The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-07-10
THE THYME QUESTION.
A REPLY TO A sLANDERER.
rhe Lake Benton News says

put in the prison at Saltwater. This
move was especially pleasing to the
Farmers Alliance. Ig. Donnelly
praised it. Now he denounces it. He
himself furnishes the reason for this
change of front. 1t is because he
could not secure an advertisement OF
the Irvine for his REPRESENTATIVE
this summer. He is calling the man
ayers of the Irvine plant all the vile
names he can think of in his paper.
"a column or even two column ad-
vertisement, for two or three months,
would not have bankrupted the
state" he says, and because he IS un-
able to secure it he says In the last Is
sue of THE REPREsENTATIvE that
the Populist farmer who buys his
Irvine at the Irvine plant at Saltwater
"has no more manhood than bed
bug" We do not see how a person
can hope to influence public opinion
or expect the public to believe him
sincere in his professions of devotion
to truth, morality, reform and the up
lifting Of humanity, when that person
will openly and plainly in nearly
column of editorial tell the reason
why he lets the flood gates of vile
vitupe ration and abuse upon an instl-
tuition which heretofore he has lauded
to the skies. And yet this man Don
nelly is he who short time ago was
looked upon as divine by tens OF
thousands of people in this state:
And when this paper mildly criticised
some of his statements Whlch ne
made here in a speech three years ago,
many people in this county whom we
could name, looked upon our criticism
as a species of sacrilege. 1t was SIM
ply blasphemous. The name Donnel-
" was sacred to them. But Mr.. Don
nelly is fast doing, if he has not al
ready done, for himself what an
enemy would have hard work to do
showing up this political character
in his true light. What 90 the farm
ers Of Lincoln county think to nave
this patron saint of morality ana
purity tell them they have mo more
manhood than bed bug" when they
purchase their Irvine at the saltwater
plant-a thing Donnelly has always
urged heretofore, and which he Would
have urged again if he could nave Sc
cured one or two column auVertlSe-
ment as his reward.
This is fair sample of old party
newspaper fairness. The man who
wrote that article would pick pockets
If he was sure he would not be de-
tected. AS sample Of misrepresen-
tation and adroit lying his screed
bangs Bannagher.
Why did he not put his statement
In this way:
/. The Farmers Alliance was the
means of establishing Irvine plant
at Saltwater, in the face Of the OPP
position of both the old parties.
2. Attempts were made to bring
the enterprise to nought, by entering
into a combination with the Irvine
Trust not to manufacture Sisal or
Manila Irvine, and thereupon, they
purchased machinery that would not
manufacture anything but hemp
twine,-a kind the farmers did not
want.
8. We repeatedly declared that
Irvine ought to be furnished by I'M
paid convict labor for four cents a
pound:-the results have shown we
were right. We are selling it now,
for private parties, for 4s cents per
pound: and they have to furnish their
own shops, machinery, heat and light
and hire high priced force labor.
4. This Encouragement brought
the Irvine enterprise at Saltwater
to the brink of total failure; and The
REPRESENTATIVE had to come, last
year, to the rescue, and by it's appeals
and influence saved it from ruin.
5. The Warden of the State Prison
wrote us letter acknowledging the
help this paper had been to the Irvine
factory in 1894, and expressing his be-
lief that the Board of Managers would
give this paper-the organ Of the ALI
ance-the association that had estab-
lished the plantsome advertising.
6. The State Prison Board met and
refused to give US a single cents
worth of advertising. This was not
for economical reasons, because at the
same time they sent out one of thei1
own number, with his family, tt
Paris, on a pleasure trip. at the ex
pense of the Taxpayers; and at an out
lay probably ten times as great as the
cost of any possible advertisement ir
THE REPRESENTATIVES.
I. We recognized this treatment a!
direct slap in the face given to the
State Alliance, given this paper ane
given the $1,000 voters who supported
the Peoples Party last year.
8. We have no confidence in that
State Prison Board after the action
they have taken. They have beer
forced to manufacture Irvine against
their will. There was no money in il
for them. They did all they could tt
thwart the farmers; they are doing al
they can now to insult che farmers
The agriculturists Of Minnesota can
not depend upon any such gang o
cunning adventures. We advis,
them to start Irvine factory of thei
own.
9. This dirty fellow of the LAX
Benton News tries to make it appea
that this is merely an attempt on GU
part to obtain plumber; and that W,
are angry because we cannot put pub
lie money in our pocket. The mis-
creant knows very we'll that we are la
boring, as editor Of this paper, withou
= compensation, and have SO labored TO
years. He knows that this paper wa
established by the State Farmers ALI
ance, and that it is the organ of tn
farmers of this state; and that we ar
in this conflict fighting the people