davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
ANOTHER BANK GONE.

Public Examiner Pope took pos
session of the assets of the Bank of
West St. Paul at the close of bust
ness yesterday. and ordered further
transactions suspended, pending an
investigation of its affairs Gen. Pope
was seen last night and said that
there was a provision in the banking
laws which would permit the depart
ment to relinquish possession of the
assets if a detailed examination indi-
Gated that the action was warranted
He intended to make this rule appl-
cable to the West Side bank, and
would allow it to resume business if
it appeared clearly to the interest OF
the depositors.
Gen. Pope stated that he took pos
session OF the bank to protect the de-
positors 20 have allowed it to con-
tlnue doing business would have
meant an assessment of 100 per cent
which was the limit of the liability of
the stockholders. The holders of the
stock would not consent to this. and
the action was taken in the interest of
the banks patrons.
Gen Pope said he thought the de-
positors would be fully protected, but
as to the stockholders, he was I'M
able to say until more detailed ex-
animation had been accomplished
THE Bank of West St. Paul went
into the hands of receiver in 1897"
said Gen. Pope. ''and ought never to
have been reorganized. This office
has nothing to criticise in the conduct
of the institution since that time. 1t
has been doing business in a hopeful
way for the last two years, but has
not accomplished any great result
The records in the Office do not say
when the bank was organized, but it
increased its capital stock from $5o.-
600 to 500, 900 in 1886. c. F. Staples
was appointed receiver in January,
1897, and an assessment of Is per
cent was levied in June of the same
year. The bank reorganized Nov. I,
1897. A short time before that its
capital stock was decreased again to
$4,000.
The principal business Of bank is t.
keep from busting" That seems to b.
its inevitable fate-on1y to be averted b,
shrewdness. The slightes
increase of adverse conditions and dowl
they go like row OF bricks.
Hon. c. F. Staples is an able man, Blu
this bank, even while he was president
went to smash; and now again, when h
is receiver, the remains tumble owe
again. Even Staples couldn't save it!
General misgovernment is at the bot
tom of all this trouble Id.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03

mon carriers, as the steam railways
are, and, apparently, at least, ought
to come under that provision Wheth-
er the management of such concerns
deem this result desirable or other
wise the distinction which excludes
them from its operation does not
seem reasonable.
The courts seem to be working in con-
cert for the benefit of the corporations.
Read this:
Lansing, Mich, April 27-In de-
cision handed down late yesterday,
the state supreme court declared in
valid the main principle of the Pin
gree-Atkinson equal taxation bill,
which was passed by the present ses-
sion Of the legislature. The case was
one instituted by Gov. Pingree, while
the Atkinson bill was hanging fire in
the legislature, to test the validity of
an act passed some IS years ago, pro-
viding for the taxing OF telephone and
telegraph companies In its opinion
the supreme court holds that tax
on property based on an assessment,
cannot be maintained as a specific
tax"
The laws and constitutions have more
holes in them than colander
If the street railroads do not come un-
der the provisions of our law, because
they are run by electricity, instead OF
steam, then if the steam railroads adopt
electricity instead of steam, they will es-
cape the 3 per cent tax altogether
The &c II,
small end of nothing. l. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
TAKE NOTICE.

AS our subscribers are aware, our mail
ing lists were all burned up in the Trib-
une fire of February last and it has been
quite a task to replace them. In the
meantime we have been using some of
the old mailing lists. and on these the
figures as to the expiration of subscrip-
ton are not correct, and a number of
our subscribers have been very indignant
that they were not credited with money
since paid. and some OF them are so an
CRY that they want to stop the paper, as
they think they see a deliberate purpose
to cheat them. We have been buying
type and reprinting our lists as fast as
possible. but the list is big and it is a
great task. SO we ask our friends to
have patience with us and all will come
right /. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
BRYAN AND SUCCESS.

