Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-10-21
WHEAT RING EXPOSED 4
Mastery Speech Saturday Evening by
Hon. Leonard Is. Hodges.
"SOCKDOLAGER" FOR THE RING.
And q scorcher for the ':Perjured
Scounarel 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 a ward meeting, was sur
prisingy large, some 400 being in attendance
The crowd assembled promptly, and the larg
auditorium OF the theatrt YVES we'll filed 81
classes were represented, and the most earnes
attention was given each speaker, only to b
interrupted by hearty applause whe1
some point was we'll made.
Nr. Hodges Speech.
Mr.. Hodges vas the first speaker. He wa,
welcomed, as he assembled tho stage, with ap
plause. The gentleman opened by saying be
had believed himself to certain extent 6
stranger in the community, but after the
hattering Introduction given him by Dol
Hewitt, he felt somewhat ct bone, He had
lived in the State thirty years and in st. Pau,
six or seven years, bat lie had formed compare.
lively few acquaintance in his ward. His
work called him away in tho summer and in
Kept him busy. He had come
to st. Paul THAI his children might
receive an education after leading an isolated
life on farm. The speaker then stated he had
entered the fight On principle. and in no way
wanted or sought notoriety. He, the speaker,
ie,t ne need make no apology for his efforts in
behalf OF the farmer. Moreover, he felt he had
benefit Of the 40 State p3ls and io1 ' 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.
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
aeiyesa just and equitable price for their hard
worked for products. The speaker then pic
tured the life of a farmer. The hard work lay
IN ana day, ont; the privations they suffered
the Losses they had sustained by bad crops, and
the devastating armies Of grasshoppers. And
now, said the speaker, when 81 kind Providence
has rewarded their toll with a full return, a
tnieVing band OF robbers had formed
to defraud them of their Ia
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 tc their terms. MIR. Hodges
then Owed into the subject matter of the g1iev-
ance Of the farmers. He dealt with it analyti-
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.
Iha gentleman then read the head lines of an
article in the Pioneer Press, 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
''soGkdolager."
The speaker then illustrated by figures the
extortlon imposed upon the farmer. num-
Der Of letters were read to sup
port the exhibit, and in each
the emphatic declaration was made
Syk e.
the farmers. They were tired of being rob-
bed, said the speaker. The speaker then re.
f5rred to the report he was to make to the
chamber of commerce. He would give it to
them, and in such installrn ents 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 aud Just what he knew; he would not back
down one iota. Applause.
Ihe speaker continued: Every hound, pa
per, and pimp of these rings he opposed had
beer, down on him. He left it to an unpreju-
diced public if the way he had chosen was not
? fair way to remedy the cry;
OF introducing the matter for political
purposes. But he disclai,ned all and every in
situation of the kind. (Applause.) He had
done 1t for q special purpose, to bring immedi-
ate and wanted relief to the suffering and plum
dered farmers. (Applause.) He was charged
WIN bringing up Tue mhtter TO 1uftQer Don
neily's prospects. When tho 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 q thought to politics. But since D0nnel-
LIS nomination he had watched his course, and
lie was free to confess that he admired his ex-
ertions in behalf of the farmers. He believed
nelly. (Applause.) He hoped every hard-shell
Democrat would sustain Mr. Donnelly. The
spsaaer then read the following
ADDRESS TO the Voters Of the FoaertI, 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 IN the Stale Of Minnesota who has
the welfare of the general public at heart.
few weeks ago. in obedience 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.
l then and there publicly stated that sys-
TEN of Wholesale robbery had been inaugurated,
and WAS being perpetrated upon the tanners
along said line of railroad. The question was
asked mo by several of tho members of the
chamber, Who are these public robbers? My
reply was, THE people and the farmers along
the line say it is the Minneapolis Millers' asso-
citation and the Milwaukee chamber OF 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
rnittee.
I was reluctant to serve on said committee,
knowing my work would call me 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 tbs part Of the committee would al
once knock IN the head one of the most in.
famous oonspiracies to defraud the people thai
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 AMI confer with my
colleagues, 1 immediately prepared and pub,
lished the following circular:
To the Farmers Of Minnesota, especially those VIII
market their wheat the line of the St. Paul i Pa
cGc 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