St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-29
MIR. NELSON'S DEFENSE.

MIR. NELSON'S DEFENSE.
The Democracy has KNUTE NELSON
on the defensive. He pleaded his own
cause at Minneapolis on Friday night.
This is always dangerous thing to do.
There is proverb about the mental
condition of client who employs HIM
self for a lawyer.
Mr.. NELSON denies that he has
changed his views on the tariff question,
or that he is out of sympathy with his
party on this issue. But how is it pos
slble for man to at once favor a low
tariff and support the Mckinley bill?
No Intelligent person would admit that
the two positions are consistent. Why
does not Mr.. NELSON come out
boldly and say that his opinions
are different today from those
which he ostentatiously expressed when
a member of the Fiftieth congress?
There is no law against a politicians
changing his mind. AS friend of HUI
manity, the GLOBE suggests that he
henceforth follow this course. An ap-
pearance Of intellectual honesty will be
gratifying even to his political foes. No
spectacle is more pitiful than to see a
man in his greed for Office repudiating
his cherished principles OR juggling
with words to conceal the truth. Mr..
NELSON cannot advocate a low tar
III and McKinleyism at the same
time. Let him cease playing the cow
ard, and tell under which banner he
fights. Let him pattern after GROVER
CLEVELAND, who had the courage to
defy even the majority of his own party
when he felt that it was Ill error. Mr..
NELSON will find that bravery pays.
The people hate coward.
Mr.. NELSON does the GLOBE Injustice
when he accuses it Of attacking him for
being foreigner. He says that this
paper supported Mr.. BIERMAN for gov
ernOr in 1854 and Mr.. WILSON in 1890,
and that both of them were born in Eu-
rope. This is true, and the GLOBE does
not now cOuntenance the intrusion of
the race issue into the pending cam
paign. 1t has been tlreless in reiterat-
ing its position on this matter. Some of
its readers have disagreed with it. One
class OF them, among whom is that well
known Republican Gen. SEELEY. will
vote against Mr.. NELSON, not because
he is a Scandinavian. but because the
Republican bosses selected him as the
gubernatorlal candidate for this reason.
They think our institutions are in dan
ger when such considerations are
allowed to determine the COM
pleXion of political tickets. Another
class of them, among who is the
GLOBES correspondent Mr.. FoRsBERG,
object to Mr.. NELSON, not because he
is Scandinavian, but because he is a
Norwegian pretending to be Scandi-
navian for the purposes Of election. and
for these purposes only. Still third
class, among whom is the GLOBES cor
respondent "A Native-Born Ameri-
can," are outspoken against foreign
er being governor under any circum-
stances. The GLOBE has no sympathy
with any of these views and has re-
buked them with the full severity of the
rhetorical resources at its command.
AS friend of humanity, it suggests to
Mr.. NELSON that he henceforth
follow this course: Let him for
bid any mans voting for him be-
cause he is Scandinavian or against
him for this reason. This will he much
more becoming than the line he pursued
at Minneapolis. There he admitted that
he was a foreigner, but not very much
of one, because he was brought to
America while still very young. This
style of argument is liable to provoke
laughter. 1t will remind those of his
hearers who are familiar with English
literature of the young woman about
whom Capt. MARRYAT tells and who
| pleaded i'm eXtenuation of her fall from
virtue that her baby was very little
one. Let Mr.. NELSON stand by his col
| ors. 1t is cowardly for him to deny his
| foreign BIRTH 1t is an insult to his fell
low countrymen. Let him do as the
GLOBE has done. Let him pillory he
| men who criticise him because he is a
| Norwegian. That is the way to treat
| this matter.
The third indictment which Mr.. MEL
SON says has been found against him is
that he is corporation lawyer, and to
this he pleads not guilty. He not only
| pleads not guilty, but he does so vio-
lently. He defies anybody to prove that
he has been the attorney for any rail
road company since 1889, and, by way
of cIinching his argument, with charm
ing suavity declares that 1.-THE GLOBE
lies, ard knows that it lies" The pub
lie will no doubt be delighted with this
exhibition of good manners, be cause it
shows that whatever other shortcom-
ings Mr.. NELSON may have, he surely
Is gentleman-temperate in his Ian
guage and courteous in his bearing.
| This is only to be expected, however,
of a man who has for years been
in the employ of the Great Northern
| railroad; who was cont nued in its
Service until it was decided to make him
| its candidate for the goyernorship of
Minnesota; who was then retired lest
| his connection with so gigantic q mo-
nopoly should interfere with his politi-
! cal availability; who was brought to
! Minneapolis two years ago by fellow