The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-09-10
DEFENDED HIS FRIEND.
Gen. Baker Runs Foul of hrs. Lease
at the Garden City Fair.
A Hot Encounter, In Which the
Past Is Raked Up.

VI q WOluy CnCOuuuCl L uui udy diu
noon between Gen. J. III. Baker and
Mrs. Mary Ellen Lease. Both had
been advertised to speak there in the
afternoon, and dense crowd was on
hand at two o'clock, The fair man
agement had given it out that Mrs.
Lease would not speak on political
topics, but when she arrived on the
ground fresh from New York and was
introduced by the chairman, E. w.
Parker, to the audience she threw
off this restraint, by saying that she
had not been informed of this until
her arrival and asked to be excused
if she went into politics little.
Mrs. Lease wore a dress of costly
stuff, but whether it was one of the
elegant creations which she is report
ed by the papers to have ordered
while in New York her listeners were
not able to Judge, but the ladies in
the audience had comments to pass
upon it's fitting qualities.
Mrs. Lease fell into Der usual TRADE
in regard to that awful, grasping,
heartless offspring Of disordered
imagination, the money power. She
held trusts up to the severest verbal
castigation, and spoke Of the
subtle influence of money 10 politics.
She cited Mark Hanna as an instance
of how men buy their way into office
and said that President Mckinley
had moved John Sherman out of the
Senate to make way for his friend,
Hanna. She referred to Secretary
Sherman as senile and untitled by age
for the duties of his present position.
She said that the last political
campaign was the most
corrupt ever known, and that more
money was used. She went on in this
strain, her powerful, masculine voice
penetrating to the furtherest limits
of the fair grounds.
When Mrs. Lease finally concluded
her harrangue and took her seat,
Gen. Baker was introduced. He
challenged some of Mrs. Leases
statements, and defended his life
long friend, Secretary Sherman, from
the attack of the Kansas oracle. Be-
fore General Baker had spoken very
long, Mrs. Lease, who had put on her
hat and jacket, pulled the hat pin
from her hair with jerk, removed
her headgear, and pulled off her
jacket, indicating her intention to
take up the cudgels. Gen. Baker
spoke for some moments with unusual
eloquence and feeling and then took
his seat.
Mrs. Lease asked permission to
speak again, and upon it's being grant
ed she proceeded to make it interest
ing for Gen. Baker. She gave full
play to her tongue, and charges and
sarcasm rolled forth in torrent. She
referred to Gen. Baker as her ere
publican-Populist-De friend,
l hardly know where to place him."
She said that the last time that she
and Gen. Baker had spoken together
in this neighborhood Gen. Baker had
talked Populistic doctrine.
After Mrs. Lease had exhaust ed her
vituperative powers upon the owner of
Oak Cliff, the General came to the
front and denied that the last time
that he and Mrs. Lease had spoken
from the same platform he had talked
Populistic doctrine. He declared that
Mrs. Lease had expounded that heresy
and that he had combatted it.
Mrs. Lease arose with blood in her
eye and declared that she could prove
her statement and that Gen. Baker
was wrong She then walked around
the stand and pointed to two or three
men whom she recognized as having
been present at the meeting in ques-
tion and asked them whether it was
not true that Gen. Baker had talked
Populism. They said it was true.
After some further discussion, Gen.
Baker left the stand, and the meeting
came to an end. The Populists in the
audience howled themselves hoarse
over Mrs. Leases utterances, and did
not even treat Gen. Baker respect
fully.
Owing to the wind, the balloon
ascension did not occur until after
six o'clock, and the ascension and
parachute leap were success.
The horse races did not make very
rapid sport. The ball game resulted
9 for Lake Crystal and for Mankato.
The crowd was large and the ex-
hibits in all lines highly creditable.
Some splendid stock was shown, and
the display in floral hall was fully up
to expectations.
The weather for the fair this year
was all that could be asked.
Aid. Himmelman's Senator Wiki
inson was one of four to divide purse
of 5000 at the Rochester fair last