St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-04
Why the Farmers of Polk
County Are in Revolt
Against Merriam.
More Than Half Of the Vote
Of the County May Go to
S. nj. Owen.
Nobody Outside of the Ring
Expects to Vote for Gov.
Merriam.
1t Is Even Doubtful if P. j.
Mcclure Carries His Own
County.
Staff Correspondence of the Globe.

Staff Correspondence of the Globe.
CRooKsToN,e Oct 3.-From Fergus
Falls l sent out the information that
Otter Tail county was the hotbed of the
farmers movement. That statement /
now wish toretract and pay actual dam
ages. The real hotbed is further north,
and Polk county would lie much nearer
| its center. 1t is here that the Minnesota
farmer is really asserting himself. and
from here l say in all candor Merriam
is not in it. Two years ago Polk county
gave Merriam over 1900 majority in a
total vote of 5.400. Next Novem Der it
would take something more potent than
a returning board to discover anything
like plurality. A little calm reflection
has been at work, and Judge Wilson
has been through here, and, in the Ian
guage of II. E. Cook, editor of the Polk
County Journal and an influential Re
publican. Gov. Merriam is not in it.
1t is better to get this information
from Republican than from Demo-
cratic sources for the plain reason
that If it errs it leans to the Republi-
can side: therefore, when a prominent
NAOOhObOu PuOlISsttis WIN uQo always
been staunch Merriam man, says:
Merriam virtually robbed the farm
ers OF Polk county of S200,0 and the
farmers are through with him." it NAV
be set down that revolution is at hand.
This is not a wiId-eyed scare on the
tariff, nor blind adulation at the AL
lance shrine; in Polk county it is a gem
eral uprising against Merriam, revolt
from the Republican ticket is the in
crv.T rsnfI H. e. +
general throughout this end of the state
and it seems to be-aIl the Doodle of
dozen Merriams and the fnesse of a
thousand Heatwoles could not save the
ticket.
Robbed the Farmers.
Merriam has robbed the farmers.o
This is the charge that is flying from
CrookstOn TO Fosston, and from Foss-
ton to Red Lake Falls. The specifica-
ton is that the present executive has
broken his pledges and betrayed the
farmers by setting up warehouse COM
mission against the farmer. and in
the interest Of the wheat ring 'sHe
sold US out to G. 81. Graves on the one
hand and to c. A. Pillsbury on the
other" is the way Mr.. Cook put it. II
hold that a difference of one cent a
bushel makes a difference of 5000 to
or Cook, land last year that difference
was an average of 10 cents a buShel.
The farmers suffered the lOSs,'' he con-
tinued, ''but they will repay Merriam
at the polls this fall. 1t will be Wilson
or Owen this time, and if we can beat
Wilson with Owen, Owen VIII be the
next governor.
Its long story, and to Merriam it
is narrowing one." said Mr.. Cook.
fc oc+rN OE IL 4
faith and purchased delegates from one
end to the other. Didn't Moses Clapp
tell the convention in July in st. Paul
that to nominate anybody but Braden
or Nelson meant sure defeat? Ii they
had dared they would have beaten him
for th at speech. But his words will
come true. They knew the sentiment
up here. The last Republican in the
county has disappeared except the few
members of the ring here in Crookston.
When the county convention was held
they hired delegates to come here and
paid their expenses and regular days
wages. They dare not appoint com
mlttee on resolutions, for they knew
they would indorSe Nelson. They paid
their way to st. Paul, just as they dld
two years ago. This county was never
for Merriam, though the delegates were
Bought for Him.
ST said this recently in St.Paul, ,and as
soon as it got into the newspapers Joel
Heatwole sent for me, and wanted to
know what it all meant. l told him,
and also told him | was sorry to see he
had not kept up the independent stand
he had taken. He said sometimes he
was sorry himself, but that now he was
there they must win. replied he was
undertaking hard job, and 80 they'll
find it,"
"What about broken pledges, Mr..
Cook?''
well. you know the promises Mer-
riam made to help out the farmers in
the grain market. The first thing he
did was to appoint one man who was di-
rectly in the employ of railroads and
another that has no more backbone
than an eel. He had already promised
Gov. Barto and had notified him, but
the Northern Pacific raised howl and
Merriam changed. But Merriam prom
ised TO appoint A. n. Hopkins, of this
county, chief weigher at Duluth. He
even put it in black and white, and the
letters will rise I'D to confront. On his
promise of support. this county had
gone for Graves for speaker, but Graves
refused to write to Merriam and sue
ceeded in lodging out of it, though Mer-
riam said positively he would make
the appointment if Graves requested it
In writing. Gibbs lodged me, though
he knew well enough / had carried this
county Tor him in 1886. Well. as re-
suit. the appointment actually went to
young man out at Devils Lake-act-
ually to man out of the state.'
"And now, what2''
'Oh, there's no use going over this
but Merriam is doomed in this county.
just try if you can find a Republican in
this county outside of the ring, that's
all. More than half of the vote of the
county will go to Owen. The Demo-
Gratis will vote for Wilson and the ring
will vote for Merriam. After Nov
sed if you find that suberb old-time
majority for the Republican ticket.n
Doomed and Damned.
This expresses the situation in Polk
county. Prominent Republicans are
under the ban. Even P. j. Mcclure.
the candidate for state auditor. who
was largely instrumental in getting
P. 81. Rahilly off the Alliance ticket, is
not only doomed, but is damned in the
house of his friends for his support of
Merriam. 1t is doubtful If even he will
carry the county. Halvor Steenerson is
in the dumps. Such men as II. j.
Thompson and A. D. Stevens are in bad
repute with the farmers, and the old
Merriam machine, smashed and rusty,
has been dumped into the corner of q
ten-acre patch to go to destruction.
These are not Democratic pen pictures