The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-10-20
THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.

StlSI lllcll DUBIOUS llllS year lOr Tie eleC-
ton of members of the Railroad
and Warehouse Commission. Hereto.
fore they were appointed by the gov
ernor instead of being elected by the
people, as other state officials have
been. The State Railroad and Ware.
house Commission is now an elective
one and if the people do not make a
good selection they will have to blame
themselves. OF the six candidates be-
fore the people three are Democrats
z. M. Ringdal. L. j. Knox and s. M.
Owen. The two former are now in
office. both of them being appointed
by Governor Lind, and the third was
nominated with them at the recent
Democratic state convention held in
st. Paul.
Ringdal and Knox, during their brief
term of office, have demonstrated the
wisdom of the governor in appointing
them, for they have done more to re-
lieve the people from eXorbitant rail
road charges and determinations, and
more, toward improving the efficiency
of the grain inspection and weighing
department during their incumbency
than all their predecessors during the
fifteen years existence of the Railroad
and Warehouse Commission. In the
equalization OF grain rates in the
southwestern section of Minnesota Il
saving of 100000 year has been
made to grain growers alone, as was
eloquently stated hy young Jones of
Rock County in his speech at the state
convention.
The farmers Of the state who have
been benefited by the faithful services
of Ringdal and Knox will undoubted-
ly manifest their appreciation by keep
ing them where they are. The new
candidate, s. Nj. Owen, will make a
worthy colleague of Ringdal and Knox,
and should be elected with them. He
is the editor of Farm, Stock and Home,
and is eminently qualified to discharge
the duties Of the Office. He was NOM
mated for two-year term, while Ring
dial and Knox were nominated for a
four-year term. Further particulars
relating to the three candidates will be
given later in the Irish Standard.
: Being somewhat averse to making
invidious comparisons between them
and their Republican opponents, we
will only say that two of the Repub-
lican candidates are extremely obnox-
ious to the mass of the people of the
state because of their antecedents, and
the Republican press recognized their
weakness when nominated. One of
them, Mr.. Mills, is VIGOROUSLY unpop-
ular. He was a member Of the COM
mission for seven years and voted to
retain Clausen as chief grain inspector
after that official had been condemned
by the legislature. He was the au-
thor of the notorious Miller bill which
Gov. Lind vetoed, and which would
lead to endless and fruitless litigation
in attempting to enforce the present
railroad laws. While a member Of the
commission he did nothing to relieve
the people from railroad exactions but
drew his salary with unfailing regular
ity. He will certainly be defeated.
The other Republican candidate is
not SO unpopular because he is less
known than Mills. Where he is we'll
known, however, in the northern part
of the state, he is looked upon as the
henchman of Rockefeller and recog-
nized as railroad candidate. AS one
who would be expected to act fairly
and impartially upon matters in dis
pute between the people and the rail-
road corporations, candidate Miller,
who occupied an important position
for several years with the Rockefeller
railroad. would most likely lean to.
ward the railroad magnates rather
than to the plain people of the state.
The third Republican candidate, G. F,
Staples, is superior to the other two
in every respect, and we have nothing
to say against him. He does not come
up to s. NJ. Owen, however, ana is not
SO widely known. Three better OF
filter men than Ringdal, Knox ant
Owen could not have been selected
by the Democracy of Minnesota fol
members Of the Railroad and Ware
house Commission. They possess SUI
perior qualifications and their integrity
is beyond reproach. If elected they
will retain l.. S. Reishus as chief in
spector of grain, a man who has giveI
the best satisfaction in the perform
ance of his duties. 1t is to the inter
est of every citizen of Minnesota wht
wants fair dealing to vote for the Dem
ocratic nominees, for they will dis
charge the duties of the Office will
even handed justice and impartiality.
Bishop McQuaid, of. Rochester, N
Y, always a Republican in politics
was interviewed on the eve of his de
parture for Europe and said: SAC
cording to my views we are drifting
into the ways of European nations
with standing armies and eventual Ell