The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-08-21
| correspondent ANSWERED.
The Single Takers and the Ruskin
Colony.
LENIENCY TO ERROR rs MUS
TICE TO TRUTH.

which we print, not from vanity, but
to help along the general cause, by
enabling the enthusiasm of one man
to reach the hearts Of others. Now
and then discordant note OF dissent
reaches us. This is natural. We can
not all think alike or see matters in
the same light. But honest differ.
ences of opinion are always respect.
able; and SO we print the following
letter from good, honest man, who
means we'll by. all the world; although
we think he has reached some very
unjust conclusions:
FoREsTvILLE, Mimi, Aug. IL, '95.
HON. IGNATIUs DoNNELLY:>
DEAR SIR:-I have just been read.
ing your reply to Mr.. A. e. Seldom in
regard to the Ruskin Colony; that re-
ply as we'll as the former article OF
yours on the retirement of Mr.. Way
land, from the Coming Nation and
Ruskin Colony, is to me unaccount-
able. am not a "single taxer," yet
have always regarded your method of
treating those earnest refOrmerS as
most unfortunate. Nearly all re-
formers are searching honestly for the
truth, but the ignorance is great, and
the educa tion is the refOrmer'S strong
hold. Mr.. George has set the whole
world to thinking, as few others have;
to seeing the need Of reforming our
social and industrial system; and out
of this awakening is to come the great
final victory for justice. So l would
give Mr.. George and his friends. the
kindliest aUelc0me, not necessarily In
method, but in general purpose. So
believe your harsh me thOds vi CRITICS
ing their views to be unwise.
And now comes the Growing mis-
take,-your treatment of those ardent
reformers that made it possible to
start the Ruskin Colony. These peo-
pie and their methods cannot reform
the world All sensible people know
this; but can they not help? | say yes;
and they should De treated most ten
derly, and when read your reply to
stopping The REPRESENTATIVE than
the Coming Nation, l do not blame
the Colonists for expecting Mr.. Way
land to practice what he SO earnestly
preached. / know the Coming Nation
one Wayland. But there are other
him to be cOnSiS tent. l do not believe
the Colony depended wholly on any
one man for success. Nor wholly on
any one man for defeat. These people
are making a heroic effort to realize
sible, and | wish them to succeed, but
they cannot if leading reformers treat
them so unkindly as you have done.
Brother Donnelly, l am Peoples
Party man, who spends all the time
light. Socialists, Single-taxers, Pro
hibitionists and even silverites, all re.
ceive my honest God Speed;" some
time we will all get to the promised
land:" and to treat any honest broth
er who in searching in the wilderness
for it misses the path temporarily
in the dark maze, is to me nearly un'
pardonable. Your friend,
B., TAYLOR.
There is a great deal to commend
in the spirit of this letter, but oul
friend views the questions at issue
from standpoint widely different
from that which we occupy. He is
simply private citizen: we are edit
ing the leading Peoples Party news
paper Of the Northwest. 1t is natura
and proper that his heart should over
flow with good will towards all men
however wrong or absurd may be the
doctrines they preach. AS a private
citizen we entertain precisely the
same sentiments. But we are on the
outpost defending cause and trying
to hold together the forces we repre-
sent.
Take for instance the question o.
Single Tax. We have the highest re
spect for the genius and philan
thropic purposes of Henry George; bu1
when we saw him, during the cam
paign of last year, brought into this
state by the Democrats, to take
thousands of votes away from the
Peoples Party candidates, and give
them to Democratic candidates, ther
we had duty to perform, howeve1
unpleasant it might be. Should W.
stand still and see delusiOn and {
snare grow and spread over the land
to destroy our party, simply because
of a general sentiment of charity W.
might feel for the honest men wht
were being misled? No; our duty wa:
to show that Mr.. George was wrong
not to yield to error but to combat it
We showed that the effort to turn re
form away from the lines. indicated
by the Omaha platform to scheme
to pile nearly all the taxes Of the rail-
roads, the money-lenders, the specula
tors, the gold brokers, the manufac
lures and everybody else upon tht
owners of land, was a deadly and de
structive one. That instead of giving
the people homes on the soil it woul(
make them forever homeless. 1t is
not pleasant to make enemies, but i:
man must put all personal considera
tions behind him who means to d.
his duty by great cause. We were
looking ahead:-we believed we say
that Plutocracy was pushing the Sin
gle Tax theory forward, and would tr.
to make it part Of our nationa
platform next year, to our complet,
overthrow and ruin. And 80 we step
ped into the breech and assaulted i
with sword and spear. We are for
tunately in the condition of one VIII,
has given up all hope Of ever holdin,
any Office Of trust or honor in thi
wocld. We have no earthly object bu
to do our duty by the generation W,
belong to, and, ii possible, to leave
the world something better off for GU
having lived ia it. And hence we are
ready, at the call of duty, to attack a