The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-04-07
PREGNANT CONCESSIONS.

GREAT REPUBLICAN.
We were called upon last Friday to
speak at public meeting in st. Paul,
which had been gotten up to raise
funds to help feed the swarming I'M
employed. Capt. Henry A. Castle, ex-
postmaster, was to preside. and be the
custodian Of the money received; Hon.
Moses E. Clapp. ex-Attorney General,
and probably the ableSt Republican
IN the State, was to make an address:
also the Rev. Mr.. Law!er, an eloquent
Catholic ccrgyman. and the scholarly
and popular Judge Willis, of the d S
trict Court OF ST. Paul Besides these
there was to b. vocal music by accom-
plIshed lady artists, photographic
entertainment, etc, etc. The charge
was 80 cents and - cents
We walked to the hall, at $50
o'clock, expecting to find it packed to
the doors with eager listeners. In
stead we found a beggarly array of
empty benches, with about one hun
dred and fifty men and women scat
tered here ana there through the
void. Some Of the speakers were sit
ting at the back Of the hail, too much
Disguised to go forward. 1t seemed to
lis that if only one man had paid fifty
cents to hear an entertainment the
entertainment ought to be forthcom-
ing; and SO we went forward and
spoke our piece.
Aud a very lugubrious speech it
was. We told them that we would
like to give them some "talfy" and
Jolly them up" if we could but we
had not the heart or conscience to dc
SO. We drew a dreadful picture of
the conditions of the whole world
we did not see a ray Of hopc:-we
charged it to the Moncy-Powcr of
Europe and America. We denounced
the RothschIlds, and the class they
Stot q Tor, as greater enemies Of man
kind than ali the kings and queen
that had ever reigned in the world:
and we made our denunciation Just as
strong and fierce as language could
frame.
The Rev. Mr.. Lawler made beau
tiful little speech and then General
Clapp came forward.
We squared our shoulders for an at
tack, We expected that lie would de-
nounce us; That he would praise the
"Advince Agent Of Prosperity" and
declare that the times were improv-
ing and everything lovely.
What was our establishment to hear
him say:
"Mr. Donnclly has drawn a terrible
picture Of existing conditions, but he
has not painted them half black
enough. There is no language that
would do justice to the subject. Tue
whole world is on the way to ruin"
Then he referred to the ze OF the
meeting as evidence of the poverty Of
the people. There are" he said.
from two TO four million people in
he United States to-day who are
hungry, WHO seek work and can find
none" And he proceeded to say that
he believed the world was on the
brink Of one Of those terrible crises
THAT become everlasting landmarks
! in human history. The issues today,
&c said, were more important, and the
times more desperate, than those of
our civil war,
1t was an eli Qucnt. powerful speech,
and coming from leading Republ;
cau-we might say the leading kcpub-
Lean Of NJ .nncSuta-its admissions
were striking and wonderful.
He did not aliudc to the Tariff at
| all. He did not tell his audience tina
an increase in the price OF calico and
! hardware was to make the West rich!
lie had not Il word to say for the Sin
! gle Gold Standard, or the banker
! government under which We are now
writhing. Not word,
The speech might haN been de-
livered by Fopulis t;-and it would
have taken very able Populist tc
have delivered one 50 ELOQUENT and
| forcible.
! What does IS meano
1T means that the Republican party
in the Northwest, through the utter
failure Of Mckinley and tue Pluto
Gratis, will be driven 20 abandon the
Gold bugs anG their damnable work.
The frame work. the scaffolding, is
down, and instead Of a gorgeous tenn.
/ pie Of liberty aud pros ty the
/ world beholds hideous Gulgotha.-a
heap OF skulls.
The country will be fortunate If it
! passes over tic time between now and
! 1900 without seeing the wrctched suf-
ferers from greed driven to contnen.
ia! outbreaks. that will leave their
! last condition worse than their first,
Let the Peoples Party stand firm
and stand tcge .her.
! We so'emaly heliere that IN 1900 i, ,cil
net be third pa1ty 5Gt TIC first
Where can Republicans like General
Clapp--and there are millions Of the NJ
and there VIII be many millions
j niore-where can they so, if not into
| the Peoples Party?
What the Populists need is to be
(! honest. sincere and reasonable. If the,
| ,cca!9 hce'e the voters Qire them the poue,