The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-07
Cowardiy Evasion,

CowardIy Evasion.
The mind of that man is not evenly
balanced or, shall we boldly say the
heart of that man is not sincerely
honest who, being possessed of some
influence in the community as a leader
of thought and public opinion, DELHI
erately seeks, in a great emergency,
to misdirect the votes of the people
by a misrepresentation of the issues
involved.
The Republican party of Minnesota
has dominated the public affairs Of
the commonwealth throughout a pc
riod Of forty years. The majority Of
the laws enacted during that time may
have been good and wholesome, while
many have been very imperfect and
even bad-but, as for administration,
it has been most vicious, entailing
hardship and large pecuniary loss upon
those who are least able to bear the
burdens imposed. Gradually, with the
recurrence of each biennial election,
the disconnected minority kns ap-
preached nearer and nearer to the
point at which it should be transform
ed by accretion, into a majority, and
thus be afforded an opportunity to
effect certain reforms both by the
amendment of the laws themselves
and by the selection of those who
should execute them. Probably in no
year in the history of the state has
there been so great promise Of a real
! ization of the hopes Of this reform ele-
ment as the present, due, alike, to its
wise choice of John Lind as leader and
to the condition of public opinion as
now existing.
The managers of the Republican
campaign and the editors Of the Re-
publican press are fully alive to the
situation. They have measured the
forces which confront them; they real
iZe the energy of the movement and
the necessity of obstructing it's prog
ress; in the final prediction week
they have thrown up their hands in
despairing abandonment of the defense
of that which has proved indefensible
in their candidate and now are concert
edly, and in obedience to the COM
mands Of the directors of their cam
paign, seeking to neutralize the effects
Of the public appreciation of the OBJ
jectionable record Of Mr.. Eustis by
| diverting attention therefrom, and en-
deavoring in influence the more pliable
minds of those in their ranks, and ap-
! pealing to the instinct OF party feaIty.
| by impudently insisting that u vote
for Mr.. Lind is a vote in the interests
of Spain and of disapproval Of the vic
tories won by our army and navy I'M
der the present national administra-
ton. The adoption Of this course is
an admission of their defeat, in adj
h,14
ardIy and dishonest, and carries with
1t, in its application, an insult to ev-
cry intelligent Republican voter in the
state who, approaching the corrupting
influences of the ring represented by
Mr.. Eustis, and the forces by which
1t is protected in the seat of power.
has determined to act independently
and thoughtfully in the casting of his
ballot, hnd who believes more thor
oughly in the already proverbiaI hon
esty of john Lind than in the beguiI-
ing promises Of his already besmirched
! opponent.
Neither party, as every sensible man
knows, and as every honest man will
admit, was, of itself, distinctly respon-
sible for the war. President Mckinley
| himself shrank from the dreadful pos
! sibilities of such an issue and, to a &C.
| gree which was irritating and even ex-
! asperating to many of his party asso-
ciates, notably Senator Foraker, and
his opponents alike, insisted upon ex-
hausting every diplomatic resource
rather than that war should ensue. Ey-
cry one will recall the strain of uncer-
Tainty existing at that time, with its
paralyzing effect upon business, and
the general feeling of restiveness that
| prevailed. But when the war came it
| was a national war, in which partisan
| ship sank completely out of sight, as
was shown by the support accorded to
the president in conducting hostilities
| which he has been generally and re-
ligiously credited with and in certain
quarters praised for having sought so
industriously to-avert.
The Republicans of Minnesota when
they met in convention a few months
ago had many names presented to them
| from which to select that Of a candi-
date for governor. They chose William
H. Eustis, or, rather, Mr.. Eustis was
nominated, ostensibly as their choice.
The question OF the wisdom of that
choice was in their hands for deter
n1ination, but the ring dictated the
choice, and Mr.. Eustis was that choice.
| Many Republicans familiar with the
record Of Mr.. Eustis realized that
+, mistake had been made, but ring in
! f1uence and its annex, the Republican
press-with some independent jour
nails on the side-were relied upon to
pull him through. 1t is not at all prob
able that a campaign of so much