The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-10-26

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CONGRESSIONAL TICKET.
Fer Cengress-F1rst District
NIL DUNNE1.1., ef Steele
REPRESENTATlvE TICKET.
Fur ltePre District,
C. II. SMITH, OF Cottonwood.
MINNESOTA AND TEE CENTENNIAL.
The Pioneer-Press, in mentioning
the fact that the Minneapolis wooden
mills carried off the honors at the
Centennial for the best wooden blan-
kets in the world says:
Had not the niggardly policy of her
legislature deprived her of the oppor.
tunity, she would have made Il show
ing which would have covered her with
renown, and given an impetus to her
future which she sorely needed, and
which would have been felt through
all the long century to come. 1t is too
late, however, to mourn over neglected
opportunities.
True, but the legislature is not alone
to blame. The railroads of Minnesota,
having lands for sale, ought to have
taken advantage of this opportunity,
as some of the Kansas roads did, and
made an exhibit Of the products along
their lines. But neither the legisla-
ture, nor the railroads, nor the manu-
factarers of Minnesota, seem to know
the advantage Of advertising. Kansas
by the expenditure Of a few thousand
dollars at the Centennial, will secure
thousands, and, we believe, tens of
thousands of settlers. A Chicago man
said to us the other day, "Your State
of Minnesota is too independent" Or
too indifferent, or unwise,> or stingy to
do what other States have done to Sc
cure settlers. The resources of Min
nesota are 50 to 100 per cent. greater
than those of Kansas, yet Kansas Sc
cures the settler.
WH.ATSHALL We Dog
The great army of men and women
out Of employment is on' the increase,
and unless there is some fortunate t,,r.,
In the business of the country, the
hardest winter in our history is before
the people. For the past three or four
years, almost every political movement,
every act of the government, and every
act Of Providence seems to have tended
TO check industry and throw men out
OF employment. The war of the Gran
gers upon the railroads and the result
Ing legislation checked. railroad build
Ing; the efforts Of Congress to regulate
the tariff and the currency checked
manufacturing and deranged COM
merce; and the panic once started,
business enterprises were abandoned,
expenses III I'LL directions were cur
tailed, the supply of goods was found
far-beyond the demand, and throughout
the iron mills, the cotton and wooden
mills, the coal mines, and all the de-
partments of industry there was stag
nation. As an inevitable result, men
were thrown out Of employment.
Then the national government, the
state governments, and the municipal
governments, seeing the general panic
and hearing the general cry of hard
times. stopped public works, and threw
thousands Of men out of employment.
At present, then, we see \ most SIM
gular state of affairs: Millions of acres
Of land unoccupied and uncultivated,
millions of capital lying idle in the
great money centres, and abundance of
labor begging for employment. And
there is not craftsmanship enough, in
our public men, not wit enough in the
people to devise plan of relief. On
the contrary, our legislators so on do
Ing all they can to increase the trouble
and to throw more men out of employ
ment. The public man who could de-
wise a plan for bringing our lands, our
capital and our labor together would
lie our greatest present benefactor, and
deserve the everlasting gratitude of the
p'ople.
AS We said in a former article. this
state OF affairs III Europe would pro-
duce riots i'll the cities and revolution
In politics. And European govern
ments, in times like these would be
much wiser than our own. Instead of
joining will, circumstances to increase
the panic and the trouble, instead of
stopping Ill public works and throwing
men out Of employment, they would
take advantage Of cheap labor and
cheap capital and continue their public
works or underline new public i'm.
prOvements. Instead of discl,,rgine
hundreds Of government employees to
starve, they would cut down wages and
increase the number Of employees.
The practical question is: What
shall be done to relieve the distress:
The government might do something
toward. relieving the people by engaging
in some system of public Improvement,
euch Us. improving the great water
ways, building the Northern Pacific,
aud similar schemes, which. sooner or
later. it will engage in. The city or
municipal governments might 60 on
with their improvements instead Of