Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-09-06

do anything except to back up Gov.
Lind in his reform measures. Now,
this confession, friend Lawson, is
refreshing to say the least, but, dear
Vicky, did it ever occur to you that
it is rather q questionable apmpli-
ment to Messls:t Grue and Nelson?
You virtually. admit their incompe-
tency as lawmakers, you go still
farther and admit 30 session of this
kno wledge before electing or nomi-
mating them, but. inaslnuch as you
expected and believed that they
would stand by Lind that was rea-
son enough for their choice. Is not
this equivalent, Mr.. Lawson, to say
ing that the only qualifications you
recognized in Messrs. Grue and Mel
son was that they would be the
plant tools and playthings of King
Lind? My idea of a legislator has
been that he ia the servant of the
people of the whole state and in
particular OF tho constituency he
represents and that he ought to DOS
sess brains enough to know Jew
things himself. Your idea is all that
is needed is to follow Lind. Suppose
the great king of fusion had died?
Where would that have LETT YOUR re-
form legislators? Like ship with
out a rudder or a sailor without a
compass! Did it ever occur to YOU.
friend Lawson, that the trainers of
the constitution provided for three
distinct branches of government, the
executive, legislative and judicial?
And did 1t not occur to you when
you wrote of Messrs. Grue and Mel
son as the hackers of Governor Lind
that this might be the forfeiture to
the executive of their legislati privi-
leges? In other words, Mr.. La wson,
did you and yours nominate and
elect Messrs. Grue and Nelson to rep
resent Governor Lind or the people?
And, friend Lawson, don't it make
you feel kind of cheap to be forced to
admit that you helped foist upon the
people of Kandiyohi county as their
representatives in the legisla ture
couple OF men whose only qualifica-
tons consist OF the disposition and
ability to do what Lind says.
Are the ranks of your party so
barren of men of individualid ideas and
a knowledge of the peoples wants
that you must burden them with SER
wants who can only labor at the cal,
and beckon OF your idol Lind? In
case of Lind's defeat I suppose
Messrs. Grue and Nelson would have
refused to serve! Without this bea-
conlight of reform to guide them
they probably would have become
mired in the republican legislative
swamps! As it was they got back
home safe and even found the state
treasurer's office to the tune of $112O.
And friend Lawson inasmuch as
they were to back up Governor Lind
l might imagine whether Grue's bill
to release the bondsmen was "Lind
reform" or whether the bill to repeal
the Anderson law was u "Lind re-
form,' OF whether the Younger
parole was a "Lind reform, -
or whether to kill the Railroad
Commission bill was a Lind
REFORM (Gov! Lind signed this bilD.
Or whether my friend Nelson was
supporting a Lind reform" When he
voted for the O'Neil anti boycott
bill! You see Mr.. Lawson your Lind
hackers sometimes differed from your
lord and master. They did't always
back up Lind although according to
you that was their sole mission in
the legislature. But at last Reform
Lawson gets in knock out blow
when Inquire as to the reforms trace
| able to our lawmakers and he
quotes what Rev. MIR. Battey says
of the attempted temperance reform
| work of Senator Grue. l have no
desire to belittle any good work
done or attempted by either Mr..
Grue or Mr.. Nelson. Now what did
Grue do for temperance last winter?
He was q member of the senate COM
mittee on temperance. Did he intro
duce and pass any temperance bill?
Not that any body in Kandiyohi
county or in the state of Minneso ia
ever heard Of. The Good Book says
"by their fruits shall We know them"
and this friend Lawson can he well
applied to legislators, even those of
the reform (?) type. Now what did
Senator Grne accomplish in the in
terest of temperance reform? Moth
ing. absolutely nothing. You can
not point out one single thing that
he accomplished. It's another case
with you "where the wish was ia
ther to the thought Rev. Mr..
Battey says in speaking of Grue that
che sought to help our Anti-Saloon
cause" Mind you dear reader he
sought" to do so, but he didn't DO
anything. Senator Thorge, his re-
publican opponent, can point to a
better record. He not only "sought
to do something for temperance re-
form, but he pitched right in and did
it. He secured the passage of a most
practical temperance measure in his
anti-whOlesale bill.