The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-10-04
NELSON'S HOT SHOT.
OPPOSITION SOPHISTRIES DENOL-
ISHED BY THE GOVERNOR.
Some Extracts From Gov. Nelson's
Speech at Nankato-FarmersB cne-
fited by Republican Rather Than
Populist legislatures.

Populist legislatures.
The following are some extracts from
speech delivered by Gov. Nelson at Man
kato:
For more than a third of century, with
the exception Of the brief interregnum from
1856 to 1889 and the last eighteen months,
the affairs of our nation have been en-
trusted to the Republican party. Our ma
tlonal government since the War Of the
Rebellion Is mainly, politically speaking,
the product and the handiwork Of the Re
publican party. And this, in the main, is
also true of our state. Ever since it's or
ganization, with the exception of a Demo-
cratic governor in 1853 and an Alliance
legislature in 1891, the Republican party,
fits principles and it's men have guided and
controlled the destinies Of our state, so
that our government to-day, both state and
national, is, in it's main features, the handi-
work Of the Republican party. Now we
nave in this election. as we have in all
elections, a dual duty to perform. We live
under a complex system of government.
You and I are citizens Of the State Of
Minnesota, a nation. a country. having its
own system Of laws. its own executive,
judicial and legislative officers and, as
citizens of that commonwealth, we have
the privilege of voting for those officers,
and it is our duty so to do, and in so voting
we vote as citizens of the State of Mime
sofa. There is another country and another
nation. that represented by the American
nag, nation and country resting over
all of us and over all the states of the
Union--that government and that nation
called the United States of America. That.
also. has It's own executive, legislative and
judicial officers. its own system of laws
and moves within its own political orbit.
You and I are citizens of that nation and
chat commonwealth, and in this pending
election. as in nearly every other election,
in nearly every one of our great elections,
we act as citizens Of both these nations.
We vote as citizens of the State of Mime
sofa for state officers. and we vote as citi-
Zens of the United States for national Of
ficers, and in this election, in voting for
members of congress, you vote as citizens
OF the United State, and in voting for your
other officers you vote as citizens Of the
State of Minnesota. Such being the case,
it is well on this occasion to briefly take
view Of the record and history Of the
parties. both as to the state administration
and the federal administration. Now If we
look about us in the world, and especially
among our rural population, and recount
some Of our experiences. we find that there
are often q class of men who wander about
I'm the country among the farmers and
people in our towns and who make money
out of them-begule them. You will find
patent right peddlers, men selling patent
tights: you will find lightning rod peddlcrs,
men selling lightning rods; YOU will find
these cloth and bundle peddlers selling
packages of goods; you will find people
around selling 5000 horses to a company Of
farmers for So, 800 or So, 600; and in all these
Instances the farmers very apt to be
M ont ii
and he can sell them a worthless patent
right and get fair price for it; lightning
rod man comes around and he can get them
to let him put rods on the house, on the
chicken coop and every other little building
on the place; and SO all of these men Of
these various callings, who live by their
wits, have gone among the farmers and
nave found them easy victims. Now if
those were the only emissaries, dangerous
emissaries that the farmers and ordinary
poor mortals had to contend with we could
survive it; but, my friends, there are lot
of political patent right peddlers, lot Of
political lightning rod pcddlers: who come
the rural population, who find as easy
victims in the political world as the other
Fellows do in the business world
The Farmers Alliance.
Four years ago a new party came into this
state; it came from the South and the
Southwest; it was known rs the Farmers
Alliance party. The leaders of it were men
who had run their race, or were discarded,
OF had to some extent lost their usefulness
and influence in the other old parties. These
men appeared on. the political horizon, es-
pecially among the farmers In a., the e. back.
woods, and they went on after this fashion;
they told you, common folks, You are poor;
you are hard up; you are, in destitute cir
sumstances; you are taxed e. to DEATH at over
porous. have lots of money, are capitalists;
~iutocrats; they are prosperous; they have have
the not It that have
acted; our laws have been so enacted as to
make you poor and those plutocrats rich.
20 aggregate yourselves. politically speaking,
unto class by yourselves: separate your
selves from the other members of the com
sive and defensive organization; provide
yourselves with clubs to knock down these
plutocrats; have heavy boots with steel pegs
Of these plutocrats and wipe them out. Fol
how our advice, take us for leaders, and we
will make you the plutocrats; put you in
We will drive these other fellows out of ex-
1stence; we will exterminate them" Some
thing after this fashion, and something on
this line was the argument advanced by
these leaders, these men who came among
the farmers, to lead them into new politica
notions They SAID act to the ;"
Paul they will surely give you great a md
important REFORMS wen SONIC Ol lut
farmers were begui!ed in 1890. They die
elect large number of Alliance members
and sent them up to the legislature; an6
neither the Alliance, nor the Democrats
nor the Republicans had majority; but
these Alliance members, these reformers
these special friends of the farmer, they
fused; they entered into a fusion with tho
Democrats. Many of us supposed that tina
fusion involved great reforms; matters O.
great principle; matters of some great I'm
Dortance to the farmers Of this state; bu
after you look at the work of that legislat
ure you find that the fusion was mainly IL
respect to some secretaries, clerks, employs
and spittoon cleaners around the legislature
So the fusion didn't extend beyond that
(Laughter.) And, aside from the Australian
ballot law, that legislature enacted no leg
fslation Of any particular Importance; moth
ing especially In the interest of you farm
srs; nothing calculated to give you any as
distance or produce any reforms in the pc
utical, economic or business world. 1t wa
a most extravagant legislature, that ALI
snce, reform legislature of 1891. The run
ming expenses Of it were greater than an.
legislature we ever had before or since;
cost sol 900 more to run that legislature o
1891 than it did the Republican legislatur
OF 1893; $21,OO more for operating e1
penses: running expenses: and it came
mass from this reason: that thew had &