The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-01
Practical Men, They Wasted
Little Time in Start
ing.
HALF OF THE STATES
Are Represented in the Big
Meeting Which Opened
Yesterday.

Sturdy farmers from half the states
in the Union filled representatives hall
at the state capitol yesterday at the
opening session of the farmers ma
tfonal congress. Staid practical men,
most of them veterans and many of
them old soldiers, who had turned from
Mars CORY shrine to WOO that ficklest
goddess of them all, Ceres bounteous in
in her bestowal of favors on the sue
cessful wooer severe in her punish
ment of the careless trif1er. Men were
there from the height of land whence
springs the rivulet that forms the
Father of Waters, and from the treach-
erous delta at its other end, rich with
it's snowy crops of cotton. Other
grangers, yeomen, were there from the
pine-stripped banks of the Androscog-
gin to the blue grass stock ranches
of Montana. Men of affairs were there,
many of them experienced in the civil
and official life of their communities,
as well as pioneers in the movement
for the education of the farmer and the
lifting of agriculture to a basis where
it might, on purely non-political ba-
sis, free itself from the aggressions
of one sort and other.
All political beliefs were represented,
and, despite the vigorous emphasis
that was put upon the fact that the
subjects proposed must be discussed
outside of political lines, some of the
resolutions introduced toward the close
of the afternoon session manifested
desire to drag politics into the meet
ing in spite of all rules of order A
broad charity was exercised with the
few who thus tried to bring the de-
liberations of the congress into the for
hidden ground, and little asperity was
manifested.
The first of the sessions, naturally,
was devoted to the customary greetings
to the visitors by city and state Of
ficials, responses by delegates, and the
annual address of President Clayton,
the rubicund Hawkeye, who is in him.
self, apparently, an epitome of dollar
wheat" as an index to the prosperity
of American agriculture 1t was all
optimistic address, yet not blind ia
threatening clouds in the social hori-
zon.
In the afternoon committees were
HdHHeu, ana the general SUBJECTS OF
advanced. education in agriculture, and
the advantage to agriculture of river
and harbor Improvement were dis
cussed in papers and generally, while
just before supper time a few minutes
was allowed for the introduction by
the members of resolutions embodying
their pet schemes for the Improvement
of the farmers lot.
In the evening the topics of interest
to the rural resident were discussed
by prominent members Of the congress,
Gov. Clough's misapprehension of the
number of delegates Minnesota was en-
titled to was met by the merciful dele
gates with praise rather than reproach,
Hon. S. M. Emery, of Bozeman, Mont,
formerly Minnesotan himself, helping
his old neighbor out of the trouble
D. r. McGinnis got him into by intro
ducing resolution giving the 900 the
privileges of the floor, save voting
which must, under the constitution, be
restricted to ten members from the
state.
The interest manifested in the gath
ering by the women is marked, proba-
bly, third of the attendance yesterday
was Of the fair farmers, who, while
delegates, were none the less diligent
in their devotion to the topics of the
day.
Fort Worth, Tex, was chosen as the
meeting place of the congress for next
year. This was decided at the even-
ing session.