Personally we like and admire VIM J.
Bryan: he is a genial, whole souled man,
and possesses remarkable ability as an
orator and political worker Ii his pen
etration and breadth of mind were equal
to his other gifts we would all be follow
ing him.
He had his opportunity in 1896, but he
failed to make the best of it. If, when
he was nominated by the Peoples Party,
in that year he had telegraphed his thanks
to Mr.. Sewall that the exigencies of the
nation demanded that Hon. Thos Wat
son should be the candidate of all the op-
position for vice president. he would have
been elected amid a wllirlwind of enthu-
siasm. But instead OF that he stood trem-
bling before the terrors of the old, played
cut and almost defunct Democracy; he
did not dare to offend them in the slight
est particular. But he was ready to kick
the new party that was to bring him a
million and half votes.
This was his great and his fatal mis-
take. He was nearer the presidency in
1906 when he wrote that telegram de-
clining the Populist nomination, than he
ever will be again. He is finding that his
own forces are deserving him, bought up
by Plutocracy; and the men who were his
allies are turning their backs upon him.
We find in a recent issue Of the Chi
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
OUTRAGEOUS.
MADE THE MONEY FLY.

DR.. Babcock, chairman of the COM
mittee on legislative expenses. got in
a report allowing the file clerk S.
and the second assistant and the read
ing clerk So a day. One hundred
dollars was presented to each of the
door and committee room keepers,
every one OF whom has been getting
hi gher salary than he could make
in any other work. Presents OF from
SIS to $Ioo were also voted to the
telephone girls and to some few men
who have been lounging about the
capitol and had some friend or patron
among the members, and about
whom there is fiction that they have
rendered some sort Of assistance to
somebody.
Finally there was voted the usual
present of $I5o to each Of five report
ers of the house, representing the
Minneapolis Tribune, the St. Paul
Dispatch, the ST Paul Globe, the Du-
luth News-Tribune and Norwegian
paper in Chicago. The house report
ers of the Pioneer Press and the Min
neapolis Journal did not come in for
the present, as they have held COM
mittee clerkships, with good stipends.
The Times reporter, was, of course,
omitted from the list, as he had mott
fled the committee that The Times
did not permit its employees to be paid
out of the state treasury.
Mr.. Guttersen prepared and sent up
resolution OF thanks to The Times
for its fair and fearless legislative re-
ports and also for its refusal to ac-
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
MORE UNJUST DECISIONS.

Every state election rivets the pluto
cratic chains more firmly on the limbs O
the people
Read this.
The decision handed down by the
supreme court in the case of the state
against certain Duluth corporations is
very important for its exposition of
the limitations attending the taxation
OF corporations under Our state stat
utes Among the more important of
the principles laid down in that de-
cision is that which establishes that
a street railway concern is not rail-
way company within the meaning of
the provision taxing such companies
on a basis of a percentage of their
gross earnings. Another principle
of equal Importance is the one which
establishes that franchises are only
taxable in the hands of private par
ties, and do not come within the pro-
visions relating to the taxation of the
property of corporations as a whole.
Still another principle laid down in
that decision is that which establishes
that the provisions OF the statute
which provides for the deduction of
the debts of corporation from the
value OF its stock in establishing the
basis of taxation is an unconstitution-
al provision.-St Paul Globe.
The Globe adds:
1t does not seem quite easy of un-
derstand why the street railway cor
porations are not amenable to the
gross earnings law. They are COM
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
GOOD NEWS.

We are informed that meeting will
| soon be held, in this city, of the Populist
members of the Fusion committee, of this
state; and that they are almost unani-
mously in favor of cutting loose forever
from the Democratic party, and rallying
once more under the glorious Omaha
banner.
We hope this information is correct
We learn they desire harmonious union
with the real Populist of the state, and
have turned their backs forever on three
or four alleged leaders, like Owen, who
has no sense; Austin who has no honesty,
and Bowler who is a Democrat They
perceive that such men led them into the
swamps of fusion, in pursuit of offices.
Some of these have got the Offices and
others have not-but there is nothing for
the rank and file
Now the, Democrats perceive that flu
sion meant $4,000 Republican majority in
this state; and that they cannot get the
offices that way; and, if they could. they
don't want to divide them with the Pop
ulists, whom they despise
There is no possibility of growth
through fusion. The Populists have to
shoulder the vast and fifty-year old preju-
dice against the Democrats, and the
Democrats have to encounter the belief
among their ignorant masses that the
Populists are cranks, fools and anarchists.
There are many men who would be
ready to desert their principles if they
could profit by so doing; but to abandon
their sense of right and get nothing for
it, is enough to turn the stomach of
brass monkey. When men are not
tempted they are all honest 1t is the
capacity to resist temptation which differ
entiates one man from another.
Let all who solennly and sincerely be-
lieve in the Omaha platform get together
and commence to proselyte the rest of
the people.
There is hope in that direction There
is none in trying to shoulder the record
of that mob of incol1erent and discordant
blunderers called the Democratic party
which represents one set of ideas west Of
the Mississippi; another set east OF the
Alleghanies, and still another set in the
region between. The signet of death is on
it's brow.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
IMPORTANT YATES.

