The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-10-29
Wilson in Quicksand.

Wilson in Quicksand.
You know that the unfortunat
man who gets into quicksand, whe
-ther lake or bog, finds that the NOR
he wiggles and squirms the deeper j
the mire he gets. There is only on
advantage therefore in weighing an
squirming, and that is: death over
takes the unfortunate victim tina
much the quicker.
In The Sentinel of October 16, MI
Wilson wrote an editorial, heade
!, '''Mr. Backus and Mr.. Nord.'' Il
that editorial he says: eff Their
ever was any doubt as to the rela
lions between E. w. Backus and L
H. Nord, there is none now" The
he labors to explain the letter h
wrote to Mr. Backus soliciting a per
sonal interview, wanting to find on
the needs of Mr.. Backus, SO that h
could become a more profitable serv
ant. He said:-
"Never has F. A. Wilson call
ed upon Mr.. Backus at any time
that he was ever in Internation-
al Falls, and never has he had,
ID. with the one exception recited
above, any communication Of any
kind, either directly or indi-
rectly, with Mr.. Backus. If F.
A. Wilson had desired to solicit
Mr.. Backus' support he GER
tainly could have made his way
into the presence Of the mighty
Mr. Backus when he had the OPP
portunity to do so; and Mr..
Nord knows as we'll as Mr..
Backus knows that F.. A. Wilson
, spent an entire day in Interna-
tional Falls and then came home
and wrote as short and courteous
and proper letter as the occa-
sion merited. If r. A. Wilson
had been very keen for per-
sonal interview with E. w.
Backus it is apparent to the
most prejudiced that he could
easily have had one"
Well, let us refer to the famous, o
rather infamous letter Mr.. Wilson
wrote to Mr.. Backus and see whethe
or not he could have had that per
sonal interview so easily. Let us Sc
from his own letter to Mr.. Backu
whether or not he ever tried to gai1
personal access to Mr. Backus. II
that letter Mr.. Wilson said:
Unfortunately you were so
busy when l was in your city
Wednesday that I could not see
you, as had hoped to do"
This is the reason Mr.. Backu
wasn't seen by Mr. Wilson. He wa
too busy with his private business t,
give an interview to this politician
So Mr.. Wilson, after he goes home
writes letter to Mr.. Backus, eX
pressing deep regret in not bein,
able to meet him personally. VIII.
did he want to meet Mr.. Backus per
sonally? Listen to his letter:
'As you are business man
of commanding Importance and
because your enterprise there is
one of our leading industries,
recognize the fact that I ought,
if I am acting as public serv-
ant, to become familiar with
YOUR NEEDS, and the needs
of your community. For that
reason I regret that I could not
have had a personal interview
with you, but am in hopes that
this matter may be arranged at
some future date"
Now, read Mr.. Wilson's editoria
trying to explain away his offer t.
betray the people of this district il
order to gain the support of the bust
ness man of commanding Importance
and see how puny are his efforts t.
get out of the grasp of public con
demnation. Surely he is in tn
quicksand, and the more he strug
giles the deeper he sinks. But, re
member, that in sinking beneath tn
cruel and merciless sands of public
opinion, your sacrifice shall not b.
in vain. For your political dennis
will be sad but fruitful WARNING
to other would-be servants of tn
public, reminding them in the mos
forceful manner that public Office i
a public trust and cannot be used b.
a public servant to administer to TIL
private needs of any man, no matte
how big he may be, nor how com
handing in Importance may be hi
influence
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