The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-11-03
A DECAMEKON OF ISLANDERS.
Senator WINDOWS Temperate Reply to the
Charges Disseminated By His
Traducers.
His Wealth Exasyerase Ten-Fold---The
Charges of Absenteeism, Private
and Official Corruption
Disproved.
An Old Lie Affecting The Pioneer Pres:
Noticed and Denied for the First
Time by Mr. Window.

Noticed and Denied for the First
Time by Mr. Window.
The following letter Of Senator
Window, addressed hy him to Martin
5. Chandler, In reply to \ note from
that gentleman. soliciting contra
diction of certain campaign ISLANDERS.
is furnished for publication.
WINoNA, Oct. II, 1892 Mr.. NJ.
:. Chandler, Red Wing, Mimi:
My Dear SRI have your note Of
yesterday, calling my attention TO
the fact that your county is being
Hooded with certain newspapers,
containing all sorts uf false and ma.
liciouS charges against myself, de-
signed to defeat the regular Republic.
can nominees for the legislature.
Since the Republican nominations
have been made throughout the State
my political opponents are frantic
with disappointment. They know
that more than threP-fourths of the
candidates nominated are my friends,
and that the only way they can hope
to defeat me is to defeat our party at
the polls. TO accomplish this they
must hesitate ut nothing. however
despicable or audaciuuS. One would
suppose that the responses to their
c;llInnieS that have come from all
parts of the State in the nomination
of my friends. and in the numei Gus
instructions for my support 10y the
| wnnlI
couragrd them in the further use of
defamation as an instrument of po-
litical warfare, hut they seem To
have learned nothing from popular
rrbuke. ! agree with you that these
lihclious assaults have done no per-
crptiblc injury. and ON my own nc
cGnnt | should not notice them. but
as their evident purpose is To defeat
yourself AMI other friends who are
candidates for the legislature, deem
it due Ia you that | should briefly re.
fer to such of the charges ~ have
been brOngh; to my attention. by
the most audaciOuS inventions, eXag-
gerations and falsehOols, my tradu-
GERS magnify my possessions 10y many
times their real value, and then as
sumo that snch immense wealth as
they have falsely attributed to me
could not have hcen honestly acquired.
Let me give to you few illustrations
of their reckless disregard of truth.
One paper which they have largely
distributed over the State makes ont
Il list of my alleged property in which
am credited with III 100000 of real
estate in Washington Territory;
50 100000 invested in ranches and
mines in New Mexico; $2,000,000 in
Virginia railroad bonds, and S2.OO0,-
600 in United States bonds, making
"a snug tota! of $1,000 and Am
asked to account for such vast wealth.
These statements are pure fabrica-
ti0ns. | am ready to give bonds with
good security, to convey and transfer
to my opponents this entire 81 ,O00.-
900 of property for the sum of %
cents.
Another says that ! have record
ed title To 100000 worth of real
estate in Dakota. bought this prop.
erty four years ago ut the price for
which anybody else could have pnr-
chased it. How much it is now worth
| do not know, but l will be glad to
give my opponents Il good commission
for selling it for one-half the sum
named by them.
The same sheet says that l have
sold my interest in the Northern Pa
ciiic road for $630,000 Another art
full exaggeration containing about
90 per cent. of falsehoOd, This is,
however nearer the truth than those
libelers generally venture to approach.
Another illustration Of the way
my alleged wealth is fabricated for
political proposes, by my opponents,
is furnished by their statements with
regard to my house in Washington,
of which Il very fair picture and a
very false description have been dis
tributed over the State at no incOn.
siderable expense to somebody. 1t is
declared TO be "70xS0 feet square"
making $500 square feet oil each
floor, when, in fact, it is but 49x5O
feet square with an addition l2x24
feet, making only 2,73S square feet,
or less than half the size falsely al
legged. Having thus by sheer lying
more than doubled its dimensions,
they proceed to estimate how many
farm houses, churches, ETC., such an
immense house would contain, and
then assert that the lot, house and
furniture cost, lat low estimate
1927 600. The fact is that they cost
less than 35 per cent. of the sum.
What will the honest people of Min
nesota think of such methods of elec'
pioneering The house is Il good one,
and | make no apology for building
it, since it is nobOdY's business but
my own. ] refer to it only to illu-
strate the shainelessness of my OPP.
pOnents in res0rting to such despic.
able methods. When the contract
for its construction was given l Was
IA member of the cabinet, and needed
such house. Mr.. Blaine, who is so
much admired by some of my tradu.
GERS, WAS also i'm the cabinet, and at
1.-The same time built "a residence in
| Washington very much larger than
mine, and costing about twice as
much. have never heard of amy
complaint against him on that ac-
count, nor is there ground for any.
| might add many more illustrations
of their shameless .alsehoOds lis TO
my property, hut these are enough
for the present Another complaint
is that am not u resident of the
State. This absurd story has been
told SO often by my enemies that
some Of them who have not sense
enough to know that tho senate holds
it's sessions in Washington city in
stead OF Wlnoni. really begin to be-
lieve it. i imagine, however, that
they will lind very few people SO
ignorant Us not To know that the
duties of Il senator and cabinet officer
require his presence at the national
capital, have spent nearly all Of
every vacation in Minnesota since j
have been in Congress, and have gen
orally devoted from six to eight
weeks TO campaign work in this
State. From the lst of December.
1850, until the middle OF August.
lSS2-twenty.one monlhs-I was con.
stantly OH duty in Washington, either
as senator or secretary of the treas
ury. This enforced absence is parad
ed as proof of non-residence. Surely
my opponents must be hard pressed
for complaints against me, or they
you'd find something which would
less expose their own Ignorance of
public affairs.
But it il said that my family alb
scented themselves from the state for
several years, and taken up their resi-
dence in Washington. plead guilty
to the Ofrense of having my wife and