The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-05-30

friend, appointed HiHl 10 the import
ant position of u. S. commission
err iof pensions, and he entered upon
its duties June /, 1871. He served
four wears in this important position,
and resigning, he was appointed by
President Grant to the position of
surv eyuT general of the state Of Min
nesota. in which office, after serving for
a sulr term he retired tn his home
in Mankato, TO which city he had
some time before removed 1T was
while boiling this position, that he
xl,ote nsany lettet9 snd rs~irs for
publication. touching the carly his
tory of the northwest. and very e5-
reciaFy callip% attention. for the
f.. st time to the wonderful iron de-
nos It's n the state which have since
tcen SO marveousily, developed
/ In 1881. 5fIGncral BaErr' was nom
i.,ated and clectcd railway commits
eioncr of the state suocncdine Gov
er~or Williams r Marshall He was
again reelected, and = hoard O.
] three having hccn appointed, he was
made its president
Was a Brilliant Orator.
! General Baker was a brjlliant aud
EforrefuI orator. IN bis prime he was
j considered ore Ct tho best political
( speakers in the northwest He had
= fine command OF the English Ian
! ct11~n m extended vocabulary anf
rnesesecd voice Of wide volume
and rich in tone No man in the
state has delivered more public cd
dresses than he. About his last ap
pearance in public as a sneaker was
on the occasion of the celebration Of
fthe sem-centennial of the founding
] of Mankato. He was president of
the association that organized and
! carried out tho celebration On July
\ 3, 1902 exercises were held at Sih.
LEY park and on that day General
Baker delivered an address, the COM
position Of which was a gem in the
diadem of rhetoric. He felt the spir-
I it of the day and the event which
brought together so many of the
early settlers, and those of the new.
er generation. were there to swell
the crowd. The general was at his
best and his oratory was a browning
feature of day of brilliant address.
es. On another occasion, General
Baker won additional encomiums as
an orator, and this was when he de.
tlivered the memorial address at the
meeting held under the auspices oil
the State Historical society for
Alexander Ramsey. His address was
filled with splendid passages and
well rounded periods, 1t was 9
hitting benediction for one of the
greatest men whose names are link
ed with the state of Minnesota Nc
one remains to pronounce proper
eulogy of General Baker. Another
notable address was that which he
delivered on Minnesota day at the
international exposition, New Or
leans, March 81, 1885.
Mas, ., Writer of Note.
/ He was for wears a member o
the State Historical society, and ha.
published a number of valuable his
torical papers, among them: 'His
tory of Lake Superior" "His
Source of he Mississippi
River, Transportation in Min
/ nesota,' History of the Minnesota
Valley" etc. Among other valuabl
publications which We're the result
/ of his. brain and pen. was the live
: of the Governors of Minnesota" writ
, ten when the general was approach
: ing his eightieth year, published i
1908. Also he was member of tn
I board of editors of Minnesota i
Three Centuries" one of the mos
: complete, historical efforts ever i:
!. sued in Minnesota. His co-worker
. arc former Governor Lucius F. HUI
( bard, William P Murray and Wa
' rem Upham, all of whom have passe
i. away with the exception of the la
f ter gentleman The history is
f three volumes and was published III
4 der the authorization of the Mimi
n sofa State Historical society b
r Frank r. Holmes.
+ Besides these General Baker con
4 posed, several poems that deserve
a rank among the classics. One {
8 these is entitled "A Song of Frien
ship," loan elegy on the death {
Charles Scheffer, a brother of tn
: late Albert Scheffer of ST. Pau
L another, Lines on the Death of d
l. tJeB. Phillips: and one on the deaf
|, of j. G. Braden, who was the ge
+ erals adjutant general. He ais
e wrote short poem on Minnesot
r which was published in The st. Pa,
S Pioneer Press in 1877. He was
e liberal contributor to the newspape
y and the periodical news, and W;
: regarded as an elegant and vigorol
l. writer He established The Ere
S Press in this city. by purchasing TT
n Record and Union and uniting the
t in one Later he sold The Free Pre-
IS to l.. p Hunt, who disposed of 1t
h the present owners number
If years ago.
is Judge Flandreau. in his "Histo
lie of the Minnesota Valley" says of hin
d, CAS- a public speaker. he is brillia
J., and forceful. In personal appearanc
8. General Baker is about six feet
le height and symmetrical in proportio
S, He moves with a quick. soldier
is step. indicating his character. He
d courteous IN demeanor, and affab