Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-05-13
COL, PLUMMER
Grows Reminiscent and talks
Interestingly Of Old
Times in Dakota

Didn't go up to the convention
at Minot," said Col. Plummer to the
Tribune yesterday morning. 81 am
getting older and can't stand the
racket like could in the early days
of the territory and state. So de-
cided that, as the outcome was pretty
well settled anyway, and as there
were plenty of young fellows to
charge the enemy and plant the flag
in the breast works, would stay
at home and rest up.
used to be an officer of the Minot
land Office back in the early nineties.
There wasn't much in it then. Set
Element thin and filings were few.
got about $500 year out of the
Office and that was hardly enough
for man with liberal inclinations
and desire to live little by the
way, to get along with. In those
| days / wrote occasional letters to
the Pioneer Press and the Tribune
in the Twin Cities, setting forth the
| great possibilities of the Mouse riv-
err country. had partly public
and partly private motive in the
! writing. wanted to see the state
grow and I wanted to see more set
Element in the ,Minot land district
because my fees depended on the
number of filings and the amount
of business. Up there now they are
reaping some of the grain that
helped to SOW.
like. prophecy. Prophecy is the art
/ Of guessing at something and then
claiming afterwards that 1t Is pure
inspiration. I wish could get hold
Of the enthusiastic communications
4 wrote out of desire for the pub
lie good and the private good of the
officers of the land Office, who gave
the best of their time and energy for
the small sum Of $500 a year.
II resigned my position in the land
Office in 1895. 1t was a case of re-
sign or starve to death waiting for
fees. am not good starver.I
went to Montana and took part In the
capitol fight. don't kow that j
made any converts, but ! made a
number of address and was well
treated by DAILY. After that went
back to Maine, where was born,
and from which state enlisted. My
daughters went there and My daugh.
| ter Beulah is married now and lives
at Fort Fairfield.
'tIn the first Mckinley campaign
I stumped New York state. was 9
part of the independent organization
that Hanna organized to bring New
| York state into line for Mckinley.
was i'll for while and was operat-
ed on. The result was SO serious
that for six months was extremely
i i'll, and there was question whether
would ever be myself again. Alex
Mckenzie, who had been my friend
for many years, stayed with me al
through this trying six months, cared
for me, saw that / was cared for
and did for me what few men would
have done. AS result came out
of it ali right and made good again
81 have been in several campaigns
since, campaigning in New Yorl
state, West Virginia, and in othe
states. like the work. have al
ways been a Republican and pro
tectionist. Up in Northern Maine
the great crop is potatoes and Their
you get an example Of the benefits
of the protective tariff. Potatoes
over on the Canadian side are shu
out by duty of twenty-five cents {
bushel. That gives our farmers IL
northern Maine the Boston market tt
themselves and potatoes are thu
great and sure crop. II 1t were no
for that tariff, the Canadians woult
get into the Boston market and thu
price would come way down. Thee
4 retically protection may be wrong
Practically, it is only intelligent sci
fishness. Too many Of the younl
, mon who come Out of college, fillet
; with text book theories and altruis
tic doctrines, are free traders. Pu
one Of them on potato farm II
northern Maine and he would becom'
a protectionist."