The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-10-31
TYPICAL REPUBLICAN SPEECH
HalvOr STEVENSON the Annanias of
the Red River Valley.
An Elephantine Liar.-Falstaff and
Munchansen OutdOne.

MunchanSen OutdOne.
We went up on Thursday last, Oct.
20, to Hallock, Kittson county, to
make speech for the Peoples Party
ticket. When we got there we found
there was no necessity for our long
journey, (Hallock is six miles from the
British line); for everything in the
Red River Valley is overwhelmingly
Populistic. We were told by that
very able and public-spirited gentle
man, Mr.. Kelso. who was, two years
ago, the Democratic candidate for
Congress in the Seventh district, and
made gallant run, that Becker ,could
not get twenty-five rotes IN The tUo counties
of KittSon and Norm0n' Mr.. KelsO and
nearly all the rest of the Democrats,
we're going to vote the Peoples ticket.
At Warren Capt. Mcclure, leading
Democrat says that all the Democrats
there but t,cO ,rCuld rote arith the P0palists
This means a complete stampede-a
revolution;-the merging Of all classes
in a great western and southern party
which will sweep the nation like a
whirlwind, in 1896; and drive the plum
dering, capitalistic, money-lending,
money-grabbing Northeastern quarter
of the Union out of power forever. 1t
is glorious prospect.
1t CHANGED that the same day | was
to speak at Hallock, Halvor Steener-
son, of Crookston, was booked for
speech there In fact the copies of
the REPRESENTATIVE containing the
notice Of my meeting, were purposely
delayed on the road, or in the local
post office, from Wednesday to Mon
day, so that the Populists knew moth
ing of my coming; and in the mean
time the Republicans slipped in and
secured the only hall in the town, the
court house, for speech from Steener-
son. Consequently our people had to
hold their meeting in the afternoon;-
but, fortunately, the audience was
made up almost exclusively of farm
ers, and the hall was crowded. Not
one of them stayed to hear Stevenson
in the evening.
l had known Halvor for years, as a
long-legged, slab-sided, ambitious,
scheming politician; with some smart
ness, infinite mendacity and no more
conscience than a bcd-bug. And when
our committee proposed that | hold
joint debate with Halvor | readily
consented. The committee called on
Halvor and suggested that we "divide
time" Halyor proposed that he
should open in an hours speech, was
to have an hour and fifteen minutes
and he was to have an hour to close.
| said this was not fair. 1t would not
be a debate but sandwich; Halvor
would have two hours to my hour and
fifteen minutes, besides opening and
closing. That in debates both sides
usually had the same length of time,
and the man who opened did not close.
The committee then returned to Hal
vor and he proposed that l should
open in 45 minutes; he, would follow
in Is minutes; was then to have 20
minutes and he would have 40 min
utes; thus giving him 20 minutes more
than | had and the closing argument.
l objected to this. l proposed to
make it 30 minutes for me and 40 min
utes for his closing-gi giving him 10
minutes more than l had But Hal
vor would not agree to this. He was
so conscious of his own deficiencies or
the rOttenness of his cause that he in
sisted on 20 minutes more time than
eat me. Imagine Halyor standing up
before judge, in court, and saying
"may it please your Honor: my case is
so bad one that refuse to argue it
unless the court gives men twenty
minutes more time than the attorney
on the other side" The judge would
probably reply,-"My dear Halvor, if
your clients case is as bad as that you
had better advise him to plead
guilty"
So the debate was off. And l spoke
in the afternoon to an audience of
farmers lunk-headed Republican
merchants of Hailock, whose whole
knowledge of finance consists in chas-
ing a six-pence out of a farmers peck
ct into their own, stayed away. But
Halvor attended. In my speech l in
vited him and all the other Republi-
| cans to ask me questions or answer
me or debate with me; but he and all
of them were as silent as clans.
In the evening l thought that, as
Halvor had attended my meeting, it
would be only courteous to attend his.
Besides wanted to hear what kind of
speeches the Republican orators de-
luded their unfortunate follower rs
with. And so went to hear him.
A more villainous mess Of wholesale
lies, half-truths, perversions of fact,
appeals to prejudice and cunning clap
trap 1 never listened to. He droned
away for three mortal hours, until his
audience was in state Of hypnotic tor
por. He was evidently talking
against time" lest / should offer to
follow him:-but had no disposition
to do so. 1t would have taken a
charge Of dynamite to waken his hear
ers out Of the mental lethargy into
which he had plunged them. 1t was
pitiful to see the grand old Republi-