The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-13
WORDS OF PRAISE.
What Mr.. DOnnelly Is Doing for HUI
mainly.

To the Editor:
The Representative has been so full of
good things of late that l have felt it
out OF place tC say anything. 1t reminds
me of battery of long range guns she'll
ing a fortified city. 1 witnessed such
scene in my boyhood. The battery was
out of reach of the siege guns, and by it's
lncessant cannonade for weeks compelled
the surrender of the city. The place was
impregnable to direct assault, but this one
battery throwing shells night and day for
weeks in every fort of the city made ex-
lstence there unbearable Thus The Repre-
sentative is booming away week after
week. dropping shells here and there in
the fortified camp of plutocratic monopoly
and is making it very uncomfortable for
the pluts. 1 believe that Mr.. Donnelly is
now-as the chief of artillery of The
Representative battery, nobly supported,
as he is, by his rank and file-dong greater
work for humanity than he ever did be-
fore in his life, or, probably, could do in
any other position. 1t strikes me that Mr..
Donnelly is Horace Greedy and Wendell
Phillips combined. l do not say this to
fiatter Mr.. Donnelly nor to detract one
iOta from the honor due to other eminent
reformerS in this or other states, but SIM
ply to call the attention of The Repre-
sentative readers to the fact in order that
The Representative may receive the
dial support from the reform people of
the Northwest that it deserves. The Rep
resentative, under its present liberal and
able management, as unquestionably the
big reform gun of the Northwest, must be
supported. l know it, is supported literally
and yet l want to emphasize the necessity
of doing so more and more The Repre-
sentative reaches circles of readers that
smaller reform papers do not and can
not reach. The opposition may say about
Donnelly what they like. yet they want
to read what Ignatius Donnelly has to say.
See? Donnelly IS a drawing card. His
eminent literary liability and activity has
won him this reputation He now offers
his achievement of a hle time on the altar
of humanity and for the benefit of reform.
Can do better, then, than push after
in the path he has opened? And to Mr..
Donnelly himself 1 will say this openly,
the feeling of my mind: Do not get
discouraged; few prophets were ever hon
ored in their own country day. Such
is the state of the human mind. But some
body must do the rough pioneer work OF
reform, there will be no reform 1t
seems that providence has designed you
to in part do this at the present stage of
human progress Had you secured high
office in times past to which you have
sometimes aspired, you might not have
been able to fill your destiny as you are
now. Who knows? Remember. also, that
the capital worth having in the next world.
which you will soon enter, is not gold or
high office here, but brotherly love. With
all of our faults mortas, if we are
actuated by a genuine desire for the well
fare of humanity and all that Is noble and
good, the hereafter will reward us album
dainty for all our troubles and cares in
this, our earthly, career. But 1 believe that
even posterity hereabout your scene of
activity will not far hence appreciate your
service to humanity and raise monuments
of honor to the man that is now denounced
as a demagogue agitator and anarchist;
while your detractors that are now posing
as great lights, will be remembered only
with deteStation. Be not weary in we'll
doing; honesty will yet have its true re-
ward. And, while my mind is running in
this line of thought, l want to say an
other word to Mr.. Donnely, at the risk
of being presumptuous enough to at
tempt to give advice to a man that has
forgotten more than 1 ever knew. 1t is
this: If anybody jumps on to you inside
of our party, don't tear such a one all to
pieces at once. Neither your reputation
nor The Representative can be seriously
injured by anybody. Hence, II you dis
cover traitors in our camp, call Peoples
party court-martial to deal with them;
and if we must have executions let us
have such scientifically and pleasantly adj
ministered inside Of the prison walls, and
not in a manner that shall enable our
enemies to make capital out of it. And,
having said this much to Mr.. Donnelly,
I say to all Populists of Minnesota: You
know that Mr.. Donnelly is somewhat ex-
citable on the spur of the moment if any
thing irritates him. Now, then, keep off
his toes; don't irritate him by snarling at
his heels He has faults; we all have.
But he is one of the great big snorting
mogul engines of reform, and every loyal
Populist should overlook his small fail
ings and stand by him, side by side, in
this great work of agitation and educa-
ton of the people. DIR. G. JOHNSON.
New London, MINI.