The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-12-02

isfied with whatever action the board
took. He wished that Mr.. Funk had
been at the previous meeting to stand
against hasty and ill-advised action. The
resolutions were presented hurriedly
and hurriedly acted upon. Some cool head
should have suggested that the matter
be laid over. The resolutions of Mr.
Jensen presented the facts much more
clearly than those that We're passed. The
old resolutions had exaggerated some
features of the situation and in many
respects did not conform to the truth
DIR. Andrews, the president, said he
had tried to inform c. n. Andrews, who
had introduced the resolutions at the
previous meeting, and that the matte,
of resembling the same was coming up at
this mornings meeting. Mr.. An.
drews was absent from the city.
F. NJ. Currier said he did not wish to
see the president and secretary punished
for an indiscretion that they were will
ing to admit. Perhaps the resolutions
passed were little too harsh. 1t was
true that the circular placed the board
in a false position. Congressman Nc
Cleary felt placed in an unpleasant po-
sition.
C. L. Benedict, chairman of the repub-
lican congressional committee, said that
that committee had no intention of
putting the Board of Trade in a false po-
sition. The object of getting the sigma
lures of the president and secretary with
their official designations was to show
the standing of these gentlemen in the
Neither DIR. Andrews OF Mr..
Taylor intended to commit the board to
what it had not done. The resolutions
passed ought not to stand on the records
of the board. What was done was done
in good faith. A blunder had been made
in the passage of the resolutions and
should be fixed up.
Mr.. Funk thought all the members of
the board were of a disposition to act
fairly. Yet that circular went out con-
tanning resolution that was passed by
the board. Skillfully mixed up with
this was charge that money had been
used unlawfully to aid in the candidacy
of one who was opposed to the candi-
dacy of Mr.. McCleary. Why was the
letter head of the Board of Trade plac-
ed in full on the circular indorsing
Mr. McCleary? Why should all these
things be placed together in the same en-
velope in such way as to make it APP
pear that they all had the endorsement
of the Board of Trade? Take the aver
age farmer, laborer or businessman re-
ceiving that circular and in ninety
nine cases out of hundred he would
think that the Board of Trade had ac-
tually declared in favor of the candidacy
of Mr.. McCleary. Mr.. Funk himself sup
ported Mr.. McCleary as a Blue Earth
county man. Yet that does not justify
promulgating such circular among the
public. No one, Mr.. Funk said, could
make him believe that the different
things placed in that one envelope were
thrown together haphazard The con-
tents of that envelope tends to indicate
that both the Board of Trade and the
Business Mems association supported Mr..
McCleary.? The speaker wanted some
explanation of the matter.
M. G. Willard thought the circular
about which all the complaint had been
made should be inserted as part of the
records of the board. DIR. Andrews OBJ
jected to this, saying that the letter did
not properly belong there.
Leslie McCleary happened to be pres
ent at the meeting at this point. He
said there had been no intention of
creating the impression that the COM
mercial bodies had endorsed Congress
man McCleary. The object of circulat-
ing the resolution regarding the parcels
post was to call the attention of the
merchants to that issue. He asked DR.
Andrews to allow him to use the Board
of Trade letter head for the purpose OF
showing that the board is body devoted
to the general welfare of the city, and
not buying and selling institution as
some boards of trade are. The letter
head and official positions of the of
ficers of the Board of Trade were used
to show how these gentlemen stood in
the community. There was no intention
of deceiving anybody. The parcels post
was bad thing. The resolution was
presented to the public, with the object
of showing Mr.. McCleary's attitude or
the parcels post. The resolutions pre-
sented by Mr.. Jensen show the exact
facts about the matter. If passed they
win reflect on nobody and will leave the
matter in better shape than it now
stands.
The proposition of postponing Mr.
Jensen's resolutions came to vote
Messrs. Jensen, Chapman, Funk, Ponc
and Currier voted for the postponemen
and Messrs. Benedict and J. H. Stewart
against it.
Under the head of communications
Secretary Taylor stated that he had re
ceiyed a communication from the in