Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-11-02

or THESE could control alone. That
Is why all unite their forces and form
q single controlling combination.
Ed. Smiths Position.
"The corporations composing thla
pool represent vast political and Il.
nancial resources. With all their
accomplishment of common pur.
pose, working through the all-power.
full committee system of legislation,
with their methods and their political
employees screened from publicity, 1t
is not at all difficult to account for
the success that has crowned their
EFFORTS to control the legislature.
mo one will presume to deny that
the interest Of the corporations form
Ing the pool is not the public interest.
Nor will any one deny that the rec.
ord of members upon measures affect
Ing these special interests is fair
test of what they represented in the
legislature. Judged in that way, which
will be corroborated later in 4 de-
tailed discussion, few conspicuous
servants Of the system are entitled to
notice here.
The commander of the coterie of
politicians that manipulated things in
the legislature was Sen. e. E. Smith
of Minneapolis. An entire volume
might be written about his character
and achievements as the legislative
representative of Big Business.
personally, Smith is a princely
fellow. I like him, and so does ev.
cry other man who knows him we'll.
That is the secret of his success.
Were he not SO ikable he could new.
er have become what he undoubtedly
is today-the biggest personal power
in Minnesota politics.
Smiths lieutenants are almost
Invariably the presiding officer and
such colleagues as" Here follows
the mention Of number of senators
which 1 will omit.
On page % he says, again: "Theo
retically, the lieutenant governor Sc
lects the committees of the body over
which he presides; in practice, the ap.
pointing is done by Smith in the sen.
ate."
The InseparabIes.
1t is common political knowledge
that Sen. Smith secured Gov. Eber
harts nomination as lieutenant gov
ernor, and that last summer the gov
ernor insisted, against the protest Of
other nominees on the ticket, that
Smith be made the chairman of the
state committee. He was made chair.
man. If any one doubts the truth
OF the statements in Mr.. Haines'
book, let him inquire Of any leading
Republican in the state, who is not q
standpatter.
Is Sen. Smith a progressive or q
standpatter in politics? What about
the governor, is he a progressive or q
standpatter? Shall we Judge of him
by the company he keeps? If Sen
Cummins of Iowa should be nominated
for the presidency, do you think that
he would select Sen. Aldrich as his
personal representative? But this is
| not all. If the governors keynote
! speech is examined with care, it is
easy to discern in which camp he
trains. He devotes a goodly portion
of that speech to a discussion Of the
relative merits of the platforms OF
the two parties. This is an old stand.
patter trick, but it has been worked
too long. The people are tired OF
these sham battles on paper. They do
not place as much store by planks in
used to. Thov" lave
IN each OF the committees. Tho Dein.
ocratlc convention nominated q mar
whom every delegate know to stanc
committed to the position that the
>eopie have an inherent right to ex.
;ress their views at the ballot box or
his, or any other, question affecting
he welfare Of society. The Repub!i.
can convention nominated man who
has not favored anyone Wlfh an lntI'
nation Of his views on tho subject Of
county option, unless it bs confiden
TALLY to the chairman of his commit
tee. Sc much for the platforms and
| for the two conventions.
Where Jim Gray Stands.
When the nominee Of the Demo.
cratic party declined to accept the
| nomination, the state central commit
tee felt in duty bound to select a can.
didate who held the same views on
the great question at issue and who
stood for the same policies generally
as the nominee They selected James
Gray, morally and intellectually the
peer Of any man in the state. A
graduate Of our state university, with
the experience Of having successfully
administrated the greatest atty in the
state, he is spIendidly equipped for
the discharge Of the duty o. the high
office for which he has bean named.
Above all. he has the courage Of his
convictions and owes allegiance to no
power on earth, except his own sense
Of justice and the obligation Of a pat
r'otic man to his country, and it's
laws. We know where he stands, and
right here, is to my mind, the most
marked difference between the two
candidates. It's the difference be.
tween the progressive and the stand.
patter. The progressive states his
convictions on public questions freely,
for he has nothing to conceal. The
standpatter kesitates for fear that the
people might not agree with him.
One trusts the good judgment Of tho
people, the other trusts the judgment
Of those who would circumvent the
people.
| The same difference between the
two men is further evidenced by their
respective attitudes on other cues.
tons. Mr.. Gray believes in the right
of the people to initiate ind pass
necessary laws by a popula. vote, if
their representatives refuse to give
heed to their right and reasonable de.
mands. He believes in their right to
challenge law passed by the legis,
lature which is deemed unjust, and
to require that it be subr tied to a
popular vote before it she Il become
effective. These rights the people
have already obtained in oregon, in
Maine and in many other of the pro
gressive states. If the people of this
state were given these rights by an
| amendment to o,1r aon..1...A: ~