The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-01
RIVER AT s A. M.
nnnnnr Heinht Of
The WEST ON TRIAL.

The West will be called upon to
give an account of herself this year
as she never has before. These great,
rich and populous commemorative
which constitute the more recently set
tied portion of the United States have
had little to do in national contests,
except to declare themselves on a
pronounced issue like the tariff,
and have never been singled out as
subjects for any especial appeal. They
have never felt the argument based
on geographical situation as strongly
as others. When the unhappy events
of the war period drew the line sharp
Iy between North and South, the
Western states failed to participate
fully in the sectional feeling They
were against slavery utterly, it is true,
and, as far as the maintenance of the
Union was concerned, ranged them
selves unhesitatingly on the side of
the North Yet, after all, when North
and South were spoken of as terms of
sectional separation, 1t was the old
duClpdtly DSlWCSA 4NCW E1IlSlollO ciIlO
the slave states that was first thought
of. The passionate hatred of the
Southerner was for the Yankee" The
people of the Middle West and North
west came quite as close in CONNER
cial intercourse to the people Of one
section as to those of the other. AS
q consequence, the sectional argument
has never had the force from Ohio
westward that it did east Of the Ale
ghanies.
Now, for the first time. there is ad
dressed to the states of the West an
appeal founded on pure seetionalism.
Not only that, but upon the response
which these Western states shall give
ing election. All the hopes of the
Democrat-Populist combination are
pinned upon carrying some Of the
Western states. Without this they
are hopeless. From Maryland and
West Virginia on the south and Ohio
on the west, north to the Canadian
boundary line and east to the Atlantic
there is not one electoral vote to be
found for Mr.. Bryan. The few which
are certain to be cast for him at this
time will come from some Of the South
Atlantic and Gulf states, reinforced
by some of the silver-producing COM
monwealths. To these must be added
a big contingent from the West, If he
is to be in the race at all. This was
the scheme from the beginning. The
appeal for new sectionalism was adj
dressed by the South to the West.
Mr.. Tillrnan is the only prominent
man on the other side who has been
honest enough and frank enough to
avow this. He says openly that the
great issue in this campaign is to COM
bine the interests Of the South and
West and to crush out and destroy
those of the East.
A part, at least, Of the South and
: Southwest has consented to enlist I'M
der this banner. What answer is the
West to make? 1t is now on trial
The people of the nightly common
wealths which reach from the eastern
boundary of Indiana to the Rocky
mountains, and from the Ohio river
@nd the Arkansas border to our north
ern boundary. must decide a more
vital and far-reaching question than
has ever been presented to them here
tofore. Not ony must they vote for or
against the free coinage Of silver: not
only must they say whether, In their
opinion, this Is national union OF
federated states or a confederacy
without any central power, but they
must, first OF all. declare whether they
give their consent to the alignment
OF section against section once more
as 1t was in the evil days that fell
upon us during and before the War
of the Rebellion. Are we to have
again divided country? Is 1t to be
coalition, selfish reckless, partisan,
calIous to Justice or injustice, mere
aggregation of force between two parts
Of this country to dominate the whole2