Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-10-21
WHEAT RING EXPOSED 4
Mastery Speech Saturday Evening by
Hon. Leonard il. Hodges.
"socKDoLAGER" FOR THE RING
And scorcher for the "Perjured
Scounare" Who Fled to the
Canadian Bull Pens.
MIR, HODGES PARTIAL REPORT.
Which Proves Conclusively the Plum
dering Of the Robbers.


The Fourth ward rally at the Athenaum las
night was an immense success in every respect
The attendance, for ward meeting, was sur
prisingly large, some 400 being in attendance
The crowd assembled promptly, and the larg.
eaditoritm Of the theatre YVES we'll filed. All
classes were represented, and the most earnest
attention was given each speaker, only to b,
Interrupted by hearty applause whe1
some point was well made.
Nr. Hodges Speech.
Mr.. Hodges the first speaker. He wa,
welcomed, as he assembled tho stage, with an
plause. The gentleman opened by saying be
had believed himself to a certain extent 8
stranger in the community, but after the
tattering introduction given him by Dol.
Hewitt, he felt somewhat at bone. lie had
lived in the State thirty years and in st. Paul
six or seven years, but lie had formed compare.
lively few acquaintance in his ward. His
work called him away in tho summer and in
the winter his correspondence and writing had
kept him busy. He had come
to st. Paul that his children might
receive an education after leading an isolated
Ire on farm. The speaker then stated he had
entered the fight On principle, and in no way
wanted or sought notoriety. He, the speaker,
felt he need make no apology for his efforts in
behalf OF the farmer Moreover, he felt he had
naodestly done his part for the
benefit Of the State, and he
had not come out of it rich, rather poor, than
otherwise. And so independently poor that he
could not be bought up by any
corporation in the land, nor any ring or other
combination of men, who enriched themselves
by fraud. [Applause.l
The speaker said he was not public speak.
er, but plain farmer, who shared with all the
farmers in the State desire to obtain for them
nseiyes Just and equitable price for their hard
Norkedsfor products. The speaker then pic
tured the life of a farmer. The hard work day
IN and day out; the privations they suffered /;
the Losses they had sustained by bad crops, and
the devastating armies of grasshoppers. And
now, said the speaker, when kind Providence
thieVing band of robbers had formed
to defraud them of their 81 la
bors. The speaker had not words
enough to condemn these highway 1obbers who
had stretched out their arms to take in hand
and hold ths farmer to their terms. Mr.. Hodges
then dived into the subject matter of the gliev-
ance OF the farmers. He dealt with it a,lalyti-
cally: and sustained each word by proof posi-
tive from the farmers. He claimed to have
made it his study, and knew he was
endorsed by every farmer in the State.
The gentleman then read the head lines of an
u. LUIS III tuS 4to!teef fe%S, giving an inter-
view with MIR. Valentine, the elevator agent,
in which it was stated that a ':sockdolager''
had been given Hodges. The speaker said he
survived it, and vas here as strong in the fight
as before Valentine had administered his
"sockdolager."
The speaker then illustrated by figures the.
cxtortlon imposed upon the farmer. num-
Der Of letters were read to sup
port the exhibit, and in each
the emphatic declaration was made
that general dissatisfaction existed among
the farmers. They were tired of being rob-
bed, said the speaker. The speaker then re.
f9rred to the report he was to make to the
chamber of commerce. He would give it to
them, and in such installments as he had pre-
scented. The speaker could stand all night and
read such reports from the victims themselves
The speaker said he was ready to prove all he
said and just what he knew; he would not back
down one iota. Applause.l
The speaker continued: Every hound, pa.
per, and pirnp Of these rings he opposed had
been down on him. He left it to an un preju-
diced public if the way he had chosen was not
. fair way to rcniedy the cry
ing evil. He had been accused
OF introducing the matter for political
sinuation of the kind. (Applause.) he had
done it for a special purpose, to bring immedi-
ate and wanted relief to the suffering and plum
dered farmers. (Applause.) He was charged
with bringing up the matter to further Dom
nelly's prospects. When thu subject was first
conceived by him, neither Donnelly or Wash
burn was in his mind. His mind and heart
were too full of the wrongs Of the farmers to
give a thought to politics. But since Donnel-
LIS nomination he had watched his course and
he was free to confess that he admired his ex-
ertions in behalf of the farmers. He believed
him honest, and he, the speaker, was for Dom
nelly. (Applause.) He hoped every hard-shell
Democrat would sustain Mr.. Donnelly. The
speaker then read the following
ADDRESS TO the Toters of the Fourth Ward.
To the legal voters of the Fourth ward of st.
Paul, which constitutes the Twenty-fourth
Senatorial district of Minnesota-not to them
only, but to every citizen Of this city, and to
every man IN tho Stale Of Minnesota who has
the welfare of the general public at heart.
few weeks ago, in 0 Incidence to the prompt-
ings Of humanity, took occasion to call the
attention OF the chamber of commerce Of St..
Paul to certain abuses in the handling, testing
and bnying of wheat along the Main Line of
the St. Paul & Pacific railroad.
I then and there publicly stated that sys-
tenn of wholesale robbery had been inaugurated,
and was being perpetrated upon the tanners
along saiu line of railroad. The question was
oSESse iiiS Ny oOfOioh u cAo Ait0tAi10AS u elAo
chamber, Who are these public robbers? My
reply was, THE people and the farmers along
the line say it is the Minneapolis Millers' assoc
citation and the milwaukee chamber os COM
merce.'
A committee was promptly appointed by
Gov. sibley, the president of the chamber, to
investigate the charges. Messrs. Hodgson and
Smith, with myself, were appointed said COM
nlittee
was reluctant to serve on said committee,
knowing my work would call away from
the city for several weeks and SO stated to the
chamber Without regard to my wishes or
circumstances was made chairman Of said
committee. Knowing that prompt and decisive
action on ths part of the committee would at
once knock IN the head one of the most in
famous conspiraces to defraud the people that
had even been invented; knowing must
start The next day to be for weeks shut out
from the ordinary channels of comm unication--
having no time to hunt up and confer With my
colleagues, Immediately prepared and pub
lished the following circular:
To the Farmers of Minnesota, especially those who
market their wheat the line Of the St Paul Pa
cifc railroad:
have laid your complaints as to unfair grading
and outrageous widening out OF grades OF wheat be-
fore the st. Paul chamber OF commerce.
am appointed by said chamber to the chairman