The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-11
ROTTEN.

The Republicans themselves admit
that the last legislature was not con-
spicuous for honesty. That leading G.
O. P. paper, the Minneapolis Journal,
said:
The Journal has never, in any of it's
legislative reviews until now, felt called
upon to say word upon this subject and
that 1T feels called upon to say Just a word
now is due to the fact that the conditions
seem to warrant it. Where there is a great
deal of smoke it is usual to infer that there
must be some fire; and that there is a
great deal OF smoke, in the way of talk by
prominent men who have followed the SEES
sion from beginning to end, is certain.
Whether any proof could be secured is
doubtful, but the men who are doing the
talking say that for their own satisfaction
they do not need any proof. The Journal
has no evidence to offer, and simply con-
tents itself with registering the fact that
there is much talk. 1t might be said in
passing, however, that the nearest thing to
evidence came out in connection with bill
affecting the interests of the lumbermen
1t proposed to increase the tax they were
paying. After the bill had been safely
lodged in committee, messenger from
the legislative combine" was sent post
haste to Minneapolis with the word that
for paltry $4,000, the matter would be
dropped. A meeting of certain of the lead
ing lumbermen was called and the PROPOSE
ton submitted. There was great difference
OF opinion, some thinking the sum should
be paid without protest, others Directing
vigorously to the proposed hold up.
Finally one of the veteran lumbermen got
up and said:
IF l were driving through forest in
the winter, with a carcass of beef on my
sled, and were pursued by wolves, l am
certain that l should throw off one or two
quarters, if by so doing l could save the
rest and myself. l favor paying the
money"
This statement struck, the assembly in
the end as being about the right view
to take, and SO it was arranged that the
money should be paid.
Then came the killing of the bill. The
work of execution, Of course, could not be
performed with undue haste, for fear sus-
picion should be excited in the minds of
members not in the combine" and SO the
bill was amended in committee. the pro-
posed tax decreased there, and arrange
ments made for reporting the bill out.
Word was passed around meanwhile that
the bill was found, after investigation, not
to possess as much merit as it's author and
friends had originally supposed and that
perhaps the best thing was to put it on
general orders, where its weak points might
be brought out thoroughly. This had the
desired result. The bill never saw the
light of day.
The foregoing is the story as 1t was told
the Journal by a member whose standing
before the public is assured and who said
he was in position to make good some of
the statements which he made Others of
the statements he said he secured from
some of the interested lumbermen.
Naturally there was a good deal of talk
about the use of money in connection with
the defeat of the gross earnings bill, and
one man tells of a game of poker played
at the Ryan Hotel one night not long ago.
between certain members of one of the
houses in which So, 900 was raked off in one
jackpot. the men sitting in the game being
men who never had as much as s., 900 be-
fore in all their lives, and never could sit
in so stiff a game with money which they
had earned honestly. Whether any money
was used to defeat the gross earnings bill,
however, nobody can say definitely. Sus-
picion is not proof, nor is it just to say that
money was used merely because it was
clearly to the interest of the railroads to
defeat the bill.
Another story of Doodle came out in con-
nection with the bill to place the oil in
been used was $1,000, which the inspector
could we'll afford to pay; but because he
could so afford is no reason why the charge
should be made that this sum or any other
was used
To enumerate all Of the bills which were
said to have called for the use of money
would be a thankless task. This much has
been said in order that the general public
may know that the late session has sue
ceeded in getting reputation of which
nobody in the state will be proud. That
the reputation may not accord with the
facts does not alter the situation.
Rouse up, Populists, and see if we can
not redeem the state.