Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-10-08


| Signed, Zone of the Signers.)
The Record OF FRANCIS BAASEN the
Democratic Candidate for Secretary Of
state. u1 90 .o - ......,, ,
His Corruption and Venalily.
| - 800
1t will be recollected by our readers, that
two or three months since Hon. James w.
Lynd, Editor of the Henderson Democrat and
member elect to the Legislature as Demo-
cratic nominee, came out in his paper with a
remuneration of the Democratic Party in which
he said:
II have tried the Democratic Party of Mn
nesota, and found it wanting. Its Leaders
have found are corrupt and unscrupul0ns, and
its enuncated principles, things made to read
and not to tolLop.
From conversation this spring with many of
the party, both here and in other portions of
the State, became convinced that their hopes
of success in the coming fall campaign were
ENTIRELY based upon anticipated BOGUS RE.
TURNS from Renuille, Murray, Cottonwood,
| Pioestone, PembinG and other out of the ooay
counties and was not therefore surprised,
on late visit to St. Paul, to hear this breach
ed to me, and unblushingly anticipated, by
DEMOCRATS Hight N STATE OFFICES.
The pollution of the ballot-box seems, in their
opinion, to be legitimate road to success!
"Such party-which occupies itself in
squabbling about spoils, instead of fighting
for principles-whose arrogant leaders openly
| advocate fraud and usuTpation Of power
and whose whole internal organization is
system of petty chicanery, dishonesty bribery
| and political rottenneSs-deserves the scorn
and contempt Of every honest man. There
are few who know the dishonesty of party
until they become acquainted with the dis
honesty of its leaders and, with this as
rouchstone of party honesty 1 amt forced to con-
ctude that the Democratic party IF NinnesOta
Is most corrupt aud depraoad. TO know it
thoroughly, through its leaders, is to hate it,
10 hate it is to condemn it; and to condemn 1t,
should be, with every true patriot, to leave it.
This announcement by Mr.. Lynd, that
DEMOCRATS IN HIGH OFFICES" had
proposed repeating the pollution of the Ballot
Box by the Forgery of Bogus election re-
turns from the wilderness and Indian coun-
ties, fell with startling effect upon the CON-
munity. By Democrats high in State of.
tees" Officers of the present Democratic
State Administration were understood to be
meant. Inquiry became Immediately arous-
cd, as to who was or were the guilty men !?
One of them immediately disclosed himself
by his dodging-by his taking pains to deny
in particular that he was the man, and that
too before be was particularly chaged with
the crime. This one State official was Mr..
FRANCIS BAASAN, Secretary of State,
and now candidate for reelection, who was
heard around our streets, explaining, that "if
.Nr. Lynd meunt HIM, that what he (Baasan)
had said was aoas only intended as joke !"
In due time,-notwithstanding his moral
delinquency was well known to the Democrat
ic State Convention,-Mr. Baasen was again
re-nominated for reelection to his office of
Secretary of State.
In the progress of the canvass, however, an
Address 10 the People was issued on behalf
of the Republican party, in which Mr. Baasen
was formally charged as being one of the
democrats high in State office who broach-
ed to Mr.. Lynd the renewal Of the forgery of
election returns, and who unblushingly an.
ticipated" success by such rascaly means!
To this Mr. Baasen replied in the Pioneer
aud Democrat of Sept 4th, as follows:
Mr.. BAAsEN's DENIAL.
81 also find the following passage in said Ad-
dress, to which | will allude:
THE DEMOCRAT HIGH IN OFFICE" WHO Pro
at is but justice to some of the other
democratic state officials to saythat THE MAN
VINO was most PROMINENT, most ctf ious, and
most ah1i1ns to carry the ensuing fall election
by repetition of the frauds and forgerise of
1857, was FRANCIS BAASEN the present
Secretary of State, land now candidate for
reelection upon the Democratic State Ticket.
Til is THE MAN who was The chief am ,ngst
the Democratic State officials in "unblu,tl-
ingly anticipating" success for the Democrat.
ic ticket this fall, CHASED on anticipating DO
gus returns from Renvic, Murray, COtton-
,cOod, Pipestone, Pemblna and other out-of-
lhe-way countless
This man is German native of Lux
umburg. How honest Germans must blush
with shame when they see their national char
acter so disgraced in strange land by man
placed here, in high position, merely out of
compliment to the German name-di>graced
by man who proposed the wholesale corrup-
ion of the ballot-box, the palladium of Amer.
ccan liberty, as the means of himself and 9TH
erS obtaining place and power! By man
who sou hit and seeks, by wholesale forgery
of election returns, and by pandering to
perjury, to achieve a political triumph!
Itve.e shameful SANDER upon the hon.
est German character to doubt that there is
| no German of any party who will not resent
| The disgrace thus inflicted by Francis Baasen
| upon The German reputation for upriShtness
and honesty, by casting their ballots against
Tim whenever he again comes before them as
candidate for public Office"
Mr.. Baasen then says
learn, from sources entitled to credit, that
this disgraceful charge is made on the author
| ity of one j. w. LYND. | would not have
believed that any person could have made a
statement SO wholly devoid of truth and have
only to say, that if Nj. Lynd, or any one else
says that l. at any time, in public or private,
held any such conversation with him, or that
[ made use o any language or sentiment that
could be tortured so as to mean nything like
the above, he is foul and wicked liar.
WITH these statements conclude, and have
the honor to remain, Messrs. Editors,
| Very respectfully,
Your ob't serv't, FRANCIS BAASEN.
Thus, we have fairly given Mr.. Baasen
the full benefit of his denial But man cor
rupt enough to propose political scoundrel-
ism to vitiate the will Of the people by forgery
of election returns, would not be too good to
lie out of the charge when detected in his vii
lainy. In making his denial, however, Mr..
Baasen did not view carefully the whole
ground over which he was stepping. He as
sumes in his denial that the Hon. James w.
| Lynd was the author of this specific charge