The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-08-29
GOV. NELSON'S SPEECH.
Reviewed by DR.. ca johnson, New
London. Mimi.

L0nUDn.. Mimi.
SECOND ARTICLE.
The governor continues! TT is the aim
of these reformers, first Of all, to breed as
much alarm, suspicion and dstrust as pos
sible and to array class against class"
etc, etc. Now, this whole statement re-
garding the aim Of T6pulist reformers
is base SANDER on one-third more OF
the people of the state. To assert that the
unrest among the producing classes and
especially the farmers is due to sinister and
base motives betrays not only ignorance,
but lack of human sympathy The unrest
among the farmers is the inaugural symp-
toms of suffering and distress Let the
governor go out into the country and take
a square look among the actual farmers.
He will soon see on every hand farmers
who are not satisfied, not getting along.
Farmers Of the very best, who neither
drink nor speculate. and who, with the
boys and girls, work from early to late,
have done so for years, and who now, with
gray hair and old age staring them in the
face, are beginning to despair of ever
paying for the home for which they have
worked so long. The last two or three
years have increased this class of farmers
around him a little, can find hundreds and
thousands of them in any section of the
state. Now. is it not natural for man in
distress and despair to complain? What
else can human beings do when in distress,
but call for help, call other peoples atten-
ton to their troubles? Populism is the or
ganized cry for help from the suffering
producers of the land. Gov. Nelson ought
to know that. But whether he does or not,
he entirely ignores their trouble tells the
farmers that they are putting on about this
distress, that the aim of their complaint is
to breed alarm and to array class against
class. etc, etc; thct they actuated by
selfish, unpatrotic and foreign nihilstic
motives. | say such charges and insinua-
tons relative to the motives of perhaps
one-half of the population of the state is
extraordinary and astounding. Such treat
ment of his distressed fellow citizens is not
calculated to sOOthe their wounded spirits.
Thousands of distressed farmers of Mime
sofa voted for him two years ago because
they believed him in sympathy with the
masses, because he had proved himself
above party discipline in times past Has
he forgotten how hide bound partisans
imputed to him all sorts of motives for
voting for the Mills bin: He of all should
be the last to impute improper motives to
those who think independently on political
matters. Let the governor understand that
Populism cannot be put down by scurrilous
abuse, and that the sooner he recognizes
this fact and acts accordingly, the better
it will be for his party, as we'll as the peo-
pie at large. Let him understand that the
farmer of Minnesota is not simply suffering
from an unsubstantial idea" injected into
his mind by some reform advocate, but for
want of the necessaries of life for himself
and family. Let him understand that the
average farmer does not attempt to prove
that he is a "stepson of society," by refer
ence to statistical figures, although when
these figures are properly analysed
they most clearly prove that
the farmer is indeed the "stepson of So
ciety.' But the farmer has better proof of
his true economy nearer at hand. He has
facts right before him, actual every day
experiences of the simple truth that he
works more hours and receives less pay
than any other class in the community.
He sees every hand the middle man and
manufacturer and their families roll in
wealth and luxury obtained from what?
From handling the farmers produce. Look
at our big cities, railroad and manufacture
ing plants, our mills and elevators says
Gov. Nelson, and all for the farmers
benefit! Who furnishes the capital for
these Improvements? From all over the
world it came, says the governor Posi-
bly, the world furnished little capital to
begin life and Improvement in Minnesota,
but I assert without fear of successful con-
tradiction that nine-tenths-yes, nineteen
tenths-f not more, of the capital of the
state has been produced right here by the
laDOrer ana the f3rmer. Railroads Tor the
benefit of the 'farmers?t Is the governor
joking? Don't he know that the farmers
have paid over and over again for all the
railroads in the state? Because railroads
are necessity not simply to the farmers,
as he seems to intimate, but to the whole
country, is that any reason that they
should rob the people? To the complaints
of excessive transportation charges is it
any answer to say that railroads are a
necessity? What queer ideas the COVER
nor entertains.
But it is when speaking about 'the wealth
of our farmers' tina. the gov-rnor gets
badly mixed. He admits that lit may be
true That 1.-The farmers have not increased
as rapidly in wealth since 1860 as the rest
of the nation" This admission, unavoid-
able from his own statistical figures, is
fatal to his logic. But he adroitly extri-
Gates himself by asserting that sit entirely
tails TO establish that our farmers have
not been thrifty and prosperous. Mark