Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-09
A STATE REDEEMED.
Times Too Good in Minnesota for the
Third Party This Year.
NO MORE AID TO THE DEMOCRATS.
Protection Is Found to Benefit Farmers as
Well as Others.
MANY SIGNS OF THE RETURNING TIDE

ST. PAUL, Oct. 8-'rWhat effect are the
large crops, good prices and general pros
| perity of the farmers having upon the
/ Farmers Alliance political party?" is a
| question that is being discussed at present,
/ not only in the East, where the Alliance is
comparatively unknown, but also in the
West, where it is, perhaps, too well known.
In Minnesota there is no election ahead
this year, eitfrsr county or State, that will
absolutely show the condition of the third
party movement.
The farmers of the State are only taking
care of the greatest crop in the history of
the Commonwealth and have no time for
calamity" speeches, or even meetings of
their local Alliances. In fact, they seem
to have lost all interest in the movement.
The good crops are not altogether respon-
sible for this condition of affairs. The Al
lance wave which swept over the State a
year ago threw the Legislature into the
hands of the Democrats and Alliance men,
neither party having a majority, but the
combination when effected, outnumbered
the Republicans by four in the Senate and
80 in the House.
The record of the past session shows it to
have been one of the most corrupt in the
history of the State. 1t made the most
lavish appropriations for all sorts of objects,
and made the raising of a tax levy a neces-
sity. The tax levy was raised from mill
and 40 to mills and 2-10, although the
assessed valuation had largely increased
during the previous two years. This dis
posed of one of the main campaign argu-
ments OF the Alliance and Democratic par
ties, which was that the Republican party,
which had controlled all departments of the
State Government and every Legislature
in 80 years, was corrupt.
Another strong card in the Alliance cam
paign of 1890 was the misrepresentation of
the Mckinley tariff act. The calamity"
orators, among whom were all the broken
down or retired politicians of both the old
parties, travelled from one end of the State
to the other, telling the farmers that the
cost of every article needed by them would
be greatly increased by this act. A series
of poor crops and low prices combined to
discourage the farmers They rallied to the
support of the new movement, thinking
that their condition could be no worse
while it might be bettered.
NOW ALL IS CHANGED
This year, however, all is different The
farmers supplies have cost him less than
any year in his experience, and for his un-
precedented crop he is finding ready sale
at prices far in advance\ of any that have
prevailed since the introduction of self
binding reapers and other labor-saving ma
chinery that have reduced the cost of farm
ing so greatly.
The country merchants of Minnesota are
extremely sick over the part they played in
last years campaign. This year the State
Alliance organization started what they
called purchasing agency, which,
quality of goods, thus displeasing the farm
ers, took a vast amount of trade from the
local merchants. The merchants of Mime
sots will not pay for advertising space to
boom the free trade movement next year.
In addition to these causes for disaffection
in the Alliance party, there is another
which will probably exercise a greater in
fluence in turning the farmers back to the
old parties than either or both of them. 1t
is probable split in the party. When the
new Peoples party was launched at Cincin-
natl last summer, one of the leading lights
in that movement was Ignatius Donnelly,
the Baconian scholar and the President of l
the Minnesota Alliance.
IGNATIUS DONNELLY'S s FIGHT
He was on the National Committee on
Resolutions and had more to do with franz
ing the wonderful platform adopted than
any other one man in the body. He was
appointed Minnesota's representative on
the National Committee of the new party,
and on his return to the State set about the
difficult task of turning. the Farmers AL
lance of Minnesota into the People's
party.
By means of some clever work be sue
ceed in supplanting the State Central Com
mittee, which managed last years campaign,
by a new Committee of the Peoples !
party. This was not accomplished
without considerable opposition, es-
pecially from that quarter of the State in |
which the Alliance polled its heaviest vote |
a year ago, the Fifth District, in which the |
only Alliance member of Congress- from the |
State was elected. In this district the |
Baconian Statesman has few supporters and |
largely on account of the feeling against |
him. The Alliance men will refuse to be led'l
into the new party. /
For several years the Alliance in Mime |
sofa has been sort of a Democratic side |
show, and last year it started with the same |
object in view. All they hoped to do was
to draw votes enough from the Republicans
to give the State to the Democrats.
FUSION WITH THE DEMOCRATS.
In many counties the Democrats and AL
lance fused on local, Legislative and even
on Congressional tickets. Both these
parties made free trade campaigns and had |
nothing to say against each other. The
Legislature and four Congressman of the
five elected were taken away from the Re
publicans in this way, but the scheme failed |
as far as the State ticket was concerned.
There were about 10, 900 dissatisfied Demo-
Gratis in the State who voted either for Gov
ernoT Merriam, the Republican candidate,
or Owen, the Alliance nominee.
Then, again, the criticism that the ALI
ance party was working in the interest of
the Democrats forced the latter to make
some sort of fight on Democratic counties.
Owing to these causes the Republican State
ticket pulled through, but it was narrow
scrape. The vote stood US follows: Mer-
riam, Republican, $751; Wilson, Demo-
crat, 81, 844; Owen, Alliance, 58,513, Pink
ham, Prohibition, S,424.
In 1888 the vote of the State was larger
by 20, 900, and was DIVIDED as follows: Mer-
riam, Republican, 134, 1856; Wilson, Demo-
crat, 110, ,251; Harrison, Prohibition, II .026.
In 1888 Governor Merriam ran 5000 behind
President Harrison, so that the Republican
vote of the wear was really 142, 492, while
The Democratic vote, as cast for Cleveland,
was 1O4, 1856, while the Prohibition for Fiske
was 1911.
REPUBLICANS WERE THE LOSERS.
This shows that while the Democrats
ost less than $4,000 votes last year, the
lost "a, 200 and the Prohibi-
5ionists 1000. This is conclusive proof
hat the Democratic scheme was all right,
out that there were more Democrats in the