The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-10-17
A Matter of Personal History.

We desire it distinctly understood
that we are not candidate for United
States Senator, or anything else.-
Ignatius. Donnelly.
"Say it again, and sing it! Say It
again, and reiterate it! Proclaim 1t
long and loud from the house-topS!
"Let it echo DER the sean' Ignatius
DOnnelly is not "a candidate for any
office! If Donnelly had said those
words twenty-five years ago, and had
the good sense and honesty to mean it
he would more than likely now be oc-
cupying an honored seat in the halls
of Congress. Ambition and defeat I'M
balanced his Judgment and destroyed
his usefulness. Whatever Mr.. Don
nelly may now say about his not being
a candidate for office, and however
sincere he may be in his declaration,
the coming elections will find him
again and again candidate for office
as long as he shall live. He is too old
in life to change from condition into
which he has developed as into sec
ond birth. Mr.. Donnelly is a chronic,
crippled, incurable office seeker, and as
such he will hobble through life on
the clutches of defeat. blue Earth
City Post (Rep.)
has been lying about us for tive nty-five
years. And yet this knave knows per-
fectly well-the whole state knows it
that in 1872, we could have had the
Republican nomination for Congress
in the Third district, but we declined
it, on the morning of the convention,
and Major Strait was nominated, and
held the place for twelve years.
The same year the Democrats met
at Pennington, and offered US their
nomination, and we declined it also:
and Hon. Chris. Graham, was nomin-
ated. We could have had the nomin-
alton of the Peoples Party time and
again in the Third district, for
member of Congress of the U. S., but
declined it. We have been elected
President of the State Alliance three
times, and we were nominated for
governor by the Peoples Party in 1892,
and no man can say that we ever ask
ed single individual to vote for us.
Even when Fish was assailing us so
savagely last winter we never left the
presidents chair to solicit the support
of any man. The kindly speeches of j.
I. Vermilya, r. J. Hall, T. J. Meighen,
H. V. Poore, L. G. Long and other
friends, were purely spontaneous and
unsought, and the more precious to us
from that fact.
We do not say that we would not
like to be in some official position
WI loo Of ~,
rying out the reforms we advocate.
That is an honorable ambitions: but
we would not get down and crawl on
our stomach for even the presidency
of the United States. The republi-
can party has reason to be proud of
fury, it has kept US in private life, and
smirched and sullied our reputation
with lies and ISLANDERS: while the men
who were used by it, to override US,
are already forgotten, and none but
the antiquarian will ever speak their
names. The very solitude into which
they drove US, we turned to account
in the preparation of works that are
more to us. thousand fold, than any
office in the gift of the people of Min
nesota. They are proud Of their work
and we are proud of ours. Both are
content.
We have never schemed nor toiled
for office. We have always, since 1862
been on the side Of the minority; fight
ing up hill against tremendous odds.
We are doing it now. Office seekers
do not adopt that course. They go
where success is probable. Like the
editor of the Blue Earth City Post, they
crawl under the coat-tails of author
ity, to catch the droppings of oppor-
tunity. And, in the midst of this
scavenger business, they stick their
obscene heads out, to denounce a man
the battle of humanity in the face of
continuous disaster and defeat.
If we are elected United States SEN
ator we'll and good. We don't expect
1T. We have not the slightest hope of
it, But if we were sent to that great
assembly no man in America would
thereafter have reason to enquire
"Where is Minnesota, anyhow; and
who in thunder represents her in
Washington" We should be heard
from.
And if we don't go to the Sem
ate we shall likewise be heard from.
There are men who are made
great by holding great positions.
They attract attention. like monkey
in a menagerie, by climbing to the
top of high pole, called an office.
Their superiority consists in the
length of the pole. Take the pole
away and they are the commonest of
dirty quadrumanous nonentities:-
mere chattcrers and grabbers of nuts:
hunters of insignificant things and
full of all manner of beastly tricks.
Let no man think | am dying for an
office; or that he can destroy me by
keeping me in private life. That is
my best hold. l am equal to all the
mutations of fortune; and an earth
quake would scarcely disturb my
cquanimity. l. d.