The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-11-04
THEY GOT TIRED.
S. M. Owen Addresses a Dim
inishing Audience.
An Uninteresting Talk AgainstTime, With
Few Hearers Left at the
Windup.


on the contrary had very discourage
ing beginning. Our friends. the
enemy, had left the opening gun
until late in the campaign, hoping
that there would be some enthusiasm
toward the close, at least, but they
were sadly disappointed.
S. M. Owen, editor of Farm, Stock
and Home, and rampant Populist,
is not a drawing card in Mankato
anyway, as the people Of this city
have had taste of better speakers
and demand higher order OF politi-
cal arguments than Mr.. Owen is able
to furnish. A fair sized audience,
probably 800 people, assembled at the
opera house, but only a small pro-
portion was left when the speaker
concluded his wearying talk.
Mr. Owen opened by saying that he
INTENDED to make a long speech and
that those who, became tired could
leave at any time. The audience
began to TAX (, advantage of this with
in ten minutes after he began, and
thinned out rapidly from then on.
Mr.. Owen tried to hoodwink his
hearers on the start by asserting that
Cleveland's second administration
was not chargeable with the distrust
that led to the panic Of 1913, because
there was no distrust shown at his
first administration. He did not
mention the fact that the Republi-
cans controlled congress during Cleve-
lands first administration and that
there could be no distrust then as
the laws were safe from Democratic
tinkering: He said that the raid on
the gold in the treasury began in
Harrison's administration, but he did
not say that it began after the cleo.
tion that gave the Democrats the
president and a majority in congress,
giving that party full swing for the
first time since before the war.
In this way, Mr.. Owen kept on
making misleading statements that
were practically an insult TO the in
telligence of his listeners. He went
back and gave tiresome talk about
the alleged use Of money In securing
the nominations of Cleveland and
Harrison. He forgot to refer to the
influence of the silver mine pluto
,cracy in securing Bryan's nomination.
A labored argument as to what pre-
.cipitated the panic of '93 followed.
He said that his party is still clinging
to the silver question, but keeping it
in the rear in the state campaign.
This was secret of the fusion state
committees that Mr., Owen ought not
to have let out.
Mr.. Owen then INDUCED in Ca
lamity wall of pronounced type,
saying that prosperity cannot be
found anywhere People are mis-
taken when they think that pros
perity is returning. In fact, he said,
things are still getting worse. Per-
haps Mr.. Owen will be able to find
some prosperity when the campaign
speakers are paid off.
Then the speaker took up the tariff
question and continued the calamity
whine and floundered around in lot
of figures. He saw no happiness any
where in the world, and if the effect
of his presence is everywhere as chill
ing as it was last night it is no won
der. He went on to rave about the
political power of corporations and
read some lengthy extracts from ad-
dresses that sent the audience home
by the dozen.
Finally Mr.. Owen got around to
state issues and thawed out a. little
when he remembered that the Min
neapolis Journal had said Monday
night that "a vote for Lind was a
vote to Kansasize Minnesota" He
said that Mr.. Lind was not respon-
ssible for the bad condition in Kansas.
He then referred to his home city in
a manner not very patriotic, saying
that in Minneapolis there is a
condition of things so corrupt
and rotten that Tammany would
blush at it. He said that it had &C.
CURED under Republican rule and
that the Republicans were standing
as it's defenders. One man had been
given fourteen years for stealing IS. so
another had been fined 800 and given
ninety days in the workhouse for
failing to move along the street,
while treasurer who stole $55S, 900
had been given four months in lux
ur1ous Jail. This was Republican
justice. He asked whether the voters
wanted to Minneapolisize Minnesota
by voting for Eustis. There never
had been such a bold collision of
political party with crime, he said.
If a man wants to seek favors in the
Republican party he must be a thief
or boodler.
Mr.. Owen said that Eustis would
not enforce the law if elected, and
said that when mayor he did not en-
forco tho Gundov clocin0 lou Nc