The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-02-26
Congressman Moses Hurls De.
fiance at the Industrial Con.
ference Delegates.
Determination Of the Members
in Favor Of a Third Party
Made Manifest.
L. L. Polk Elected Chairman and
Jerry Simpson Starts Whirl.
wind of Talk.

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 24.-''If it is a crime
to be Democrat then you can take me
out and hang me now" Thus, with
Quivering frame, distended eyes, up
lifted arm and clenched fist, Congress
man Charles L. Moses, of the Fourth
Georgia district, hurled defiance at the
delegates to the Industrial conference.
A perfect cyclone of groans and Kisses
starting on the floor and following its
track up to the top gallery of Exposition
hall followed in the wake of the chal-
lenge. Hang me now" repeated
Moses in voice that penetrated the din
and again there was an avalanche of
unearthly sounds in the midst of which,
with apparently every nerve and fibre
shaking with passion and excitement,
the Georgia congressman sank back
into his seat. In this exciting episode
was made manifest the final determine
ton of the delegates to this convention
to declare in favor Of a third party and
an independent presidential ticket.
All that has so far been accomplished
in half day and nine hours could have
been done by well regulated assembly
in an hour. Business was continuously
interrupted with songs and story telling,
and one indignant granger voiced the
sentiment of many of his fellows when
he protested, after dozen stories had
been told and songs sung, that while
they were having pleasant entertain
ment and lots of fun, there was more
buncopbe than business.
Polk Elected Chairman.
The convention was called to order at
1915 q. N. and the report of the COM
mittee on credentials presented. The
report was unanimous, covering all the
states except Georgia, where there is a
contest, and showed that nearly geo
delegates were present, representing a
totsl of twenty-five organizations. The
report was adopted. A wrangle of
nearly an hours duration was occa-
stoned by resolution naming Colenel
/. L. Polk as permanent chairman,
which the chairman rushed through
without putting the negative question.
Polk was afterwards elected by nine
tenths vote. As vice presidents Miss
Frances Willard and Ben Terrell were
unanimously elected. John W. Hayes
was elected permanent secretary. After
the adoption of a resolution for the APP
pointment of the anti-option committee
the convention took a recess till 2:20
p. IA.
While the delegates got together after
dinner Frances Willard and Mrs.
Lease, of Kansas, were added to the
committe on platfor m and the report of
the Georgia contest was taken up. The
debate before referred to ended with
the adoption of the report and then
Winner, of Kansas, endeavered to get
an instruction to the committee on the
anti-option bill that instead of sending
a petition to congress in its favor they
petition congress to give the farmers
the sub-treasury bill as remedy for
their present grievances. Somebody
wanted the protest changed to de-
mand, and after both propositions had
been wrangled over for a half hour
they We're laid on the table by an over
whelming majority. Then Jerry Simp-
son
Started a Whfriwind 81 Talk
with resolution calling for the estab-
lishment of permanent census bureau,
with special division to gather sta
tistics of interest and Importance to
farmers. Congressman Featherstone
opposed the proposition of his colleague
not because he did not believe in it, but
because he did not believe in using the
constitution for booming pet measures
o. for grinding axes. Congressman
Livingstone advised the gathering to
gosxlow. Unless, he said, extraordin-
arg economy was practiced for some
time to come, he was certain that the
people that have to run the government
in the next few years and the man who
took Harrison's place would have hard
work to find the money to run it.
Nevertheless the resolution went
through under suspension of the rules.
Next Wilkins, Of Ohio, submitted a
resolution demanding the passage
of the bill for free and unlimited
coinage of silver. Willets, of Georgia,
in an emphatic speech opposed this I'M
til the bill could be read and they could
tell what they were voting for.
Amid great cheering he said that
nine-tenths of the great army of the in
dustrial and agricultural classes were
in favor of free and unlimited coinage
of silver and insisted that the proper
place for such a demand was in the
platform. This evoked cries of cit
will, it Will" In the end the resolution
went under the table and after General
Viewers son had done a whistling and
banjo act. and Mrs. Nichols, of Chi
cage, had rendered a song, that told
how the gold and silver in the cellars of
the White House was going to be
cleared out when the people got to
Washington, the convention adjourned
until morning.