The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-09-28

mittee, :. Minneapolis, Minn..Gentlemen:
Your communication of the 18th inst, with
the enclosed clppings received and has been
carefully noted
I regret exceedingly that anything should
have occurred to justify the opinion evil
IDENTIFY entertained by your committee, that
l am a candidate for the nomination for
governor at the hands of any party. Such is
not the fact i am net a candidate. have
said that II the forces opposed to foreign
domination In national affairs and to cor
rupt clique rule in state matters should
unite in this campaign. and united asked me
to participate in 1t as their cand date for
governor, 1 would assume the task assigned
to me- To do less would be Sinking my
duty a citizen.
MY sympathies and convictions are with
the movement, but l neither desire nor will
l seek the nomination.
Hence you will pardon me for refrain
ing from answering the questions which
you suggested. or any questions bearing
on the prOpriety of my nomination, at this
time To do 1t would place me in the posi-
ton of beng candidate for an honor
which I do not seek.
IF the nomination comes to me at all, 1t
must come to me on my record as It stands
and as made UP during my service IN pubic
life, and not upon professions made at this
time. Very respectfully yours.
LIN
See how slick that is? He would not
give direct answers because he was not
candidate, but If they nominated him he
would be willing to take the office. NOW.
do you think this honest? The other day
another gentleman wanted to know what
Mr. Lind thought on certain questions: me
answer to this letter Is as follows: Il can
not see any objection to a candidate for
public office defining his position on public
questions Political parties and their In
terest as such are of no concern to me-
have no questions to ask, nor no answers TO
make to any Of them. Hoping as you 90.
to have the pleasure Of meeting you per-
sonally, 1 am, yours truly. John Lima
This man is above all these matters so
high in the circumambient air That ms toes
cannot touch or reach the questions OF pup
lie men, Il have no questions to ask nor
answers to make" he is not going to
commit himself at all. In another letter.
dated March l, he says, Il have nothing 10
say for publication to answer your ques-
lions, beyond the extent to which L nave
gone During these years OF my puolc NE
and in my public addresses my CONVICTIONS
on hubble questions have been fully ex-
pressed They in permanent form In
the Congressional Records, and in reported
addresses These sources are accessible 10
any individual who has the interest or Gu
riosity to investigate. Not being In politics
nor A candidate for any office now, or pros
pectively, the pubic cares notnlhs loI NY
iaUs Yours truly JOHN LIND"
AZ tn his congressional record have not
examined it personally, but it will be the
subject of discussion in this campaign.
an, informed that he voted three times in
congress against free silver ana ne never
voted for it once and he was in congress
down to 1894, and he says he stands en-
that record and refers to 1T to answer The
questions My friends, are you fools?
What has this man done? 1 am not re-
yengeful against him. | have been black
Guarded so often but l am not going TO
be angered. for I would have to go at
the whole human family if 1 did. U.augh-
terl | have never sought an office in my
life. nor have l ever asked man 10 vote
for me in my life: Naughter) What
are these blathering idiots laughing at?
I was nominated the other day at Gin
cinnatti. and sat In the chair, but I never
asked for vote. 1 challenge any man
to say I ever asked for his support by
vote or otherwise for any Office nor can
YOU produce man that will say ] ever
did.
Now then why Is Mr.. Lind 20 strong
for free silver fresh from congress where
he did, by vote, try to kill free silver? Ky
don't he come out and say what he Is? l
have no enmity against John Lind. and 1
believe he Is honest, but l never enter
tanned principle in politics, craftsmanship
literature or anything else that 1 10 not
adhere to tonight. We want to know
what we are doing when we elect a man to
be governor of this state. We want to
know is he for free silver, is he for the
government ownership of railroads. tele-
graphs or telephones. or Is he against them?
Has he any opinions on any subject that
he dare express! ,.
Now fricnos want to say a few words
about Messrs. Canty and Buck and Judge
Mitchell I am not going to abuse them
personally. They are three nice men,
have no doubt, to meet personally at a tea
party or to meet socially, but we Populists
are opposing them for certain reasons In
the first place, they are being praised all
Ov r this state for decision they made
on the Stevenson case Now, let me touch
upon another question that stands out very
markedly in their career. The farmers Of
this state have been for % years subject to
a gigantic combination of milers and ele-
vator men. The prices of every elevator
in this country were fixed by central au-
thority, located here in Minneapolis There
was not the slightest competition The farm
ers were In the hands of the buyers who
could give just as little or as much as they
pleased In the meantime there had been a
fund of $50 900 or $4,000 raised by taxing
the farmers. grain for inspection purposes,
and there was a considerable surplus, and
the farmers in the legislature said. LET US
take that money and build an elevator at
Duluth If the farmer could ship his wheat
4
there to Europe and othter points" Well,
now, my friends, that bill was passed and
the land bought at Duluth and they pro-
ceeded to erect the elevator. The case was
brought before Judge Willis. St. Paul, one
of the best men We ever had on the bench
in this state and Judge Willis decided that
the law constitutional and that the
state had a perfect right to protect it's peo-
pie in that way, especially when it was not
done with the states money but with the
money they held in trust for the farmer
| Then we elected Canty and Buck by giving
| them the Populist vote in 1892. They cor
! cede they could not nave been elected with
| out that vote. We must have given them
! from $4,000 to $4,000 votes. and on that benct
| they cO-inci9ed with Judge Mitchell in a
| decision declaring that the state had no right
| to do anything of the kind, although in that
| decision by Judge Mitchell he says that
! the state of course has right to engage
| In any business it pleases.
OF course it has. 1t has been manufac-
! turing threshing machines, tubs and al
! sorts of things at Saltwater for long
! time. The suit was brought in the interes
| of the elevator ring. and it turned the
I farmer over to the control of that ring
| Now, my friends, the excuse made By
| Judge Canty and Judge Buck is that the
! was argued Dec. 3, 1898, and the de
cision was made JAM 5, 1894. and that they
| had nothing to do with it. Let look a
| 1t. 1t is the custom of the supreme bench
! before it makes any decisions, for the
! judges to get together and to argue il
! from all points to make the repor
a joint one of the views Of the whole bench