Several of Our subscribers in Mime
sofa have written us asking that we give
the votes of members of the recent leg
islature of this state upon important
questions. We shall try to do so. The
following is the final vote in the senate
upon the sugar bounty bill:
Senator Knatvold (Rep), Of Freeborn,
offered an amendment increasing the
price required to be paid for the beets be-
bounty, to SAYS per hundredweight. The
amendment was adopted, "a to 20.
Senator Wilson spoke in behalf of the
bounty bill. and Senator Benedict against
it. The bill was then defeated, as fol-
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
THAT IS RIGHT.

In our last issue we referred to the at
tempts made by the bankers to prevent
merchants from issuing metallic checks
or tickets, redeemable in goods, and thus
keep the currency contracted and the rate
of interest high
We are glad to note that Judge Loeb
rem Of the United States court, has de-
cided that such trade checks are not
money; and that it is not a violation of
law to issue them Good!
II a man has right to put forth a pa
per due bill, why should he not have the
right to issue brass one? Is it because
the paper one is not in accordance with
the intrinsic value" theory
Should all promissory notes be carved
on gold tablets, worth the sum promised?
Hey, jackasses, what do you say to that?
Is the promise of the people of the most
powerful nation on earth-7o,ooo, 900 of
them-worth less than a hunk of yellow
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03

cept any subsidy from the state treas
ury. But among the mass of reso-
buttons sent up the one by Guttersen
was not read.
Sixty-three of the members, three
more than required, voted for the
present to the reporters. Among
these were several who had declared
again and again that they would try
to defeat such a resolution. But
when the time came the; weakened.
Still, it has been necessary for the
boys to hustle around to secure the
votes necessary. Fifty members re-
Trained from voting, while nine voted
no. Plowman, the fearless populist
from Otter Tail, entered an emphatic
protest. He would not vote away
the states money to anyone who had
no valid claim against the state for
services rendered.
Among the reporters to whom the
house voted $I5o is one representing
Norwegian paper in Chicago. He
has spent a part OF the winter at the
capitol. usually in the senate. He
has written letters to the paper. solic-
tied subscriptions among the Scandi-
nayian legislators and made them pay
tor cuts and biographical sketches.
On the last day he was made one of
the official reporters of the house.
as it was agreed that the senate
should take care OF one or two SIM
liar cases, and the thing had to be
evened up between the two houses
Times Legislative Report.
This thing ought to be stopped by thu
passage of law Elect enough men o
the Plowman breed next year and it viii
be stopped. The reporters fatter thu
members and the members are afraid o
The reporters.
Henry Ward Beecher once said: "A
never hears that B is in want but he
thinks c ought to do something for him.
A politician always thinks it is gooe
plan to pay his personal debts with the
money OF the people. 1. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
A GREAT MEETING.

