St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-06
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THE RACE ISSUE; WHO IS
RAISING TIP

The 1'lOneer Press accuses the Demo-
Gratis of raising the race issue be-
cause the Republicans have nominated
Mr.. NELSON fer governor. 1t claims
that they are trying 10 prejudice people
against him because he was born in
Norway. Of course the Pioneer Press
is making one of its customary cam
paign misstatementS. 1t is doing il for
a purpose. 1t always does. 1t is talking
for effect OH those voters who trace
their ancestry to Norway. 1t knows
that on Mr.. NELSON'S getting the votes
of his fellow cOuntrymen who left the
Republican party depend all chances
of his success. One of the Republican
state committeeman admitted this be-
fore Mr.. NELSON'S nomination. He
said that if 1--WE can't get these men
back the jig is up"
But who is raising this issue? Who
initiated it? The Democrats? The
GLOBE denounced it right after MEL
SONS nomination. 1t said that mo
man should vote against him because
he is Norwegian nor for him for the
same reason."' The issue was sprung
in the Republican state convention. in
the speech of FRANK DAVIS Seconding
NELSON'S nomination. He said: "De-
fections have occurred III the Repub-
lican party in Minnesota. They
are among class of yoemanry whom
this man can best approach and more
completely reach than any other. MEL
SON is the man who shall bring them
into line.''
Again. Mr.. NELSON made a speech
at Caledonia Oh the 1st. A Pioneer
Press reporter accompanied him. He
sent in special giving portions of the
speech. 1t appeared in that paper in
the issue of the Goth. In it he reports
MIR. NELSON as saying: ''1n the North
the Democratic party is following it's
old policy, as it did in the South, and
raises the question whether the Nor
wegian and foreigner in Minnesota
should not be restrained in his vote as
the colored man is in the South. Il
These Democrats. having got their
heels Oh the darkieS of the South, say
you are trying to raise the race issue !:
and when Minnesota Republicans have
the manhood and grace to put man
born in foreign country, of pure eau
casian blood, on the ticket. they say you
are bringing forward the race issue. |
tell you Democrats look upon US Nor
wegians good deal as Democrats down
South look on the negro, and so they
say, when we run for office, we are
dragging in the race ISSUE"
The Pioneer Press of the 9TH contains
what purports to be his speech in full,
but it is very singular fact that the
sentences just quoted are omitted from
this report. Did the astute editor of
that paper see that it was NELSON who
was thus raising the race issue with a
vengeance? Did he sense its bad effect
on Republicans? Did he not realize
that it was as bad break as was the
''Belshazzar feast?" And did he not
for these reasons run his blue pencil
through this part of the report?
Does Mr.. NELSON really think that he
can make his countrymen believe this
bosh? Does he think that they will be-
lieve him when he says that Demo
Gratis look on Norwegians as they do on
the negroes down South?" Do we so
utterly misjudge them, or does MI.
NELSON judge them and their intelli-
gencc correctly? We believe them to be
so intelligent that they will spurn the
statements and the man who dareS to
| make them as gross insult to them.
Possibly Mr.. NELSON is right and we
are wrong. The election will determine
this. among other things. We are conf
dent that it will be MIR. NELSON, and
not the GLOBE, who will have to revise
the estimate of the intelligence of the
| Norwegians of Minnesota.