The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-05
straight Populists who will be turned

down by the Democrats.
For the first time In my tour Of the
district met in Austin silver Repub-
lican. Having met some hundreds of sill
yer men 1t was rather remarkable that
among them all I should not meet one
avowed Republican. mentioned this
fact to Editor S. HI. Harrison, of the
Times, a Populist organ, and he said he
would amend that-and he did.
Mr.. Harrison has been secretary of
the Populist organization In the dis
trict for some years and knows In
stinctively when any voter In the coun-
ty has a Populist eruption. He took
me out on the street and introduced
me to half dozen free silver Republi-
cans. One or two OF them turned out
to have been Democrats, but there
was no doubt of the rest having been
Republicans. Among the well-known
men on the Republican side who have
come out for silver, are William Cowan.
DR.. Hudson, Judge Ranney, and Will
liam Wilson. They are pushing the
silver propaganda and there is free
silver club with~a membership of about
200 Mr.. Harrison had a list of 81
names OF members and 10 of these, he
said, had been Republicans, so that in
Austin City there will probably be 300
Bryan votes out Of possible 1000.
But If there are few silver Re-
publicans here there are plenty of gold
Democrats. The railroad vote Is
very important factor, numbering $50
or thereabouts. This vote will be for
sound money almost to man. In the
past it has acted with the Democrats
or Pops to a great extent. This same
vote elected DR.. Johnson, a Democrat,
mayor for four years and it has been
sending John Furlong to the legis-
lature since 1885, 1t will be cast for
Furlong this fall, but it will also be cast
for McKinley-fOr did not find any
Of them ready to vote for the Palmer
Buckner ticket. And another very i'm
pcrtant prop for the Democracy and
Pops is pulled entirely away-f e., the
German vote. This is numerous in
some portions of the county.
Senator Swenningson, Scandina-
vain, owes his domination in the Re
publican party In some measure to
the Germans, for, although they have
been to some extent Democrats, they
have supported him-being looked after
by his brother-in-law, P. Carr. Mr..
Carr admits or claims that no one
could possibly hold the Germans in line
for a Democrat or Populist for any
office. They have gone over in body
to the Republicans. There was posi-
lively not a German to be found who
would admit that he would vote for
Bryan or Lind. The Scandinavians
are the same way. They are Norwe-
gians There have been some Norwe-
gian Democrats in Mower county-not
many to be sure, but q little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump. Well, they
have been washed away by the sound
money food. There are none now.
They have faded into thin air and one
might as well try to, materialize the
shade of Erickson, the discoverer, as
free silver Norsk In Mower county.
This state of affairs is largely due
fn ho Of ho
tions as elsewhere in the district. The
farmers are too well off to take any
chances in change Of the monetary
basis. In RochesteriI found that there
was no silver sentiment and / also
found that the three banks had cap
italization of $250,000 and deposits ap-
proximating $1,000,000 That meant a
sound money vote. for one of the bank
ers told me that so per cent of the
deposits belonged to farmers. Here
in Austin there is the same evidence
of wealth. The town is smaller than
Rochester, but there are banks with
total capital Of $150,0O0 and deposits
has accumulated $4,000 surplus and
undivided profts-that "unearned In
crement" that is torture to the soul
of the Populists, but which gladdens
the heart Of the thrifty farmer, who
Is looking for safe place for his
banks, told me that the deposits gem
orally were from farmers. The stores
in Austin give evidence of this same
sort of substantial prosperity, and
there are more brick blocks going up
in the town than in any other town
in the district, and this-in year when
generally there has not been dollar
to lay out for permanent investment
The country about Austin also shows
that the people are not much afraid
for the future, for the farm homes are
not only comfortable, but In some
cases sumptuous. Many of the i'm
provements are quite new, and John
Furlong, himself, shows an alarming
Indifference to the how1s Of the free
silverites about the country being on
the verge Of ruin. He has just fin
ished the erection of the finest barn
in this section Of the state. All in all,
there is little encouragement for the
calamity bowler hereabouts.
Nate Kingsley had Just returned
from Chatfeld, Fillmore county, when
found him. He had just been on a
sad mission, hts father having died
last week. But he chatted bit about
politics. He said: ST do not see that
there is any possibility of the silver
people doing anything here. The Re.
publican organization of the county is
thorough and entirely in sympathy
with the whole ticket. Mckinley and
Clough will carry Mower by larger ma
jorities than Nelson did last year. and
Tawney's majority will be even larger
than that of the head Of the ticket. He
is popular personally. while his oppo-
nent is weak and unknown. There
have been very considerable accessions
to the Republican ranks from the
Democracy, and the money question
will practically wipe out the Democ-
racy in the country districts. The Re-
publican farmers are not disturbed
much, but the Democrats are, and they
are going to vote on the safe side"
There is one vote that will be some
what changed, and this is the only
change I could find In Lind's favor.
The G. A. r. post at Austin will be
for Lfnd-is for Lind now. They mus
ter 116 votes, and ordinarily 80 of
them would be straight Republican
they will be this year on the head of
the ticket But they are against
Clough and for Lind. About 80 of them
will be for the fusion candidate for
governor. I could not find that any
OF the old soldiers were doing anything
for Lind beyond declaring in his favor,
and that is as far as the opposition to
Clough will go. DR.. Johnson, ex-Dem-
ocratic mayor, and Bryan man In a
mild sort of way, did not think there
was much chance for the Democrats
TO do anything on the silver platform.
IF we hold our own we will do all
that can be expected this year" Pres
ident TAFT, of the Silver club, did not
make any strong claims. eff we can
cut the Republican majority in this
county down bit wes viii have done
all that is possible" he said. Secre-
tary Harrison, of the Popu1ist commit
tee, thinks that Tawney's majority will
be cut down in the county, and he de-
hof Maic oh