St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-08
TWAS EVER THUS.

Among the Old nursery rhymes APP
pears the following wise proverb: "a
man of words and not of deeds is like
garden full of weeds" 1t remains to
be seen whether or not this prOverb is
to have an application to the Farmers
alliance of this state; but if we are to
Judge from past experiences we have
serious apprehension that the smooth
sounding resolutions adopted at the late
alliance convention III this city will
grow up into a DOuntituI harvest of
weeds, and nothing more. We do not
mean to say that the farmers of Min
neSOta did not mean what they said in
those resolutions. On the contrary.
we know that they were honest
and earnest in every expression;
but there is such a vast differ
ence between saying and doing.
and the farmers of this state have de-
Vel0ped such marvellous genius for
saying one thing and doing another, we
confess that we have not as much con-
fidence in the fulfillmentOf the promises
made in these resolutions as possibly we
ought to have. 1t is case of where the
spirit is willing, but the flesh is wax.
The farmers of the state have an earnest
longing to come out from under the
SDndage of high tariff oppression, but
they have heretofore lacked the moral
courage to make break for freedom.
They have been bound around so tightly
With party lines, and for so long time.
Ehey imagine themselves to be power
less 10 burst the letters that bind them,
and prefer to sit still bemOaning their
captivity rather than to make bold,
successful break for liberty. Then. too.
they are cajOled by their captors into
the false belief that their emancipation
is to come to them after awhile as the
gratuitous gift of those who hold them
in slavery.
To illustrate what we are saying we
have but to review the political history
of this state for the last four years. At
the time Gov. MGGILL was nominated
the farmers came into the Republican
convention under the leadership of
kNUTE NELSON. demanding 4 farmer
candidate for governor and platform
declaring in favor of tariff reform. They
got the platform, but they didn't get
the candidate. The politicians said:
promises are cheap. We can afford to
give the farmers any sort of platform
they ask for so long as we retain control
of the Offices" The farmers went away
from that convention gulled into the
belief that they had the Republican
party committed to tariff reform pol
Icy, and fell straight into line, support
ing the Republican candidates.
Now, let us see how near the Repub-
lican party of this state has come to full
filling the pledges it made in that plat
form. Two senators have been elected
since that time, both of them hide
bound protectionists, who will oppose
every measure looking to reduction of
taxation. At that time four of the five
Minnesota Republican congressman had
voted for the Morrison tariff reform
bill. Every one of them has been dis
placed by representatives of corpora
ton interests; and of the five congress-
men now representing this state. 1t is
safe to say not one of them will intro
duce or support any measure that looks
to a cutting down of the tariff rates, or
reducing the taxes to strictly revenue
basis.
There is the difference between pro-
fessions and performances.
Again this year the farmers are on
their mettle, demanding a revision of
ire tariff and wiping out of the war
taxes. The Republican governor steps
down from his party platform of two
years ago and tells the farmers they are
right in their demands. Under his
guidance the Republican state cOnven-
tiOn next summer will put tariff re-
form plank in their platform, and then
ask the farmers to again come UP to the