On May IS there will be held a meeting
of leading Populists at Kansas City, Mo-,
and on the next day will convene the rep
resentatives OF the Peoples Party news
papers of the United States at the same
place.
Hon Milton Park, OF Texas, chairman
of our national committee, writes us, I'M
der date of April 20. as follows:
Il am very we'll pleased oyer the
outlook for a good attendance, at
this writing and hope that you will
endeavor to see the great North
west is we'll represented
Il have great faith in the future
of the Peoples Party if no mistakes
are made. and feel sure that if we
can take such steps as to amalgam-
ate the present Populistic thought of
the nation and train it under our ban
ner, the victory is ours
The editor OF The Representative will
be at Kansas City on the 18th and 10th
inst. and hopes that as many of Our lead
ing men as can afford the expense of the
trip will be there also.
AT the same time we received a letter
from Hon Wharton Barker dated April
2S), in which he said:
Il went to Georgia few days ago,
and met at Atlanta. on Tuesday
morning. from twenty-five to thirty
OF the leading Populists of that state,
some OF them editors OF the reform
papers of Georgia. l went because l
believed that Georgia holds the key
of. the political situation. Georgia
will organize at once in the most eff
fective way. and make their activity
known to Populists everywhere and
to the public at large. The men l
met assured me that Georgia's cleo
toral vote would surely be cast for
the Barker-Donnelly ticket next
year
The skies are Frightening everywhere
imperialism is going to divide the Re-
publican party, and the money question
will split up Democracy. The calamities
of the old parties are the opportunity for
Populism.
Organize for victory. Id.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03

We have received private letter from
that distinguished champion of the peo-
pie, and author of many valuable works,
Mrs. Marion Todd, of Michigan, in which
she says:
Il like to read of your fighting Demo-
cratic fusion. We want combinations; we
must have union to succeed, but when
the combination, or union, means Demo-
cratic supremacy a la Cleveland or Jones,
better swamp the peoples ship amid the
ample OF the ancient Jebusites and place
lame and blind men upon the ramparts of
Our citadel to protect us, than office
seekers who would make trade of poll
tics"
Such utterances make us more favor
able to woman-suffrage. 1. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
A PECULIAR CURIOSITY.

Men have killed themselves from all
sorts of motives-cold, hunger, disap-
pointed love, crushed ambition, and a
mere WEAKNESS of living. One woman in
Michigan committed suicide because she
said she was tired of washing the
dishesv But here is case OF self muir
der through curiosity, which under
other circumstances might be laudable:
Paris. April 22.-Among the sui
cldes, which continue numerous, was
a remarkable one few nights ago.
A man seated in a cafe in the Rue
Notre Dame de Lorette suddenly
stabbed himself in the heart and died
Immediately. On the table at which
he had been sitting was paper con-
tanning the following words:
And now for eternity without reg
ret! All, to see the moon at a dis
lance OF one meter.
We should think that there would be
very many other matters OF greater mo-
ment than the moon. to which an intelli-
gent spirit could devote itself while roam
ing through the universe 1t would take
an eternity to visit all the suns and plan
cts, and study the marvellous works which
God has planted upon them. We cannot
believe that this little speck OF ours, this
EARTH is the only part OF illimitable space
that is occupied by sentient beings The
moon is dead and lifeless orb, and it
has probably been such since it was ere
ated
If spiritual life gives us universal
knowledge instead OF the poor limited
scraps OF information which we possess
here. this alone would almost constitute
a heaven for thinking being. l. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
FUSION DEAD.

The new primary election law ends
Fusion in the big cities.
We quote from the Minneapolis Times,
which sent reporter around to interview
leading citizens:
Said Orville Rinehart, chairman of
the late democratic city committee:
The most salient feature of the
law, to my mind, is that it absolutely
defeats all possibilities of fusion in
this county When Governor Lind
approved the law, he killed the peo-
pies party of Hennepin county by de-
priving its members of any chance of
being elected to office unless they
join the democratic party. This must
of necessity affect that party through
out the state, as Hennepin county has
been the hotbed OF populism.
1T is highly probable that the bet
ter sense of all parties will lead to the
nomination of candidates by mass
meeting and ratification, perhaps, at
the primary. Otherwise the most I'M
fit candidate is liable to lead in a large
field of primary candidates, and be
nominated by a plurality perhaps of
only 10 per cent OF the party vote,
and in the end prove most incapable
candidate The act simply enlarges
the field OF the astute politician man.
ipulator, and will aggravate the evils
sought to be remedied."
The law abolishes party conventions
There will be no more disgraceful scenes
like that of the Peoples Party state con-
vention Of June IS. 1893, packed with
Democrats, and bull-dozed and corrupted
by shameful trades for the spoils. The
people will come up and vote their pref
erences. and the candidate having plu-
ralty of the votes will be nominated. He
may be raw, green hand, and no poll
tician and trader; but politics will be pur-
flied if we can only shut up the rotten,
tricky convention forever.
This reform has been demanded by the
real Peoples Party, and we thank the
Legislature for giving it to the state
We do not believe that any attempt,
such as Mr.. Rhinehart suggests, to over
throw the law by holding town-meeting
convention, outside the polling place, be-
fore the votes are received, will be toler-
dNed; and nominations SO obtained would
be worth nothing 1t would simply be an
attempt to over-awe and intimidate the
voters and coerce them, la Austin.
Let the calm, deliberate. individual
judgment of the people rule. Let the
most popular man take the prize.
Thus are the horrors of that IS June
avenged. They will never be
repeated. l. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
LARGELY A FAILURE.

