Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-09-12
The Farmers xovemeu. in Minnesota


The Farmer Conventions DO the West.
where alone The movement has as vet &C.
quirei any momentum. arc.o course. close
~ watched III other parts Of the country.
The point of chief interest ~ present. app
pears % be whether the movement shall be
what ii was intended ty it, founders 10 be.
means Of advancing the material interests
Of the farmers as q class. OF shall be captured
by the uneasy politicians VINO are ''u p for
Cowes or q market. about these days. and
thus be made mere TOOL of the Democrats
and Liberia Republicans The latter fate
sppears 10 have heialien the farmers move
ment 10 Minnesota. where the grange are
numerou~ and which was expected e. be
leading Srate. in the new order of affairs.
The farmer there called q Convention.
which met a Owat0nna. sept. . Il was
expected o. be- an assemblace of earnest.
sincere and independent aEriculturists, but,
according 10 the report given by an inteili-
gent correspondent of the n. !. Tuues. no
no sooner did the delegates begin to arrive
al 0wat1nna than Mr. irualius DonnelIy
popped in and took the direction IF matters.
This D1nneli " WIS formerly a Philadelphia
ward politician. tie went to Minnesota
severn years ago, and went into politics.
was sent 10 the Legislature and subseauent-
" to Congress There he acquired noto-
rlety by olackguard speech attacking Hon.
l. 3. Mashburn and the Washburn family.
Tor which be was denounced bv the whole
country. Returning home be was dropDed
bY his constituents. lie then ian As an in
dependent candidate and was defeated
Last year he plunged into the Greeley wave.
hoping 10 ride % the surface. but the wave
dlc not reach the shore Now be has strad-
died the agricultural donkey and hopes To
ride into the United States Senate. A Do
litical trickster by nature and education. an
ofhee seeker by occupation. and utterly de-
void Of principle, he Is q genuine specimen
of tic latter-day political demagorue.
The Minnesota farmers allowed &c Farmer I
Donnelly " 10 run their convention for them.
with the aid Of two or three political hacks. I
lie was temporary Chairman, made their
speeches, prepared their resolutions. drew
up Their platform, named their committees
aud finally nominated their candidate In
TINS he was careful to select majority Of 4
old Democrats. The farmers. it would seem.
behaved like 50 many school-boys. doinp
what theiritutor told them without murmur-
ing-and when they finally adjourned went
smiling TO their homes. satisfied that they
mad everything their ownway. The candi- /
oA'e Tor Ooyernor, nominated by them. Bar
ton, has been for several years a standing
aspirant Tor the Democratic nomination fo-
Governor and has an itching for Office wb;.b
nothing can satisfy The other candid,,es
are thus sketched by the Times eorresnor
dent:
Eeenezer Ayers. the nominee for T;.,,.
aLt-Oovernor, Is an ex-member Of the -
isiature. During his service in tb.t -, /
ne was looked upon as sort of clown ~
butt TO poke tun at. Whenever he aftenn,,.-
% 70 De serious be became bore. and co2id |
ssik the Representatives out of the Ho1ss /
quicker than any other member. CoionsI 4
ssssens, the venerable editor ofthe Farmrrs; ]