The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-27
SEATTLE, SUNDAY. SEP. "a.
FARMER PENNOYER.


At the Democratic love feast held at
Spokane last week letter was read from
Governor Pennoyer, Of Oregon, Which
seemed to confirm the intimation con-
viewed in his recent article contributed to
the North american Reriew that he had
become weary of both parties. and was in
love with that conglomerate lump OF
lunacies, social, political and financial,
the "People's Party" There is nothing
remarkable in this leaning of Governor
Pennoyer to the malcontent farmer party,
for the governor for five years past has been
assiduously playing upon the cornstaik
fiddle and the pumpkin-vine trombone.
The governor is the trombone end man of
PETER and Simpsons Agricultural Min
strels on this Coast. The malcontent
farmers, who think that lawyers and
bankers ought to be hunted down like
wild game, with an open season the year
round, deem Governor Pennoyer states
man whose pen Is mightier even
than a plowshare. The memory of
Nebuchadnezzar is held in reverence
by the PETER and Simpson COM
nildLlDu rs TIE ufsb ebdltSlDdh VIM
ever stopped to eat grass. but in a fgur-
alive sense Governor Pennoyer has eaten
more grass than any American statesman,
and in consequence he is suffering today
|. from severe attack of granger screen
sickness"
We assume that his ardent youth and
h. sturdy manhood were equally innocent
1f IL Iah1 hat
he has never poised upon a pitchfork q
trembling, trailing mass of hay; has
never shot 1t with the trenchant thrust of
his nervous arm into the open
mouth of hungry loft; has never
fondled the polished handle of q
fail; has never become bow-legged
bending his stubborn knees over the
swinging scythe or the odious onion bed.
And for this reason we were prepared to
greet his advent among the peoples
Party" with the same delight that boy
feels when his sister tries to chop wood or
throw stones, or wear his clothes or do
any other thing to her naturally new and
strange, but we were mistaken, for Gov
ernor Pennoyer has become Farmer PEN
meyer without a visible break; he
has lacerated nobody's legs yet with his
scythe, or put out the eye Of any Pefferite
with the handle of his new rake. Governor
Pennoyer has given proof that he Is no
mere politician without particle of am
bition or ability for agricultural pursuits
seeking to enter the "People's Party" for
his own advancement under the name and
sign Of devotion to the interests of the
farmer.
Governor Pennoyer is not without feel
Ing for the downtrodden farmer; indeed
he may be said to have done little else for
ten years past but feel for the farmer at
every opportunity. OF course it is very
easy to say that man is no farmer whose
life has been spent in top dressing his
water lots in Portland with saw
logs, but Governor Pennoyer is
really q farmer; a political farmer
who has been seeding down his state t.
yarieeated stupidity and serpentint
sophistry for many years. The first croI
was harvested when he was elected gov
ernor in 1856, and the second crop wher
he was reelected in 1890, and his thirc
crop will be gathered when he is nomi
mated for vice president, with Leland Stan
ford for president, by the Peoples Party
In 1892.
We have read with pain the follow
ing rather uncomplimentary estimate o.
Farmer Pennoyer in the columns of the
New York Erening Post:
IL is pity that all the looney people, VIII,
want To repeat experiments that have been di :
RstFuusty tried over and again. cnult
not be collected together into one country, al
island preferably, whore their antics would no
hurt anybody but themselves, aud provided
with all kinds OF printing presses aud dies, snC
materials. and blasting" and dehasing contri
vAnces, and allowed 20 do anything that the,
could agree 10. The prime difficulty in such
case would be that they would never agree &
any oie plan There would be silver men and
greenh ok men and sub-treasury men aud lanC
bank men, ana while they were disputing owe
plans Tor making everybody rich, the colony
would perish for want o. meat and potatoes.
OF course the Post can plead the seriou:
nature Of its provocation; il had just risen
from reading Governor Pennoyer's de-
scription of Farmer Pennoyer's scheme o!
fantastic {lnance for fertilizing the barren
pockets OF the arid farmers of the mort
gagged region of America who have not be
come MANFRED to the hardship of paying
an honest gold debt in money as good a,
gold.