The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1894-08-17
HOAR.S REPLY TO DONNELLl.
a Clear Presentation and Review
OF Some POpulist Fallacies.


am in receipt OF an article published
in The Representative, a Populist paper
located in Minneapolis. The person who
sends it states that it was written by
Ignatius Donnellv. | should think there
must be some mistake about that, be-
calse the eutire article is full Of billings
gate and low, personal filings, man OF
the literary reputation of Mr.. Donnelly
would hardly be expected to stoop to
such vulgar journalism; but the initials
Il. D." with which the article is signed
seems to decide the question against me,
and assume that my Minnesota cores
pondent Is correct in his statement.
As rule, / never notice public critic
lsms Of my public work when they are
couched in language which shows their
author, whoever he may be, to lack or
binary poli,eness. When one is writing
for publication he can never afford to
use the language of a common black
guard No matter how cultivated and
refined he may be, decent and well.in
formed people will classify him in the
vocabulary he himself uses as a black
guard, when IN fact the individual may
be capable of better things If one happens
to catch him ''at his best" Epithets are
not arguments. They are seldom used
except when their authors lack better
material.
was in st. Paul on the day that the
Republican state convention met and
had the honor OF addressing the delegates
there assembled tor the space of 45 min
utes. visited St. Paul for that very
purpose. II. d." asserts that was sent
there by the New York Tribune. What
difference would 1T make whether | was
employed by the New York Tribune or
not? have no means of support except
my earnings from month to month. Is
it disgrace to be employed by great
metropolitan journal, such rs the New
York Tribune is everywhere acknowl
edged to be? If go, then I acknowledge
my disgrace 1t is also true that do
large amount of campaign work tor the
Tribune. Is there anything wrong about
that? If my views agree with those OF
the Tribune, and the managers of that
paper see lit to keep me engaged in teach
ing such views from the platform, have
they not perfect right SO to do? If |
teach the truth, does it make my utter
ances any the less true because | am con
stantly employed on the New York Tri-
bune? Has not the Tribune perfect
right to select It's own methods Of educa-
ton? Then what does any intelligent man
expect to gain by asserting that am in
some way connected with the New York
Tribune? / have never sought in any
way to deny that fact. It is the kind of
work which man does for which he
should be held responsible.
The wrath OF this Populist writer
seems to have been aroused by some
things which l have said at that state
convention. The right to criticise is de-
MED to no one. now invite the atten-
tion of my readers to some of those criti-
clsms.
WHAT REDUCED WAGES?
quote from the article in the Repre-
sentative, signed Il. D."
Mr.. Horr said:
"Whenever you reduce wages, you stop
consumption and then the markets are
ruined .
Well, who in thunder reduced wages?
1t was your Republican party when it
demonetized silver in 1873. and made the
gold dollar the equivalent OF twice as
much of the wnrkingman's muscle and
the farmers toll. And now you come
here to enllghten the Western hoLos with
your shallow plalltudes. Scat! Get out!
The trouble with this statement is that
it is not true. Wages did not begin to
decline after the passage OF the act OF
1878. Indeed, during the 20 years from
1878 to 1898 the wages of the working
men Of the United States were lncreas-
ed per capita. The members Of the SEN
ate committee who investigated that
point reported unanimously to that et-
feet without regard to party affiliations.
There may have been few isolated in
stances in which wages were lowered in
the United States between those dates
but taken in the aggregate. the wages
paid IN gold dollars to each laboring man
we're increased during those 20 years
The claim has been constantly made dur
ing those years by nearly all the farmers
journals of the country that there had