Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-13
BUSINESS MEN IN POLrrros.

According to the press dispatches large
number of wealthy business men of Chicago
have issued an appeal to the voters of Ohio
and Indiana requesting them to vote for the
Republican ticket in or Ter that the present
prosperous condition of business and man.
ufacturers may not be disturbed, and the
Democratic party, which ia declared to be
the party of reputation and dishonor, NAV
not be given the reins of power. The an
peal is signed by John V. Farwell & Co.
snd other well known business men of Chi
cago, and Is intended for general oircula-
ton throughout the country.
Ii will appear rather impudent on the
part of the firm named, by those who know
Its history, that it should denounce any per
son or any party for reputation or dishonor.
1t is fact we'll known in Chicago that at the
time of the great fire in 1871 John " Far
we'll d Co., as well as other merchants, suf-
fered heavy losses. It is also we'll known
that this firm did not, like others, paw the
obligations it contracted previous to the
IRE. BY threatening to close business and
protesting inability to pay, the members sue
ceeded in effecting compromise with their
creditors at the rate of fifty cents on the
dollar. AS soon as the details of the COM
promise had been arranged the members of
the firm, particularly its head, commenced
the purchase of real estate and the erection
of mammoth business blocks thereon, and
in tha coursa of q fam months hod o,..x A.
over million dollars in this manner. Their
creditors were naturally indignant, and held
meeting at which the proposition of re-
sounding the compromise and throwing the
firm into bankruptcy was seriously consid
cred. 1t was found that this could not be
legally done, however, and SO the creditors
were obliged to pocket their losses with as
good grace as possible. Perhaps this was
not reputation or dishonorable conduct.
1t is less than two weeks since John v.
Farwell, the head of this delectable firm
and leading light in the Young Mems Chris
tian association, made political speech in
the course of which he advised the Repub-
licans of Chicago to send twenty five thou
sand men into Indiana to vote the Republican
ticket. If his advice had been followed every
man OF the twenty five thousand would have
rendered himself liable to imprisonment in
the penitentiary for what is declared by the
laws of every State a criminal offense. Was
this speech honorable?
Another member of the same firm, Charles
B. Farwell, is a chronic bulldozer. At every
election he warns the employees of the house
that they are expected TO vote the Republi,
can ticket on pain of dismissal, and he has
them all spotted to see that they obey the in
structions given them. He is this year a
candidate for Congress, and will use his tao
tics to the full extent. Can he consistently
pirate about rep1diation and dishonor2
The truth is that the business men of the
country are about evenly divided between
the iwo parties, both in point of wealth and
responsibility. Taey have ali perfect right
to their political opinions and a right to ex-
press them, but they have no right to ma
Ign their opponents in such q manner as
the Chicago merchants have done. The
Democratic merchants resort to no such ex-
pedients. Taey have simply declared it as
their opinion that the election of Hancock
will not interfere injurionsIy With business,
but thai change of administration would
be likely to prove beneficial.
The GLOBE does not hesitate to challenge
comparison between the character and
standing of Democratic and Republican
merchants and manufacturers, The forme,
would suffer nothing by such o1mparison
All the virtue, all the intelligence, all the sa-
gacity, nor yet all the wealth, does not reside
in the Republican party, which every candid
man will be forced to admit if he bat looks
about him little.