The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-22

time of this body which sat so diligent-
ly and accomplished SO little? What
was it busted with through these three
months Of aggressive life? Principal
ly with bills attacking some interest,
some institution, some investment Of
capital, some form Of property. And
what became of them? They were prac-
tically all Of them beaten after weeks
or months Of desperate struggle And
what kind of record does this make?
The fate of single such measure tells
nothing. Where all suffer uniformly,
dilemma develops. If three-fourths
of the time of a session is consumed
In debating "anti" bills, bills aimed at
hitting something or somebody and hit
ting hard, and if they all fail, then
what are we to conclude? If they were
good bills by what sort of influence
were they beaten? If they We're bad
bills, then what sort of influence Sc
cured their introduction, what motives
were behind them, and for what rea-
son were they permitted to obstruct
all other action and be the subject of
consideration the majority of the time.
These are questions which the legisla-
ture would have found it hard to an
swer; but every man can answer for
himself. No citizen of Minnesota Wis
tied the capitol of his state during the
sitting, heard the talk in the corridors,
saw what was going forward, heard
the chuckles of the "leg-pulIer" and
came away without a suffocating sense
Of humiliation and revolt. This legis-
lature was strictly modern and up to
date. No predecessor could come into
competition.
The people heard many terrible pre-
dictions last fall of what would hap
pen if the Populists were to come into
power; of the riot and ruin that would
hold sway in our capitol if any other
than the Republican party should pre-
vail Enough Of them, no doubt, were
influenced by that argument and that
terror to give the Republicans their
majority. Ask any th-telling man
today if a Populist legislature could
have done worse than this one, if it
could have been more reckless in it's
assaults upon the BUSINESS interests of
the state, if it could have done more to
alright capital, if it could have struck
oftener and harder at the community
through measures designed to ruin
what we have left Of business and pros
perity unless they could be defeated,
If, from first to last, these propositions
that were fathered by Republican
members were not the equal of the
worst that Populism has done else
where or could have been expected to
do here-and he will answer mo" 1t is
not Populism, nor Democracy, nor even
Republicanism, in this it's lowest estate,
that we have need to fear, but the in
dolence Of a people who, year after
year, are careless of their duty, in
different to the claims of fitness and
nohOf IOr PUBIC station, willing to
leave the conduct of politics to a very
few patriots who work feebly and in
despair and a very large number of
men who make politics their trade and
ply it for their profit. That is the dan
ger which rears it's angry head over the
nation as well as the state today;
which washes with its sapping waves
the crumbling banks behind which we
go on our Indifferent way to the day
of whelming flood. Is ever the
warning to be needed? Shall Mime
sofa ever again endure a legislative
session like that which has just heard
the most blessed, consoling, delivering
word Of it's whole existence: This
house stands adjourned sine die"