St. Paul daily globe., 1890-12-30
A HOT ROAST
Mr.. Scheffer, Ar. Donneily and the
Great West-Letter From T. c.
HodgsOn.

Mr.. Scheffer, HEr. DonneiIy and tho
Great West-Letter From t. c.
Hodgson.
Thomas c. Hodgson. for many years
prominent worker in the Grant County
Alliance, but now resident of this
city, still takes an active interest in the
welfare of the organization, and believ-
ing that the election OF the Sage OF
Nininger would do the cause a great in
jury writes the following caustic criti-
cism of Donnelly and his partner "Doc'
Fish:
To the Editor of the Globe
1t is not strange that the public interest is
at present excited over the question whether
or not the great Alliance movement which
has weathered many storm during these
last six years is TO be bound hand and foot
and delivered over to that 'pestiferous little
demagoSuen whose only purpose is to use il
for his own personal gain. For my own part
| have nothing to gain by his defeat or 10
lose by his success. His ascendency can i'll
no wise affect me personally, ana hence feel
perfect security in opposing him. and ike
to do it because it is right. 1t is impossible
not to feel an interest in a movement with
which one has been so long identified and
also in the society which has been the great
exponent of that movement. ] cannot be-
lieve that the great body of free men (sup-
posed TO be) will consent to deliver them
l think however, the time has come foP
some one TO say word in vindication Of ona
VINO has been Tuthlessiy and maliciously
slandered and DETAINED Tor a year past with
vengeance and hatred almost demoniac.
The farmers who have read and trusted the
Great West have almost weekly peen treated
with deluge OF lies and SANDERS upon the
good name ard character OF Albert Scheffer
In St. Paul, where Mr.. Schefer is known and
honored. this libelous sheet cOuld illuminate
its falsehoOds forever and fail 10 make 4
single man believe them. That any farmer
believes them is an impeachment of mis- in
telligence or his honesty
1t is known that the conspiracy which
hatched and brought into existence The
Great West was inspired by deadly enmity to
Mr.. Schetfer.
It's prime business is to defama him. It's
doubtless paid for that work, ana well paid
Why should Mr.. Scheiier be so relentleSsly
pursued by this vile sheet and its character
less master? 1t is known that Mr. Scheffer
wss i'll 1888 candidate for governor before
the Republican convention. 1t is also well
known that many prominent men, including
majority of the executive committee of the
Farmers Alliance, favored his candiuacy,
and labored necessarily for his success The
means by which he was defeated are also
well understood. But it is not so well
known that the editor of an obscure paper
in POpe county at the Scheffer headQuarterS
demanded doodle for its support of Mr.
Schefer's candidacy and was refused. This
may account for u portion of the bitter hos
Liil!ty eXniDiteQ UN the Great W est.
MIR. Scheffer was defeated and withdrew
from active politics and retired 10 his busi-
ness. Though unfairly beaten, he accepted
the situation and announced bis retirement
by the personal assaults or the Pioneer Press
did he allow himself to be driven from his
purpose. On that occasion he made Yehe-
ment speech against the head of the Repub-
lican ticket, from whence he believed the
attacks of the Pioneer Press to be inspired.
Notwithstanding the constant flood OF false
hood and calumny that has almost weekly
issued from the Great West for year past
and the fact that air. Donneily uttered delib-
crate lies on the floor of the last State AL
lance convention, and that he has ever since,
in private and in public reiterated the same
ISLANDERS, be has held tenaciousiy 10 his pur-
pose and kept aoof from everything that
seemed like an attempt to control the AL
lance or the politics of the state. 1t does
not take an intelligent man to discover ;ha.
tie lies OF the Great West are lies. An ordi-
nary fool, if honest, could see It. 1t takes an
extraordinary fool or knaVe to believe IL after
examining the facts.
Mr.Scheffer refused to run TOR mayor while
all his friends and all his honest enemie ao
knowledge he might have been elected. lie
voluntarily surrendered his position as
state senator. which no power could have
Wrested from him, and he held back with
folded hands when GOV. Merriam secured
the delegation from this county, and which
he might have prevented if he had chosen.
y hundred times he has refused TO go abroad
and make speeches in political camp aigns.
He has never directly or indirectly asked
any favor of the Alliance or any of its men,
bers. Nor have any of his friends done SO
for him. There is not an Alliance man liv-
ing who can truthfully say that he has been
asked to use his Alliance influence in Mr.
Scheffer's behalf. In the face Of all this the
Great West has blown the eyes of its gullible
readers full OF the dust of its lies and cal
umny, and we hear that thousands of them
do believe the rot as implicitly as IL they
were born idiots. Barnum once said that the
people do love to be humbugged. l am now
persuaded he was right.
Donnelly loves 10 tell the world that Mr..
Sprague and the writer were bribed into the
service OF Mr.. Scheher, and he never fails 10
remind the public that we have salaries.
have before pointed out the ineffable cheek
that is required upon the part OF the man
who makes this assertion, when his whole
life is honeycombed with bargain and sale.
The man who used his Alliance influence
to fill his pocket out OF a Doodle campaign,
and to put his son ana son in-law into sine
cure positions in the state service, ought, for
very shames sake, to refrain from such
charges upon others.
Having tried by arts and inducements to
beguile Mr.. Sprague into the service of his
MASTER his venal mind, it would seem, was
incapable of supposing that Mr.. Sprague re-
fused on grounds of common honesty, so he
assigns as the reason some greater induce
ment on the part of Mr. Scheffer
The Great West has taken special delight
to advertise Alr. Scheifer to the world as Il
''plutoerat." If the venal sheet were sincere
in its outcry against plutocrats it could have
found 100 men in the Twin Cities to inveigh
against with more proprety than Scheffer.
Take, for instance, the governor of the
state. He is said to be worth from one to
three millions; his father twice as much, and
his uncle more than either, in all from six to
ten millions. Now why didn't Fish and
DoSSSsesn G0rn- the farmers against this awful
klut5JI'ssT Silich was governing the state,
and CORFU pting the elections and the people?
Was it because they were both supplied from
that plethoric udder? How comes it
that they have never said aught
but kind words about this terri
bic combination of capital while they
below like bulls Of Bashan against man