The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12
IG 4. UDdNNELLY.
HIS RETIREMENT "a LOSS TO
THE NATION.
What He Has Done For the Cause
of Humanity.

Inc retirement or MT. gOnneliy from pO-
litical life is an event which brings JOY to
the bosom of the political boss jobber and
fills the hearts Of thousands Of true re-
formers throughout the state with melan-
oholy and sadness. Mr.. Donnelly Is human
and creature of impulse. He may have
made mistakes and doubtless has. Who has
| not? 1t is the mistakes in life that cause
good deeds to stand out in bas-relief and
bring the acts Of great men before the
world in all their reality. It may be said
that as a politician Mr.. Donnelly's life has
been a failure. Far from it. 1t is true he
| may not have been able to accomplish his
designs, yet he has for 80 years sustained
himself in radical position and was
leader, an educator far in advaice of the
people he was striving to elevate and
serve. His noble heart OVERLOOKING with
love for humanity and his every impulse
urged on by sympathy, made him the leader
OF a hopeless and forlorn fight. He stands
today before the world as a man of letters,
| mistaken and triumphant in the realization
| that he has taken at all times advanced
grounds all along his eventful political
pathway. During all these years he has
been the great central figure in the politi-
cal Held of thought and action. Neither the
envious hatred of his opponents, the sting
OF falsehood, the venality Of the press nor
all combined, could shake him. Like a
mighty sphinx he has stood unmoveabe for
more than generation, busily engrossed
IN his plans to lift humanity from the
slough of misery and start it anew ON it's
destiny. Has his political life been fail
ure? No, no. He has accomplished what
few If any other men have accomplished.
he has set in motion the sentiments of
thought that are commanding the attention
OF statesmen and rulers. He has stirred the
world with his scientific research. He has
llIteQ the PROSTATE form of the labOring
classes, bringing them to the worlds notice;
ana has clothed them with the courage to
maintain their manhood before the world.
The dazzling scintilations of his genius have
penetra ted every crevice of civiliza ton, and
as time rolls on it will shine resplendent
alongside of the achievements of the great
OF this or any other age Mr.. Donnelly at
| times may have been over jealous, and
| perhaps radical in his plans to better his
| fellow man, but radical beings are a neces-
! sty.
Without John Brown we would not have
| had Lincoln, a Grant, Sherman The
erratic and unmeasured acts of John Brown,
| made the terrible commissions of go to IS
| possible, and that fratrfcidal struggle
| brought forward the matchess Lincoln, the
| mighty Grant and the Yalient Sherman.
| And SO it has been in all ages of the world.
| In all the ever changing destiny of man.
| Kind the few have led the march of civili-
cation. They have been the pioneers. They
have blazed out the, line of march, and
| have here and there planted danger sig
| nal to guard and guide those who came
| after And yet those leaders do not al
| ways live to gather the fruits of their own
| toll 1t is a reflection filled with mingled
| sadness. {Us3
| We do not mean to compare Mr.. Donnelly
| with John Brown There is not the slight
est comparison in the intellectual ability
| or in the part they each played in the great
| drama of politics. The one was the fore
runner of the grea test civil war in history
! the other the guiding star aud leader of the
greatest social and indu.3trial revolution
this world has ever seen.
Mr.. Donnelly has yet the promise of
many years, in which he can give the world
an everlasting feast from his wonderful
storehouse of knowledge His mind is en-
rched by experience as varied and in
teresting as it has been stormy and real
| He cannot be denied the privilege of speak
ing to the people. No matter whether it be
Donnelly the orator, or the writer, there is
sense Of reason and charm in all he
says that will magnify his name. He has
erected monuments of ma terial labor that
| will stand the storms of time and the blasts
| of criticism. These will win for him plau-
| dts of honor and praise while he lives and
after death. J. O. CRONKHITE
Argyle, Mimi, Dec. 3.
National Republicans: The sensitive soul
| of one of the brightest minds of the CEN
| fury has been deeply wounded by the com
bined efforts of plutocrats to crush patriot
ism out of politics. 1t was our privilege to
support Mr.. Donnelly for the first public
office to which he elected-that of lieu
tenant governor of Minnesota. From that
Time
ular in the Republican party. For aspiring
to the United States senatorship in opposi-
| ton to Gov. Ramsey he lost his prestige
! in the party. The Bosses who wanted ODE
| dience instead of brains had not invited
| him to higher seat in their synagogue
would not permit him to advance until they
| were sure of his obedience
The opposition to Mr.. Donnelly of the
management of Minnesota politics did not
| spring from a want of admiration of gen
| ius and mental superiority. They have no
| use for men who are governed by strong
| individuality, and have capacity for Great
| ing and following a policy of their own.
| Webster Clay, Benjamin F. Butler and
| John G.. Calhoun could not be elected pres
| ident Of the United States because of their
devotion to conviction. Their patriotism
| was stronger than the corrupt inducements
| the political machine could offer. Since
Gen. jackson retired from the White House
but one such man has been elected president
machine by an assassin. Another Abraham
Lincoln is needed. and the time for his
| appearance is at hand. From his retire
| ment Mr.. Donnelly may live to behold the
| triumph of the grand principles of the Peo-
| pies party. We hope he will. Perhaps the
people of his county may be made to blush
| for having defeated him in the late cleo
| ton. The st. Paul Morning Call concludes
| it's notice of the retirement of Mr.. Donnelly
| follows:
In retiring from the turbulent field Of
| politics to the more quiet realms of litera-
| ture he at least has the satisfaction Of
| knowing that, though holding no higher
| than legislative office, the political history
| of Minnesota for quarter of a century
| past is more closely interviewer with the
| name of Ignatius Donnel1y than that of
any other man. And as he sits in the
| quiet of his recently hshadQwed home he
| can feel that, as in bis own case, time
| softens the asperites of life a similar
change will take place in the hearts of his
old political contestants. who will wish him
| prolonged comfort in the twilight Of life
and the still greater development of the
| literary genius which he Undoubtedly pos
Sesses -
Undoubtedly when Mr.. .ponnelly ceases
to antagonize the corruption of the cor
ruptors of politics they Will tolerate his
literary genius" Ever vile plutocrats may
| be constrained to forgive his exposures Of
| their base methods. IA -
The Peoples party Lincoln Club, of Min