The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-10-25

L
and a magnetic speaker, but the
high position he attained was not
due to his brilliancy but rather to
his possession in a large degree of
the abilities and virtues common
to all, but rarely found harmonious
| ly combined in single person. And
especially was he gifted with that
power of discernment and good judg-
ment that made him unlikely to
mistake the character of men with
whom he came in contact or the
value of proposals and propositions
connected with public affairs to
which his attention was directed.
His second election as governor
of Minnesota indicated the conf
dence the people of the state had
in him. The candidate of the min
Ority party, he was elected by the
greatest plurality ever received by
gubernatorial candidate. His po-
/ litical success awakened national
interest in the man who, in a COM
paratively short time, had made him
self the leader of his party in Min
nesota. This led to a wider ac-
quaintanceship throughout the coun-
try. Those who met him and those
who listened to his addresses were
attracted by his genuine sincerity
and earnestness and pleased with
his unfailing courtesy.
Mentioned for Presidency. f
| Ills name was mentioned as a
likely candidate for president of the
United States. True, his experience
as public official was limited. So
it was with Lincoln, and yet he was
elected president and, save the i'm
mortal Washington, was the great
est The responsibilities of posi-
ton call out the best in him who
holds it,. Many doubted the ability
of Lincoln to deal with the situa-
ton in 1860 but now the doubt is
if there was another person who
could have dealt so well with that
situation as he did. When he was
merchant in ST. Louis on might
with good reason, have questioned
the fitness of General Grant to COM
mand great armies but there was
no question about it in 1865. Some
men have the habit of making good
in all things they undertake. Gov
ernor Johnson made good as an
editor, as a state legislator, as a
governor and had he lived and been
elected president of the United
States, there is no doubt in my
mind but that he would have been
as good a president as he was a
governor. ~ as
Governor Johnson's third election
was but an added tribute to his
worth and his popularity. He serv-
ed but nine months of the term for
which he was chosen and was the
first governor of Minnesota who
died while holding that distinguished
office.
"The spirit of this man and his
conception of the duty the public
officer owes to the sovereign peo-
pie are to, be seen in portion of
his first message to the state legis-
lature.
"We are assembled today in the
new capitol of the state. This
splendid edifice is a monument to
the energy, prosperity and culture
of our people. Whatever opposition
may have existed to it's erection
in the past. the people are now
proud that it's cleaning dome over
looks the capital city of our be-
loved state. The building is the
property of the state, and was pro-
vided as place in which should be
i transacted the business of the peo-
Iple.,. AS their servants, you and
I are commissioned to perform the
duties of our several offices in their
interest. We should here dedicate
ouselves to that service, pledg.
ing our zeal, our fidelity and our
honest purpose in an endeavor to
do our duty to the people who have
reposed in us their confidence and
their trust We should build not
for today alone, but that future
generations may reap the reward of
honest patriotic effort. If there
must be sacrifice, let it not be at
the expense of the state. If we
must regard political considerations
llet us also remember that political
parties are but the vehicles of good
government, and that you and ]
will best serve but one master and
that master the sovereign people Of
the state of Minnesota"
Death Was UntimeIy.
His untimely death, for shortly
after his forty.eighth birthday the
final summons came, deeply affected
the people. His heroic struggle, the
devotion of his wife, the hopes and
fears excited by slight changes OF
condition after his removal from
the operating room to the hospital
chamber, his fearlessness in the
presence of the dread angel, and his
4 thoughtful courtesies in the last
hours of his life, intensified the
strain and anxiety of the hundreds
of thousands who, through the days
and nights of his last sickness,
waited and watched for the latest
bulletins from Rochester.
; Stricken down in the prime of
manhood, wonderful possibilities be-
fore him; Hope, in her most shin
ing garments, reckoning him on;
. loved by the people; happy and
, blest in the companionship of his
good wife; he had much to live for
"He was not afraid to die. His
, great heart did not beat with fear.
He looked forward with confidence
|, and with faith and did not doubt the
, goodness and the wisdom of his
God. Kind, gentle, chiyalrous to the
/ last, his spirit passed to. the pres.
. ence of the Master, while those who
loved him, with bowed heads, placed
all that was mortal of John Albert
| Johnson in Mother Earth not far
from the spot where he was born"
!,