St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-10-08
Eugene Wilson Has a Long
Lead Ov eP the Mil
lionaire.
The Dunnell-Meigs Letters
and Their Fearful Expos
ure Of Corruption.
Office Prostituted to the Base
Uses Of Political
Work.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe.
PRESTON, Oct. Remove from the
First district towns such as WinOna,
Austin, Roches er. OwatOnna and Al
bert ea.and there is left vast agricult-
ural community dependent absolutely
upon the products of the soil for sup
port. If chinch bugs rob and rust cor
rupts, whether taxes be high or taxes
be low, this community must face the
evil thing and bear the burden of the
loss. Austin, stimulated 10y its admira-
BILE rail connections with the outside
world; Preston having steady mercan-
tile trade year 10y year; WinOna grow
ing stronger each season through man
featuring developments; all three COM
manding some one resource at least be-
yOnd their purely agricultural trade,
do not, cannot feel SO keenly
the swift oppression that fails upon the
farmer when his crop is lost. For him
Sustenance, profit, remuneration are
gone and there remains the necessity
Af living, eating, taXpaying and money
Borrowing. The process is repeated
with him year after year. until dull
SubSeTviency 10 some of the hard con-
litions ceases and rebellion follows.
The terms "taXgatheFer" and tax"
whether meaning the tariff, state legis-
lGture or mOney-changer. become hide
Gus, and a natural revolt follows.
This is the condition OF affairs to-day
in the First congressional district,
forming Il happy parallel to the state in
the Fifth. The farming community,
which is in excess of that of the
ci les, burdened beyond all human
h.
against the many; contributing an
excessive and enormous tax to the East
ern manufacturers; paying each year
for the extravaganza of the legislature,
an increased state tax or an interest of
6 per cent Oh moneys borrowed by the
state from Banker Merriam and others;
have risen ell maSSe and repudiated
with an almost common voice the pre-
tensions OF Millionaire Merriam, Mark
IL. Dunnel and the HarriSOn-MortOn
combine. have been in the farming
centerS of the district for a week, and
in thai time,
have not heard a farmer say that he
would vote for Merriam,
Nor farmer say that he would vote
for Dunnell.
Nor farmer say that he would vote
for Harrison and Morton.
That this may not seem an eXaggera-
ton such as would give Mr..
of Sneeringly referring TO ''blind
craftsmanship" l may say that Judge
Wilson spoke TO all audience OF 700
farmers at Mantorville; an audience of
800 at Austin, among whom there were
not less than $50 farmers; and Preston
to l 800, over half of whom were farm
erS. about 100 of whom stood up for
lack of seats during the entire period of
his three-hours' address.
AS | have lived among these farmers
for seven days, learning their views and
missing no opportunity to secure an
opinion from them, it is to assert that if
there had been that warmth of feeling
for Merriam, Dunnell and the national
ticket that assures majOritieS, | would
have discovered it.
In a district blessed by all those
charms of nature that rightly used,
bring wealth and comfort to mankind, it
is not human to imagine that since high
and outrageous taxes are crushing the
life out OF the majority of its residents,
that they intend to rush into tae arms
of a millionaire candidate for governor,
or candidate for congress who pro-
nOunceS high taxation national
blessing
Il am convinced" writes Philpott,
''that almost nobody profits by the tariff
(high taxes except Il narrow clique of
milliOnaires, who have got rich by this
polite form of begging, and everybody
else pinched for their benefit"
Farmer Bell was more than wise
when at KasSOn, quoting from accurate
authorities, he said TO me:
in voting against Dunnell, whom /
supported in 1880. and against Merriam,
it is not the men between whom |
choose. but what they represent.
Il have farmed in this section of the
state for twenty-five years, and. in that
time, although being in thrifty COM
munity, have seen the farming land
decrease in value 30 per cent. In pro-
portion to the labor and improvements
put upon them, nine-tenthS of the
farms in this district are worth
less to-day than they were in 1866. At
the same time state and national taxes
and the values of corporations have
steadily Increased.
Il do not know farmer in my town
ship but what is poorer to-day than
when he purchased his farm and who
does not pay more taxes for less actual
value than when he began.
"ThOS. and Eugene Wilson represent
a direct pledge for lower taxes, and be-
cause they dol choose TO vote for them
although | have been Republican"
To still further encourage Farmer
Bell l append table for his peruSal.