The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-10-02
COMMUNICATED.
E2itOr Free pre


The editorial in Tuesdays Recieuo on
Worlds Fair matters of course must
DE taken as an expression of the edi-
torlal sentiment on that subject. 1t
either shows an under estimate of the
important object or purpose of the
Worlds Fair or willingness to sacrifice
the honor and interest of the state to
his malignant partizan and personal
hatred of Gov. Merriam and of the
commission, and in that article ven
lures to administer a cuff to the ALI
ance head of the party, because its
executive committee at their recent
meeting did not condemn the attempts
OF that commission to raise more
money for the exposition; and even
warns the commission that their plan
to raise more money in the proposed
way is a violation of the following
clause of the law:
ANY state officer or officer acting
under this act who shall pledge or at
tempt topledge the credit of this state
beyond the sum appropriated herein,
shall be deemed guilty of larceny, IL
the sum so pledged; and this state
shall in no manner be liable in law Or
equity therefor"
This is followed by warnings of
crimal prosecutions if they dare to
violate its letter or spirit of the law.
The entire article connected with
his bitter and unrelenting opposition
to calling the legislature together for
that purpose shows the fixed determi-
nation of the editor of the RevieaC that
no additional sum shall be raised if he
can prevent it, let the consequences
to the honor of the State be what
they may. 1t is more charitable to
attribute this opposition of the ReUiea1
to want of capacity to comprehend
the great Importance and full signiff-
canoe of the proposed Worlds Fair to
the people of the Western Hemisphere
in general and the people of the
United States in particular than to
the narrow prejudice party ties and
personal hatred of the peanut polite
ian? though | regret to say the course
of the ReUieeO shows too much of the
latter. Is it fitting that the people
of the United States, the most
prosperous and powerful nation of the
great Western Hemisphere, and now
only a century old, the equal in christ
ianity, education, civilization, wealth
and power Of any Of the old nations of
old world, should make some
recognition of the four hundredth an
niversary of the most important Ito
all Americans) event in the worlds
history from the cruciflxion Of Christ
for worlds salvation to the present
time. And in what more fitting man.
ner could they recognize or celebrate
the great event than by holding a
grand fair for an exhibition Of the
wonderful product of this Re-
public and inviting the nations of the
old world to come over the seas to see
the grand exhibit Of our national de-
velopement and wonderful produc-
tions? Every state in the Union is in
vited to contribute its mite to make
it the greatest exhibit OF human
skill and earthly products ever col
lected in one exhibit on the globe, and
every broad-guaged Minnesotian earn
eStly desires that the North Star"
State shall occupy position in that
gathering equal to the claims Of her
intelligent and enterprising people as
second to none of her Northwestern
sisters between Illinois and Califor-
MIA in the production of agricultural,
mechanical and mining resources.
Thousands of Minnesota citizens will
probably visit the great Fair, and nine
tenths of them would feel Inundated
in the presence OF the world when
they got there to find nothing or little
more than they found at New Orleans,
which cost the State some forty to
forty-five thousand dollars-an exhi-
bition which never elected great
degree of State pride from visitors,
or has been the subject of boasting.
Is the Reuieao determined that the
present amount-S50, 000-is all that
the commissioners shall have to place
) Minnesota in competition with her
!, sister states of the Northwest before
the world or with the little South
American Republics Of San Salvador
or Costa RIGA, ETC., who have made
!, appropriations double and more than
double what Minnesota has? Pride in
our own state should stimulate Min
nesOtians, and in what way can they
better show it than in making an eXhib
it worthy the state at the WorldsFairi
Enonomy is one thing and niggardl,
picuyunishness quite another: either
are poor covering of partisan bigotry
! and personal malignity. The appro-
priation is altogether too small. No
man better than the editor of the Re-
vieU knows that it was peanuty poll
tics for which he is entitled to as
much credit as any other editor in
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