The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-03-14
What Will he the General Effect.

The State Alliance has met and
dispersed. 1t was the largest con-
vention of farmers ever held in the
state. Fully 500 delegates and al
ternates were present. AS not
more than $50 alliances were
represented, it discloses the fact that
many alliances are resting" ..~
Many of these will reorganize, but
again a large number have new
plants on the graves of the dead
ones.
The effect of the late session did
not depend upon it's great size. The
fact that 200 alliances had been
formed since the ''revivalists'' en-
tered the field-and that the live al
liances counted for more independ
ent action than ever before exhibited
gave promise that the reign of
the politician over the Minnesota
farmer had ceased. The result was
as anticipated. But the cutting
loose from the politician was not
done without struggle. That it
was hard struggle was the more
evidence that it was final and de-
termined. But for determination the
accomplished wire-puller would still
have maintained his power.
The warehouses; were there. There
was John Diamond, who can smell
ballot box afar off, and w. j. Bod
kin-whose portly form and polished
face bespoke the city farmer who
worked broad acres and lived in town.
There was T. C. Hodgson, whose
farm is nowhere, whose assumed
residence is Otter Tail county, whose
alternate card is from Grant county,
and whose business has been for
three years a political grain inspec-
tor at St. Paul, and is now that OF
Secretary OF st. Paul stock Insur-
ance Company. There was Mr..
Sprague, President and Travelling
Man for a Scheffer Insurance Com
pany at St. Paul. There was Jos.
Keenan,, agent of the Deering Com
pany at Austin, and Sec'y Haigh,
stakeholder in the reorganized Hecla
ms. Co., with two Wisconsin Bank
ers and Albert Scheffer as owner of
$175,OOO of stock out of 100000.
There was Gen. Baker, the rejuve-
mattel politician, who two years ago
was making protection oratory his
business, and now pronounces the
tariff Infamous" There was ex-
president Atwood, the st. Cloud
Real Estate and Loan Agent, whose
farm is in the Heaven of the future
world. There was Sen. Hixson (of
Grant), who kept extremely quiet
and deserves credit therefor. There
was Senator Shields, OF Litchfield,
VINO thought one Doodle Senator
was better than another, and would
doubtless have voted for both if he
could. There was, think OF it,
YE HEAVY HANDED CHILDREN,
There was-in all his pristine in
nocence and manly "booty,' Rail
way Commissioner Gibbs-against
whom the alliance fights, and with
whom it thus weeps it's alligator
tears over one common grave of the
dead past. Then there was Mr.
Canning, the grain-elevator man of
Duluth, and T. H. Toombs, who
.glorities his record in the political
pothouse on the plea that the labor
er is worthy of his hire.
They were there-the whole of
them-Oh yes, and there was John
Diamond, the brave and beautiful!
And the political "cinch" they play
ed on the third floor of the Claren-
don began to now down whole
swaths of honest farmers the very
urbU Jay.
And the effect was:
That the old war-horsemen were
laid tenderly on the shelf. j. j. Fur
long was the only man left. Fur
long is still a relic OF the old reign
of politicians and boodlers. Not
all the names recited above are
''boodlers,' of course, but then there
was poor dog Tray caught in bad
company J. ]. was continued by
a mistake in withdrawing another
candidate at the last moment.
Out of eleven officers of whom nine
are on the executive committee, only
two will remain as of yesterday-Mr.
Furlong and Mr.. Donnelly, and MIR.