St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-18
A SIINNESOTAN SPEAKS.
Congressman Halls Letter on the
Speakership.

~
The letter of o. NJ. Hall. congressman
from the Third Minnesota district, in
regard to the speakerShip is attracting a
great deal of attention from the press of
the country, owing to the succinctness
and soundness of the views expressed
on the tariff and money questions. In
full it is as follows:
RED WING, Mimi, Nov. IL, 1S9l.-To
Dear Sir: Your favor of the Sth inst
IS before me. do not agree with you in re.
gard 10 the speakership When in Washing
ton last March met and closely observed
all of the four leading candidates, Mills,
Springer, Crisp and Mcmillan. and was ia
vorably impressed with each OF them, They
are able and competent men. But liked
Mr. Mills the best i like him personally.
He is an old Roman, tried, reliable, indomit-
able and absolutely honest. He is incapable
OF the tyranny of Reed or the follies of q
Keller. IL occurred to me as | saw him upon
the floor of the house that he was man to
whom new members could conf
IDENTITY look for guidance and assist
ance. HIS knowledge of the rules
is so comprehensive and accurate and his
Willingness as / saw him, to aid his weaker
and less informed colleagues was SO marked
that | at once came to the conclusion that he
would be an excellent speaker for the new
members. This Is a matter of i'm Dortance to
those of us VINO are inexperienced in the
way of congressional legislation. Once in a
while we shall want the floor" and ne
Ileve that Mr.. NILS innate kindness and
fairness would induce him not merely to
give the new member "a chance" but to
positively encourage ana assist him with his
advice. Perhaps this is also true of your
1avorlte and of the other gentleman have
mentioned. Nevertheless Mr Mills man.
ner i'll this respect made a deeper impression
upon me than did that of the Others
But it is not merely upon personal grounds
kt,nsI nl,.. 1
Is pre-emlnently the exponent of the tariff
issue in the house. He is the issue itself He
has the most accurate knowledge of all the
intricacles and ldiosyncrasies of the tariff OF
any man in congress. with the possible ex-
ceptiOn or MIR. Carlisle. He has studied the
subject in all its details. aud has. if that
thing is possible. thoroughly mastered it. 1t
was he who endorsed Mckinley on nearly
every item in the latter's bill. He stood in
the trent and he above all others was the
stronger ana greater because of him. Others
notably McMiliin and Sprin ger, did good
work. but Mills was the central fgure-the
Horatlus of ,'tne dauntless lnrees
On the stumphiS labors have beeuequally
prominent and effective. l remember when
he came to Minnesota in the campaign OF
1851, and by single speech aImost.reyolu
tloIl1Zed the state. The election of Mime
sota,s three Democratic congressman was i'll
great measure due to the influence of thai
speech.
Will il do to reject man who has become
50 identified with the only Issue upon which
Democracy can hope for success? VIII moi
the world say that with the defeat of Mill:
the party lowers the flag Of tariff reform
VIII not his election to the speakershIp Dy 8
house chosen upon that issue emphasize the
Issue SO powerfully that ''Our friends, the
enemy" cannot dodge it in 1892?
Another matter influences me. which may
have escaped your notice. All of these cam
didates were inclined TO. and actually did
support free coinage i'll the last congress
This, to some extent. may be valid obiec
ton TO them. If so, it applies not to one only,
but to all of them equally, your favor
lite among the rest. Mr.. Mills. so far as
am informed alone realizes the transcend
ent importance of the tariff Issue. He alone
has had the courage to place it in the front
and relegate silver to the rear. l do not
mean by this that he has changed his opinion
upon the silver question, but that he realizes
that that issue, if now made prominent, will
neutralize tariff reform and disrupt the
party. Quick to comprehend the situation,
he prefers TO go into the 1892 battle with a
united and not broken and wrangling
force. He therefore insists that the tariff
must first be settled, and silver, like the man
in the barber shop, must wait its turn. -
Isn't this good sense? Isn't it leadership
Can you say that such man ''lackS discre-
tion:'
Why, what folly it is for party united. in.
vincible, almost triumphant upon the most
important economic issue ever in our poll
tics, To abandon that issue for one which is
certain to demoralize and disrupt its forces
No. my friend. we must hold TO the old faith
and fight the battle Of reduced taxation to a
finish. Then, if you please. we will tackle
silver. and then, unless Mr.. Mills grows more
obstinate, he and Will be in opposing ranks
Because he has the foresight to see the
danger which lies before us. and because he
has the courage and prudence to attempt to
steer clear of il, feel constrained to support
Mr.. Mills. Respectfully, o. NJ. HALL.