Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-06-07
SPO0NER AND Villas.
Their Respective Prophecies at Hurley
in 1892.

A correspondent of The Chicago
Inter Ocean in letter from Hurley,
writes:
when Senator Spooner visited
Hurley in the fall of 1892, while
making his campaign for governor
he took its wonderful prosperity
for his text in speaking for pro-
lection, and closed with prophecy
which many men in Hurley then
criticised, but have often recalled
since. He urged the miners to
stand by protection to their own
industry, and he predicted that if
Grover Cleveland should be elected
president of the United States, and
he should have a Democratic
house and senate to enact such
legislation as the Democratic
party demanded in its platform, it
would not be one year before the
miners in Hurley would be seeking
work, their families in distress and
dependent upon charity.
That bold speech was regarded
as the worst kind Of calamity
howl by the Democrats and even
Republicans smiled at the senator's
earnestness, and urged him not to
go too far in this business, for such
a prediction could not possibly
come true in such a place as the
Gogebic range. Senator Spooner
insisted that he had meant every
thing he said and that he believed
that he had not overdrawn the
picture, for the Democratic assault
was particularly upon the iron in
dustry and it would be the first to
suffer from the peoples endorse
ment of the Democratic platform.
"Spooner was not the only
celebrated statesman who visited
Hurley. Senator William Freeman
Villas came to tell the miners that
if they could help establish this
government on Democratic princi-
pies as laid down in the Demo-
cratic platform, their wages would
be increased and at the same time
they would be able to purchase
cheaper clothes and cheaper food
to make their labor doubly
productive to them. Senator Mills
of Texas also came to Ashland
and pictured i'll rainbow colors the
beauties and advantages of free
trade to the laboring men.
The miners did not believe all
that Senator Spooner said, but the
majority of them voted the Re
publican ticket. They were,
however, outvoted in Wisconsin; in
the Ninth congressional district,
and in the country. Cleveland and
the Democratic congress came.
The Democratic administration
began in March, the bottom
dropped out Of the iron market in
June, the mines in the Goebic
range were closed in July, the
miners were thrown out of work
and thrown back upon their
savings, the town of Hurley
appropriated $4,000 in September
to provide public work for men
with families, and in November
the citizens appealed to the people
of Wisconsin for charity to aid
in preventing several thousand
men, women and children from
starving.
Senator Spooner had not over
drawn the picture He had not
realized either the swiftness of
Democratic destruction or the dis
tress that would follow in its track
R. Raglan, a prominent business
man who was equally prominent
as a Democrat in Hurley was
secretary of the Relief committee,
and he estin ates that $4,000
worth of provisions was received
in this city last winter and his
books show that 200 people were
carried on the rolls. The pro-
visions were handled judiciously
and made to go as far as possible
Mr. Raglan vouches for that and
says that only such bountiful
charity could have saved the
people from the direst distress"