The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-29

of Che iron ranRe strike in Northern
 Minnesota last fall. Radiating north
 westward from Duluth Is an immense
 stretch of territory. rich in Iron ore
 and containing a heterogeneous popu-
 lation. made up of all nationallties.
 These are the miners of the Minnesota
 Iron range, the richest iron prodncinG
 country in the world.
 Visited Scene of Trouble.
 Last fall labor strife broke out on
 ''the range" The miners were or
 Eanized by agents of the Western Fed
 sration of Labor circulated among
 them. Conditions became tense and
 strained. Meetings were held and the
 miners armed and prepared for the
 most ser.ops kind of trouble. threat
 ened to precipitate . condition that
 would be without parallel in the hls-
 tory of labor disputes in America
 The Governor was importuned to call
 out the militia. 1t was argued that
 an armed State force could alone pre-
 vent bloodshed and terrible tragedy.
 The Governor d.d not act hastily. ne
 thought the matter over and decided
 to visit the scene of trouble himself.
 This was an entirely new departure in the settlement of labor disputes The idea of an executive minging among men who were on the point or committing the most outrageous v.o. lence was an Idea so novel and ara matic that the attention of the entire country was attracted.
 Suave and affable, the Governor visited the disturbed region. He talk ed with a vibiting delegation Of the miners and held consultations win representatives of the steel trust. Firm [ ness was combined with the utmost urbanity ot manner. You must not precipitate trouble" was his stern command tosboth of the warning fac- tions. For days he labored to nring about settlement of the trouole; sne was finally successful. So much so that without violence of any kind one of the worst strikes and one threat ening the utmost violence was settied amicably, and tke iron range IS now at peace. fts& IF Through all the trouble the Governor never lost his boise or his uroanity. in the midst of the stirring scenes oi the range strike he was the caimesi l man :n his entourage. Nervousness ls not in his makeup. He Is phloso- l uhy of the Abraham Lincoln kind. He 1 takes things as they come, doing the best he can land letting events shape themselves as. best they can. With Abraham Lfncoln, he maintains that !! if things come out r.ght. wnatever enemies say will not amount to much. If things go wrong no an,vu. N v Testimony to the contrary will serve | to set him right. There Is much about him that reminds one of the hero Of | '61. H It has been this attitude which has characterized his entire life. The Gcv- | ernor is q cheerful man, and yet there | is a certain somherness in his mental complexion that reflects the hardships of his early career. When a boy pow knew none of the luxuries of pannpered erty thrust it's cruel face into his. He | boyhood. The responsibilities of life came with his first realization of
 things. Poverty and the necessity of | earning livelihood and of supporting others tinged his every thought as a
 child and robbed h;m of the inestinna bIe boon of boyhood. When other ] boys were playing hockey and in-
 dulging in sports common to their age, John A. Johhson was working. All
 the while life was 6 struggle. It was