The Minneapolis Journal thus summar
SEES the work OF the recent Legislature:
The legislative session now closed
will be remembered not SO much for
what it did as for what it did not &C
complish. OF the 1870 bills intro
duced in the two houses almost one
third were enacted into laws: but less
than half a score of these are meas
ures of any note The most impor
tant bills were either smothered in
committees or indefinitely postponed
by the committee of the whole or
killed when placed on their final pas
sage. II they escaped all these dan
gers and passed one OF the houses,
they were defeated in the other, or
they were passed up" until the ses-
sion closed and no action taken on
them
Chief among the bills that failed
were the two house bills by Jacobson
to increase the tax on gross earnings
Of railroads and to reduce the interest
on state school certificates. These
bills were relied on to serve the ma
jority party as campaign issues next
year Both passed the house without
any serious difficulty, and both were
barely defeated in the senate after the
hardest fights of the session.
OF the many bills introduced in the
house to equaize taxation by get
ting at the tax-dodgers. not one was
able to survive the attacks made on it
when it was discussed on general or
ders
Besides the gross earnings bill. a
legion OF bills were introduced to in
crease the revenues OF the state by
heavier taxes on all sorts OF corpora
tons There were bills on taxation
of express companies, sleeping. par
lor and chair car companies. instr
ance companies, telegraph companies,
telephone companies, electric light
and gas companies, etc. etc, but
nearly all failed The only excep-
tons are the Somerville bill to tax
foreign corporations and the Dyer
bill increasing the tax on earnings
OF express companies from 3 to AZ
per cent. No one pretends to be able
to estimate. with any degree of cor
reCtness. the amount by which the
Somerviile bill will increase the rev.
enues OF the state. The increase un-
der the Dyer bill can be approx
mately determined. but is mere bag
atelle. amounting to not more than
81 COO year.
The old story and the old song. 1t viii
never be changed until there is politica
revolution that will place the People
Party in power, with votes enough to al
ow big margin for corruption
When Legislature adjourns nova
days the people feel like the clergyman
who, visiting church, passed around hi
nat. for collection, to reimburse his ex
oenses. When it was returned to hin
ne turned it upside down. and not penn
dropped out, The preacher rolled up hi
eyes to heaven and fervently exclaimed
81 thank thee, Oh Lord-tlat | hav
got my hat back from this congregation!
: So, whenever the Legislature adjourns
he pious people thank God that the en-
ire state has not been stolen from unde
heir feet
Even in the worst extremities thought
ul man can find something to be gratefr
iOr. |. D.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
SILVER REPUBLICANS ON EARTH.

Denver, Colo, April Ex-senator
Henry M. Teller and Congressman
John F. Shafroth tonight issued adj
dresses to the voters OF this and ad-
joining states denying that the silver
Republican party is disintegrating.
They hold that the necessity for the
party is just as great for the next
campaign as it was for the last and
pronounce absurd the statements that
the members OF the party are going
to the old parties.
Very good. Why not unite with thu
Populists and help convert the nation
and no longer be battered tin-kettle tiee
to the tail of the half-dead yellow dog o
Democracy? Id.