The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-15
A CHOICE OF CONCLUSIoNs


in the slightest measure in the contro-
versy which has arisen out of TIE re
cent trouble between the former gov
ernor, Mr.. Lind. and one of the news
paper fraternity of this city. 1t has ax-
pressed no. opinion as to the right or
wrong of the action Of either of the par
ties, and it has not the slightest inten-
ton of so doing. The action of Mr. Lind
has been condemned without restraint
by many persons, and has found palIa-
ton or justification by quite as many
more.
1t has been quite plain to disinterested
observers that good deal, if not most,
of the praise and blame alike visited on
that gentleman has been unreal and has
not really represented the true opinion
of the persons giving expression to it,
An amusing instance of this kind has
been furnished by our friend the Pioneer
Press. OF course, if that paper were not
called on to condemn the action of Mr..
Lind on any other ground it would be
proper from the purely political stand
point to treat it to unmeasured condcm-
nation. This our contemporary has done
faithfully enough in a series of severe
philippics. The last of these was by far
the most notable. 1t was printed one
day last week It was an article alto
gether dignified in style and treatment
which urged most strenuously the utter
baseness and brutality of the action of
Mr.. Lind. To point a moral, the writer
had reference to Mr. Lind's message
while governor in which he deprecated
resort to force in the attempted adjust
ment Of Industrial disputes, denouncing
all such violence in such disputes as b.
ing unworthy Of the present age
The points scored in the course of this
article of our contemporary were indeed
well made and insisted on in a per-
fectly commendable and altogether con-
vincing way. To the reader who found
himself in touch with that particular
view of the matter the article, at least
up to its last paragraph, would probably
have presented itself as altogether a very
strong presentation of the case against
Mr.. Lind
In the light of all that preceded it,
and indeed on its inherent merit as an
argument in favor of visiting John Lind
with the gravest consequences of public
and private censure for his conduct, that
paragraph is worthy of being reproduced
here entire If fo11OwS.
Nor does it alter the case, so far as
he John Lind) is concerned, that in he
opinion of a good many people whoever
IS responsible for some Of the offensive
personalities that have from time to
tine appeared in the Dispatch richly de-
served thrashing. Men have talked of
hiring a niger to do it. But it is too
dirty piece of work for a gentleman
to engage in.
Now, there! Could anything be more cen
vincing as to the innate depravity Of
John Lind in engaging in his little
reconter with his newspaper critic? Of
course it may be taken as implying that
after all, John Lind may be gentleman
and his opponent anything else in the
world save a gentleman. But the force
of the suggestion that "a niger might
with advantage have been hired to do
the task to which Mr.. Lind set himself,
rather than have a gentleman personally
undertake it under any circumstances,
must commend itself not only to the
members of the writing staff of the Dis
patch but to ali who have been looking
for effective statements from our con-
temporary of the grounds on which John
Lind should be condemned by all his fell
low citizens.
Only per cent of our foreign trade
is carried in American ships
An exchange wants the Chinese excIus-