The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-06-10
REFORM EDITORS.
They Meet and Organize for Mutual
Benefit and Business.

pursuance or the call recently issued, anu
devoted the morning to listening to adj
dresses from prominent members Of the
craft on the necessity of an organization
of the independent reform press Of Minnee-
sofa for the purpose of fellowship and
practical cooperation AT O'Clock this
afternoon a business session was held to
consider methods and means There were
present editors Of various parties-the
Populist, Prohibitionist, and free silver
republican editors being chiefly in evil
dence. 1t was apparent that everybody
present was looking forward to union of
forces at ST. Louis. Besides the editors.
were such free silver business men as E.
5. Corser. Harry Griffin, and ]. H Bart
lett, Of this city, and also a number of
farmers and professional men from the
country. The meeting was characterized
by great harmony of purpose, although
the SPECIFIC measures favored were varied
enough.
w. r. Dobbyn, the we'll known editor of
the Progressive Age, of this city, raped
the meeting to order. F. N. Stacy, of the
Penny Press, was elected chairman, and
FRANK Warner Of the Buffalo Lake News,
was elected secretary. Mr.. Stacy outlined
the cause Of Free and Honest Press"
in his opening remarks, as follows:
To the Reform Press Of Minnesota, Cen
tlemen:
The cause of free public printing was so
powerfully champiOned by John Milton, in
his famous tract, "AreOpagitica," over 200
years ago, that one would suppose it was
then settled for all time But the same
evil Of a muzzled and biased press is with
us now as in the days Of Milton. The diff
ference Is simply in the methods of muZ-
zling. and in the class of people who do
the muzzling
Milton complained that no book or paper
could be printed unless it were approved
and licensed under the hands of two or
three gluttonous friars." He charged these
yIyith oiocr hot ho1
"bequeathed them the keys of the press
also as well as Of Paradise"
But there are worse things and more
dangerous persons in control of a good
portion of the press of America at this
time, than two or three guttonous fri
ars." 1t would be a godsend to the Ameri-
can people and a gigantic stride toward
| free institutions and good government, if
the powers which control the daily press
of America could be exchanged for a few
friars. 1t would be tremendous improve
ment in the interests of rec and unbia Sed
| enlightment and the public good, if moth
| ing worse than few harmless friars con-
| trolled the Associated Press franchises
and dispatches.
| 1t would be grand act of emancipation
| If the stocks and bonds and editorial pol
icy Of the metropolitan daily press were
| owned and controlled by no worse persons
| or more powerful and constituencies in
situations than friars. The friars could
be reformed. They have souls and con-
sciences which can be reached. Their
| whole concern is not their pocket. They
| have human sympathies. But the con-
| scienceless and soulless corporation which
| controls the daily press of America, with
| few exceptions. is purely commercial and
| mercenary tyranny which cares for neither
| truth nor mankind.
The same constitution which declared
gold and silver the money of the American
people contained in the first amendment
| the provision that the right of free speech
and free press should not be abridged.
| Today we find the daily press of America
bought and controlled in the interests of
Lombard street, declaring that the Ameri-
can people shall not have the money of
the constitution unless by permission Of
London through international agreement.
Great Britain sought to deprive this coun-
| try of freedom of 1875 by it's hired Hessian
| mercenares. Today it is pursuing the
same campaign with hired mercenaries,
but these hired Hessians WELD that might
Ter instrument the pen, in place of the
sword. London can more effectively govern
America it finds, by controlling it's press,
| it's legislation, and it's bond issues, than by
quartering troops among u.s.
1t matters not what the cause, whether
it be the cause of labor, of temperance, of
arbitration, of municipal reform, Of low
and equal taxation, of direct legislation,
of public interests against the powerful
few in any direction-the power of the
subsidized press can be depended upon to
be against the people on the side Of soul
less corporate greed
1t is time that the independent press of
America, the reform press of every party
| or school, were banded together in the
| interests of rec speech as guaranteed in
| the constitution. The cause of govern
ment for and by the people is involved.
| The editors of Minnesota can devote them
selves to no more noble work than to take
I'M he no 10 fnr frna ND
press, devoted to the cause of the people
and progressive reform in our common
| wealth.
j. E. Child, the pioneer editor of the
| Waseca Herald was the first speaker
called upon Mr.. Child gave his brethren
practical and spicy pointers mixed with
earnest appeal on the theme, Govern
ment by Proxies" He said that man was
| by nature prone to walk up and take pos
| session Of what he could lay his hands
upon: That was till our dangers, and es-
| pecially in the relations between the cor
| porations and the government. "This ma
| ton started said Mr.. Child, "half slave
| and half free, and is still so. The civil
| war freed the slaves, but it fastened upon
the government corporation slavery,
| which now controls practically the whole
| country. They control much of it directly,
| and the rest of it indirectly. The railroads
| declare themselves supreme deny the
| power of the state to regulate them as
| PUBIC carriers, ana set themselves I'D a
| private concerns, although they are in
| possession of sovereign functions and
| franchises. The growth Of cities and the
| settlement Of the country depends upon
the railroads, and so we will all become
| dependency oof these corporations" Mr..
| Child here referred to some interesting ex-
| periences with railroads while member
| Of the legislature, and later in his home at
| Waseca. During the late strike at Chi
| cago, the Chicago roads had the power to
| summon government troops to their aid
| to back their unjust demands-a power
| which the plain people do not even dream
| Of exercising" Taking up the currency.
| Mr. Child thought that the great question
was one not merely of silver but of the
| money power as represented in the ma
| tional banks. He cited the fact that AT
| the recent Republican state conventions
| in this state, all the bankers of his dis
| trlct were represented, and that the con-
| ventions were to large extent the bank
ers Of the state and their attorneys and
| hangers-on. He thought no bank should
| have the power to issue currency. The
] powers to issue currency and control rail-
| way transportation were sovereign powers
which should be delegated to no one. AS
regards political organization, the needed
| thing was to begin at the bottom and
| build up. No patchwork would do He
expressed the hope that those present
| could agree on a basis Of union and CO.
! operation.
| w. r. Dobbyn spoke on Free Speech
| and free press" as follows: I'VE talk
| in this age Of freedom. We are supposed
| to be on the crest and enjoying all the
privileges of civilization handed down to
us, and among others the prerOgatiyeS Of