet this issue,
and state whether, if elected, he will
or will not enforce the law. Will the
voters see that no candidate dodges
this issue, but that he puts himself
squarely on record for or against law
arid order?
Lower and equal taxation, as near
as may be, the reduction of exqorbit
ant salaries, and the payment by the
city of salaries equal to those paid in
business circles, for similar service:
the reduction of hoursof toil tolabor,
and the burdens of taxation and of
special assessments on property; the
most rigid economy, consistent with
the best interests of our city; the
faithful performance of contract ob
ligations by corporations; the con
tinuance of our excellent local trans
fer system on street railways; the
giving of every convenience required
by law to those of our citizens who
patronize the street cars, and the
sacred “constitutional right for every
man to worship God according to the
dictates of his own conscience,” are
demands that will meet the approval
of all good citizens, irrespective of
party affiliations. We need the sym
pathy, the earnest work and the solid
vote of this city, irrespective of party
ties, to make these principles vital,
living and a controling force in our
municipal affairs.
Let us not alienate any vote by
bickerings over questions that do not
affect immediately the interests of
citizens generally and municipal re
form.
No business or persuit recognized
by law should be persecuted or op-
Labor and capital should
go irand in hand to build up our in
dustries and reinvigorate our com
mercial life and our industrial enter
prises, and to give employment to
the unemployed. Labor cannot be
employed and fairly compensated
withoutcapital has been accumulated
to foster and build up manufacturing
industries, and unless the conditions
are such that capital is reasonably l
safe and free from fear. In times of
panic capital hides, and rests and j
sleeps. It can wait, and will wait'
until times are favorable, as we are |
witnessing now, but labor must eat
or starve, and this unfortunate con-i
| dition produces riot and disorder:
In this municipal election members
of political rings and strictly “par
tisan politicians” will tight hard
against these principles, which em
body “law and order” as a vital issue,
that means just what it says, and is
not merely a platform to catch votes
with, and which means nothing after
election.
If these principles are just and right,
they will commend themselves to
thoughtful voters, and, if wrong, they
will condemn themselves.
I accept this nomination and thank
you for the honor. I hope that other
organizatioosand all voters, who hold
substantially similar views, will unite
with the “Labor and Reform party”
to make absolutely certain tne best
aims and wishes of all good citizens,
viz: “A better city government.”
I shall ask for the indorsement and
support of voters of all parties who
are willing to lay aside in this muni
cipal election, temporarily, national
political issues, and who place an
honest, fearless, butcouservativepol
icy in our municipal affairs first in
importance. Let business principles
be applied in every department, and
let us adopt as our-campaign cry:
“Equal rights to all; special privileges
to none.” Labor and reform, lower
salaries, less expenses, no more bonds
for at least two years, rigid economy,
law and order.
Let that humane maxim which is
equally just to rich and poor, to em
ployer and employe, govern our ac
tions, viz.:
“Live and let live.”
1 am very respectfully yours,
James H. Davidson.
For Sale Cheap.—A
“Smith Grubber.” See full page acfv.
in this issue. Enquire at this office.
Take Notice.—A Great Offer.
We shall celebrate the issue of
number one of Vol. 2, of the Repre
sentative, on the 2d of May next,
by the issue of 25,000 copies of a
magnificent edition. It .will be a
great paper; and will go to all parts
of Minnesota, Wisconsin, lowa,
North and South Dakota, and in
fact to all parts of the nation. Those
who desire to advertise should send
in their orders at once; and all our
friends are requested to send us the
names of their friends, relatives,
cousins, uncles and aunts, for free
copies. We will furnish them in
packages of 10 or more, for distribu
tion, for one cent each, —being less
than cost. We will do even better
than that: — If no a will send us $5 ice will
vend you one thousand copies!!! Take
hold, committee-men, and flood your
county with the greatest campaign docu
ment you will ever see. This issue will
help the Alliance and the Peoples
party immensely. So take hold and
assist us to spread it everywhere. If
we get encouragement enough we
will make it a 50,000 edition—perhaps
100.000. Now's your chance.
Populist county officers, who want
to run again, and prospective legisla
tors and congressmen, cannot do a
better thing for themselves and their
party than to order 1,000 copies for $5,
or 500 for $2.50, or 250 for $1.25, and
spread the light of the gospel by
handing them around to everyone.
Let us hear from you at once, so that
we can make our edition big enough.
mmmimmmmiimmm
| Important to |
f Alliances. |
3 It is proposed to push the 3
3 Alliance organizations to the t
3 utmost during this vear; but 3 :
3 as a first step we need the E
3 names of all members. I 3
3 therefore ask all secretaries 3
3 of local Alliances to send me 3:
3 a list of their active mem- EE
3 bers, and the list of those 3
3 who have been members but 3
3 have fallen into arrears; and 3
3 a third list of liberal-minded 3
3 farmers in their section who 3
3 would be likely to join the 3
3 Alliance. Please attend to 3 :
3 this at once. |E
| IGNATIUS DONNELLY. §
P*«S. STATE FARMERS ALLIANCE.