The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-09-23
FULL Or NOTHING.
That Describes Donnelly and
His World Repairers.
They Have Nothing in Common
With Minnesota People.
Donnelly-Pops Of 'o2 Are Not
the Alliance of 1890.
They Have No Platform of Prin-
ciples and Want None.

Ignatius Donnelly's Peoples party
presumes a great deal upon the cred
ulity of the people of this state when it
attempts to pose as the legitimate sue
cessor to the Farmers Alliance of two
years ago. There is scarcely anything
in common between the Peoples party
of 1892 and the Alliance movement of
1890. The trusted leaders of the ALI
ance have been discarded for a new set
of men who blindly believe that Allah
is God and Ignatius Donnelly his
prophet. And as for the principles for
which the old Alliance contended, they
have not been considered worthy of in
corporation in the creed formulated
by such soaring minds as Polk
and Macune and Taubeneck and
Weaver and Mrs. Lease and Ignatius
Donnelly and 'Doc" Fish.
AS will be remembered, Donnelly at
tempted to control the Alliance state
convention in 1890 He failed most ig-
candidate for governor, was not permit
ted to frame the platform of the party
and did as little as possible to support
the ticket. But when the ballots were
counted and it was found that the Ali
ance had rolled up an unexpectedly
large vote, Mr.. Donnelly stepped for
ward to claim the honor. He forthwith
proceeded to disorganize and transform
an organization he had been IN
able to control, and usurped the
leadership of the Alliance party in
the legislature, using the power for cor
rupt and personal ends. How utterly
and completely the expectations and
hopes of the Alliance, were dashed to
pieces by his incompetent leadership
of the party's forces in the legislature,
is fresh and familiar history which need
not be retold. But it is important that
the people of this state should under
stand the radical difference between the
party led by S. NJ. Owen in 1890, and the
party which has chosen for leader the
very man who forfeited all the advan-
tages that were almost within the grasp
of the Alliance after the election of
1890.
The Alliance platform of 1890 was de-
voted mainly to state issues. 1t Endorsed
''the present freedom of traffic law, the
present grain laws and the law for dis
tribution of cars" and demanded ''the
erection by the state of public ware
houses, where the producer may store
his grain unmixed in a special bin, at
actual cost" 1t demanded further
"that the grading of wheat at country
stations be abolished and that the right
to establish sidetracks to connect grain
warehouses and the equal use of cars
shall in no manner be abridged" 1t
contained planks dealing with the sub
ject of railroad rates, taxation of mort
gage Indebtedness, taxation of per-
sonal property in general, interest
on money, protection of our forests,
public franchises, secret ballot, etc.,
and demanded ''the improvement of our
great waterways, so that our produce
may go in unbroken bulk to the mar
kets of the world"
All these were practical questions, di-
rectly affecting the material welfare of
our farmers and the people in general.
On most of these questions the Republi-
can party was in thorough accord with
the Alliance. The legislation endorsed
by the Alliance platform had been en-
acted by Republican legislature with
the hearty cooperation of Republican
governor. The rights, the mainte-
nance of which the platform
demanded had, likewise, been
granted to the people by
a Republican legislature. The "de-
mands" of the platform were then, as
they are now, in line with the Repub-
hcan policy. In so far as it related to
state issues the Alliance platform was
worthy of the support it received at the
polls.
Now, turning to the declaration of
principles put forth by the state conven-
ton of the Peoples party on July IL,
1892, what do we find? That body, con-
sisting almost exclusively of worshippers
of Donnelly, had no time for the humble
needs of our farmers. The Omaha
platform, that indecent libel upon this
great and prosperous nation = that
curious conglomeration of all imprac-
ticable visions between heaven and
earth, was endorsed. That was all. In
a caudal appendage to the platform the
convention generously fixed the price of
Irvine manufactured at Saltwater at 9
cents per pound, and demanded shipping
facilities which the people of the state
have enjoyed for many years. Beyond
that nothing was said, resolved or de-
1t was, as if the State of Min
nesota had sunk completely out of the
sight of this body of alleged representa-
tives OF an alleged Peoples Party of
Minnesota. Nothing was left of the
spirit of the old Alliance. What the
Alliance had contended for re-
celved no consideration whatever
at the hands of this body of world