The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-10-17
A LETTER and ANSWER.
JUDGE IVES COMES TO THE
RESCUE OF MARTIN O'BRIEN.
Kind Words for a Foolish Young
Man,


In the last issue Of your valued paper l
noticed an article signed by Mr.. Donney,
seriously rejecting by inuendo upon the
character of Martin O'Brien, state commit
teeman of our party from this district.
Permit me, as judge of the district court
before which Mr. O Brien practices, to eX-
press my views in the matter.
| have known Mr.. OBrien for five years,
ever since his admission to the bar in this
state, and during that time, l desire to
state, that as a brother in the profession
and as judge of the court before which he
practices, l have ever found him thor
oughly honest and upright in all his deal
lngs AS to the merits or demerits of his
actions as committeeman, I have nothing
to say, except that, though he may have
acted unwisely, he certainly did nothing
but what to his mind was right and for the
best interests of the party. l write this
article III hopes that. far as you can,
you will correct what l fear may result in
a wrongful impression of the character of
this young man; as l we'll know that if
you have heard reports to the contrary, it
was from some malicious, polluted source
unworthy of credence. Yours.
FRANK IVES, District Judge.
Crookston, Mimi. Sept 81
We would not do injustice even to
a dog that had bitten us: and if we
have in any wise wronged Mr. Martin
O'Brien we are sorry for it. We
cheerfully publish Judge Ives letter
But the fact remains, that Mr..
O'Brien, after Il very short period of
probation in the Peoples Party, voted,
Gnspite of our vehement protest), with
those who were eager to insult us ana
injure our paper. Our twenty-five
years OF labor for the cause entitled
us to better treatment. We were not
to be brushed aside into the ditch by
raw recruits. If there had been
nothing but the attempt to establish
a rival paper it might be attributed to
misdirected zeal; but to lay on the
| table, at the same time, resolution
| thanking the REPREsENTATIvE for
! its labOrs and great services; and to
refuse to make our Business Manager
an assistant secretary Uih0ut salary,
showed but too plainly that the ami
mus of the committee was hostility to
us personally. And when this foolish
young man returned home he boasted,
we are told, of how he had helped to
| put us down.
And we would say to Judge Ives
that our informant was neither
"malicious nor polluted" but one of
the leading Populists of the Red
River Valley; and what he said was
said in answer to our inquiries, with
| out any feeling against any one.
If Mr.. O'Brien is conscious that he
made an ass of himself; and is no
| longer proud of his performance: and
promises to be less "brash' in the
| future, we shall have nothing more to
say against him, but shall treat him
kindly. But he will have to learn, as
others have learned, that while we are
alive we are very much alive, and
alive all over: and that no man has
| ever attacked us and had any reason
| to rejoice over it, in the long run.
| We can refer him to some very dis
tinguished citizens in corroberat tion
of this statement. We accord fair
| treatment to every one and we insist
on receiving it.
But all this illustrates, a nd we hope
the lesson will be remembered here
after, that old, tried and sensible
men, with some knowledge of the his
tory of the party, should be put on
| important committees, instead OF
| green and callow youths. "Old men
for council and young men for war; -
was an adage of the ancients which is
! still good in our day. l. d.