Willmar tribune., 1906-09-12

slief. 81 armers, |, and country mercha
Ill! fact the entire rural popula lation
were heartily ~ sympathy With the
provisions of this bill and the demand
forzits passage was 50: >insistent that
only seven: members OF the lower house
voted against it. The senate railroad
committee--made up by Ray Jones in
the interest of the -emascu-
lated the bill OF every feature afford
ing reliet to the farmer and country
shipper, and when the amended bill
came back to the lower house in the
last hour of the expiring Legislature,
the author OF the measure, Hon. W.
A. Nolan of Mower, moved its indefi-
mite postponement, since the amend
ments tackedfon by the senate nullified
the objectsof the bill and stripped it
of every; feature designed to afford
prompt shipping facilities to the coun-
try towns: >.I, NJ
So much for the history OF one of
the famous fights against the railroad
lobby-a fight which, as inevitable so
long as we have debauched senate,
the farmer lost. But right here is
where the duplicity of Mr.. Cole, the
republican candidate for governor, is
shown. Mr.. COLE VOTED FOR THE
BILL, as shown by the journal of the
house, but we have the evidence OF a
republican senator that Immediately
after the bill was passed by the house,
Mr.. Cole rushed to the senate chamber
and importuned* his senatorial friends
to KILL THE BILL, BECAUSE 1T WAS
VICIOUS LEGISLATION.
This important bit of history was
developed at a republican meeting in
the Seventh ward at Minneapolis on
Monday evening, Aug. q. The two
candidates for the state senate, Henry
J. Gjertson and M. l.. Fosseen, were
presenting their respective claims to
the voters. Fosseen in; the heat of
argument attacked Gjertson for voting
against the reciprocal demurrage bill,
whereupon Gjertson retorted:
II did vote against the bill. When
the bill passed the house some fifteen
or sixteen house members rushed to
the senate chamber to lobby against
it, Mr.. COLE, OUR sTANDARD-BEARER
IN THIS CAMPAIGN, IMPoRTUNED ME:
FOR GODS SAKE KILL THE BILL; IT
IS PERN1C1OUs LEG1sLAT1ON!' -
Probably the bill would have been
killed without Mr.. Coles timely as
sistance, but the incident shows q
duplicity one scarcely expects to find
in candidate for the highest place in
the gift of the people of Minnesota.
If Mr.. Cole honestly believed the bill
to be vicious legislation why did he
not have the moral courage to vote
against it in the house? A Legislature
with sincere convictions will play fair
with his constituents. He will be
honest. These primary virtues are
not shown in Mr.. Coles attitude on
the demurrage bill. He kept his re-
cord straight by voting for the bill,
and then deliberately stabbed it in the
back by asking his senatorial friends
to kill it.
Do the farmers of the state want q
governor who will pose in public as
their friend and use his influence on
the sly to favor the railroads and his
other corporate friends? This is a
question of Importance to the voters
who insist upon restraining corporate
greed and rapacity. Judging from
Mr.. Coles record on the demurrage
bill, can he be trusted to care for the
peoples interests in the improbable
event of his election as governor?-
Democratic State Central Committee
Bulletin.