The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-20
RETURNED IN KIND.
WORDS OF CoMPLI-
MENT
THE TWO OLD PARTIES.

I4th, says:
I'm the course of extended ef-
fort at literary invective directed
against female suffrage in particular.
and the human family in general,
that more than amiable gentleman
ordinarily, the Hon. Ignatius Donnel-
ly, says some very extraordinary
things in the current number of the
REPRESENTATIVE. Indeed the cur
rent edition Of that publication, like
most of those which have been issued
since the late election, contains SO
many extraordinary and altogether
picturesq ues sayings by Mr.. Donnelly,
as to make the publication we'll worth
perusal."
Thanks, gentle stranger. That is
highly mplimentary; and, coming
from the leading evening paper of the
Northwest, very acceptable. 1t is the
more grateful to our feelings because
a month or two ago young gentle
man, 1--WE pres ume he was young,-one
of those fresh, sophomorical killings
who think man is aged at forty, be-
longing to the Dispatch, announced
as the ultimate conclusion OF his gOs-
ling mentality, that we were as good
as dead;-had reached the end of our
career;-and that our only proper
place was under the adornment Of a
headstone. And this too when we
were twenty-five years younger than
Gladstone,-an good deal more SEN
sible-(for zoe never defended the slave
trade or put Parnell in Kilmainham
jailD But the writer of the article
above seems to have reached differ
ent conclusion, as to our deadness.
He reminds us of Hans Breitmann's
poem:
But Won old feller smiled grimly, and bet,-
Der Breitmann vud be a pad egg for them
yeti
He has more in his head as dem fellers
He has cards in his hand, and der spiel is
nicht aus.
And the writer goes on to say:
what distinguishes the article in
question from it's companions is that
in it Mr.. Donnelly seems to have sur
passed himself in the direction of sur
prising and unexpected statement.
That article closes with the following
admonition directed against Populists
enlisting themselves in the cause Of
female suffrage:
Let US be sensible and reasonable, and
not attempt to reform all the MS Of the
world at one sitting. Let US leave some
thing for posterity to accomplish.
Those who have watched the part
| played by this interesting character
| in our public atfairS-and who that
| has been a citizen of Minnesota dur
| ing the past ten or twenty years has
not?-need not have it pointed out to
| them that the one thing of all Others
which has characterized his efforts
has been the determination to IRE
form all the ills Of the world at one
sitting"
Now, the truth is the Republican
papers for many years covered us with
such clouds of abuse and misre presen'
tation that they saw US, as it were,
through glass darkly; and being as
SHINE themselves they imagined us
an ass; and now, when the gales OF
time and circumstance have blowr
away their foul emanations, they
throw up their hands in as astonishment
and exclaim:-"Why! Who'd have
thought it! He is re ally very sensi
bic mann'
When did we ever advocate any re
form that was not reasonable? And i
we attacked great many wrongs a
once it must be remembered tina
there were great many Republicans
And now these fellows are like {
crab-their eyes are in their tails
They can see backward with grea
clearness and perspicuity. But fol
ward-ah they are not going in tina
direction! Every beast to its nature
They have just intelligence enough t.
praise Lincoln and Chase and Greele
and Lloyd Garrison and Wendell
Phillips; and damn PETER and Wait
and Lewelling and Pennoyer an
Weaver. But they are the int
lectual successors and tative
of the men who Knocked Lincoln an
persecuted Chase, and caricature
Greeley and mobbed Garrison an
ostracised Phillips.
Hamlet says to POlonius: "For yol
yourself, sir;-should be as old as an
if,like crab, you could go backward;
and the two old parties are goin
backward at such rate that the
; will soon be fighting the Mexica
war over again. They say with We
ster,-"the past at least is secure;"
but for the present or the future the
rnOw nOthinp ahOut, them T. u