The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-10-27
POLITICAL MUD PIES.
Editor Sjoblom of the Minneapolis Tele-
gram on Johnson's Campaign

II
| .5 gram on Johnsons Campaign,
Under the caption Making Mud
Pies and Playing Store" Editor P.
G. Sjoblom of the Minneapolis Tele-
gram thus attacks the political fiction
writes of the Minneapolis Times and
Journal on their attempts to John
sonize the people of the State:
''No one with any regard for truth
will say that John A. Johnson is like
ly to become governor of Minnesota
but this is just what the Journal
and Times are trying to feed their
readers.
1--WE have been watching their game
for some weeks. They pass the votes
OF entire counties and whole sections
of Republican strongholds to John A.
johnson, with all the nonchalance Of
children opening empty hands to pay
a million dollars for a mud pie.
TO read these papers, one would
suppose that entire cities stopped all
work to crowd the halls and stand
cheering johnson for hours. Five
thousand people are packed into
rooms that might hold $50 persons
but this is as easy for the Times as it
is for the little folks to bring ton of
coal in a pepper box.
The game now is to picture John
son as carrying the people by storm.
One would imagine that his train was
being halted in the open prairie by
hysterical thousands hungering for
the sound of his voice.
''The absurdity of the entire propo-
sltion is quickly: apparent to anyone
who will take second thought.
but even admitting it to be true,
what consolation is there in it for
the hungry, inexperienced Democrats,
who hope against hope that they may
be permitted to experiment with the
machinery of State again?
"Most of us remember Bryan's tri-
umphal tour through Minnesota. The
people did come in thousands to hear
him-and cheer him. He seemed to
carry entire counties by storm. The
people swayed at the waving of his
hand. They laughed with him, they
wept with him,-they rose and fell
with every cadence of his voice.
"And then they went to the polls
and voted the Republican ticket:
"Didn't they?
1T is to laugh.
"But John johnson is not William
j. Bryan-not quite.
''He says he would do everything
that Bob Dunn says he himself will
do. He O.. KS the suggestions COM
ing from Dunn's long training in
State matters. He finds few dis
gruntled Republicans, who. probably
promise him legions of supporters
but the people are thinking for them
selves. They like to hear johnson
speak-just as they go to hear4Debs,
or Dowie, or Donnelly. -
"Anybody with a good press a gent
can scare up a crowd. -
Thomson is running around the
State like a scared rabbit-just as
Bryan did. But the people of Mime
sofa are not going to let the Demo-
Gratis do what they did when they
were in Office during John Lind's term
as governor.
"On Nov. s the Republicans will take
that little rabbit skin to wrap the
Times and Journal in.
John Lind was an entirely differ
ent species. He had the confidence of
the people because he had years of ex-
perience in governmental matters.
But even John Lind could not keep
the inexperienced Democrats out of
trouble when they attempted to run the
machinery of State.
'The inexperience of the Democrats
cost the taxpayers of this State thous-
ands of dollars. This is recent
enough to be in the memories of the
people-and they are not going to try
the experiment again very soon.
''But, really now, John johnson is
not John Lind.
''The Democrats rallied around
John Lind as around their last hope
and he was their last hope. They
had hungered for State Office for forty
years. At last they saw a ray Of
hope. They rallied around John
Lind-their last hope.
John Lind is leader. He made
the Democrats dance to his music.
He did not actually become one OF
them-and it looks sometimes as if he
is not fully one of them even to this
day.
where John Lind led, the Demo.
Gratis had to follow, if they wanted to
L L