Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1891-01-23
Corporations and Trusts, COmbina-
lions and Stock Gamblers
Roasted to a turn.
a Frightful Picture Of the Present
and Future Condition of
the Farmer.
An Argument Against King Caucus
in the Nomination of a United
States Senator.
An Eloquent Pair.
from Fridays Daily.]

The mass meeting which had been so ex-
ing at the Atheneum, and every perform
ance listed upon the bills was gone through
with.
The curtain rose, in a fgurative sense,
upon Captain Sid Smith situate at the
right of the platform, with Colonel Plum
mer, Bill Irwin and Walter Muir sitting as
named at his right. Colonel Plummer was
tuot in good trim-that was to be seen at
the first glance. In the first place, he had
a bad cold. and secondly, a situation in
which he must bring the batteries of his
OratOry to bear upon the party which he
had served in many a hard fought cam
paign-aJ so much per night and found
seemed to bring him to a pensive mood,
and his downcast features showed that his
native mOdesty was touched by the peculi-
arity Of his situation. But the %throbbings
of his great heart, as it went out to the
downtrodden farmers of the Red River val
ley-whO loan money to Minneapolis and
st. Paul-could be heard all over the room.
He sat directly behind a Pickering lamp,
the glare Of which wreathed his features
with a sickly cast, and gave to the audi
ence a fair view OF the best talker IN the
state. Colonel Plummer, with all that elo-
quence which he can produce, as the pro-
fessional mourner brings forth tears,
cratic combine or the wrongs of the pro
~letariat, began the duty for which he had
been hired-even as the hungry man
tackles his pork and beans. His speech
was brief, but not to the point, as there
was no 'point" visible to the naked eye:
That, he, a professed republican, should
lend himself to the enemies OF the party,
the minds of his hearers. He appeared in
the role OF critic. and glibly touched upon
the errors that party had made. At the
end of his speech, the farmer who at Grand
Forks said he vas "under the harrow, re-
tired and at once retired from the hall.
FARMER ERw1N's ELoQUENCE.
Then Captain Sid stepped to the fore and
introduced Bill Erwin, a gentleman who
plows and sows-and hopes to reap-in
the political field down in Minnesota. OF
course he made a good ~speech-that is his
business. Perhaps there is no man in the
west who can better than Bill Erwin clothe
sophistry with beauty of diction. What
ever his subject he is always earnest and
impressive in its advocacy. He scored the
Great Northern and criticised the North
ern Pacific. He spoke Of it's immense land
grant as though its possession wa a crime,
forgetting to state that its building had
made the settlement of the country pos.
sible. His speech was logical, and he
threw figures and alleged facts around
promiscuously-all tending to prove that
the American farmer was going to the
demnitiOn bOWwOwS and that his cOndi-
ton was little better than that of the Rus.
sian serf. Some applause followed Erwin's
close, more for his ability than his logic.
There was a big crowd present but there
was no enthusiasm and applause, every.
body seeming to take the appearance of
Plummer and Erwin in the role OF philan-
thropists as a huge joke.
At 1870 O'Clock, Erwin closed, ana most
of the crowd departed. Walter Muir then
arose III stated that, as the hour was late
he would not speak, and 50 the public was
deprived Of hearing the views Of the man
who, in the late campaign, after standing
in his chance in a republican convention
and failing, started up a side-shOw of his
own and sought to overthrow the party
which he had vainly sought to rule.
Music was furnished by Palmer'S band
Sid Smith, heretofore supposed to be a re-
publican, acted as chairman, and Mrs.
Slaughter as secretary.
1t is not likely that the "fake' has
changed the vote OF a senator or represent
alive.