The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-08-12

tlOus pEOteSClu8 dB1JH6b our OeluR
permitted to ait in the gathering. and
for time We were denied seats. be-
cause Of this action on the part of
men not one OF whom cared enough
for the cause to pay the expense Of .
trip to Cincinnati!!
Who Is there does not yemember our
troubles in 1892, when the same gang,
with Mr.. Owen as their inspiring
source and center, protested against
the formation of the Peoples Party,
and put up what they called an ALI
ance ticket" with Gen'L' Baker as
their candidate for governor? But
when Mr.. Owen saw how public senti-
ment was drifting he abandoned his
associates: and they were forced to
withdraw their opposition ticket. with
curses loud and deep against Owen,
who, they alleged, had led them into
the movement. and then sneaked out,
and left them discredited and politi-
cally ruined.
He fever was Populist at heart
He howled for years for free trade and
persuaded the readers of his paper
that protection was the cause OF all
their troubles; and in 1884 he wanted
to throw free-silver overheard and
make the fight on the basis of opposi-
ton to "the political power of corpor-
ate monopoly"
Look at his record
In 1890 he won the nomination for
governor in the Alliance convention
against ourself, by a few votes; and
then selected state committee every
man of which, except one obscure gen.
tleman from northern Minnesota, was
an opponent of ours, and many of
them bitter enemies. They used to
meet and spend their time denounc-
ing and cursing US. Hon. P. Fl.
Rahilly was the Alliance candidate for
State Auditor; he attended several Of
their meetings; one day he rose and
said, -'"Gen tlemen, decline the nom-
'ination. for State Auditor. Instead Of
doing anything to unite the party for
victory you meet here, day after day,
to curse Mr.. Donnelly, who is doing
nothing against you. A house divid-
ed against itself cannot stand. Count
me outs" and he left the room. They
refused to. invite us to make any
speeches for the party. At last. at
the request of w. w. Erwin, we went
out with him and spoke in many OF
the principal towns Of the state. We
made thirty-seven speeches for the
ticket that year.
In 1892 we have seen how Mr.. Owen,
through his friends, Erwin, Baker,
Phelps. Lathrop, r. ]. Hall, Mueller,
ETC., tried to head-off the. Peoples
Party and destroy it by setting up an
Alliance state ticket. All old Alli-
ance men will remember the stormy
scene when they came before our con-
vention.
In 1894 he tried to prevent the Peo-
pies Party from advocating the free
coinage Of silver! But we magnani-
mously stood by him again. and he
was nominated for governor. With
out word of consultation with US he
passed by multitude of good men
and selected John L. Macdonald of St.
Paul, Jour bitter enemy, who had, six
months before, declared his purpose to
drive US out of the party.) for chair
man Of THE THE State Central Committee!
Macdanaldb was utterly unfit for the
place. He had neither executive
ability, honesty, energy, industry nor
good sense; but he hated Donnelly,
and that, with Mr.. Owen, covered a
multitude of sins. He proceeded at
once to try to destroy THE REPRE-
SENTATIVE as we have said; and set
up St. Paul paper, owned by the
gold-bug millionaire, John r. Walsh,
of Chicago. The circulars were print
ed in Owens Office and sent out by his
brother. and Mr.. Owen went East, so
that he might not be called upon to
interfere with the work of slaughter.
But The REPRESENTATIVE did not
propose to die without struggle, and
the kilograms soon began to fly to Mr..
Owen, from his friends, to hurry home
for the devil was to pay and no pitch
hot. But when he came he would not
request Macdonald to give up the
craftsmanship Of the committees; he
stood by him; and. thank God, the I'M
popularity OF his wretched instrument
helped to beat him for governor.
And now, in 1896, Mr.. Owen made
another trip, this time 10 the West,
instead of the East. We took the
alarm. Sure enough ''Bub" Williams,
OF the Penny Press, began his famous
lying attack on US; based on pre-
tended letter whichhad no existence
and which he has not, OF course, been
able to produce. Then Tew was sent
down to St. Louis, week ahead Of
the national convention; and the pub
lie knows the rest.
Mr.. Owen for eight years has been
the secret enemy and marplot Of the
Peoples Party. He refused to assist
in its creation; he tried to defeat it
by setting up an Alliance convention
in the same year the Omaha platform
was adopted; and in 1894 he tried to
slaughter the question Of free silver.
Every year he has gathered around
him a generation Of tools who ap.
peared only to be swept away by the
people; to be succeeded. in turn. in
two years more, by another galaxy Of
deluded malcontents, who soon went
the way of their predecessors. Dob
byn and Aver are the lineal successors
of Darlington Phe fps and John L. Mac
donald