The Ely miner., 1919-09-26

an league. Following the adjourn
ment of the regular session an or
ganized campaign of appeal to Sec
tion prejudice was inaugurated by
the socialists and the league. Cries
of steel trust" filled the air at every
league picnic and every twin city
labor meeting. 1t is said that the
league spent $60,000.00 in three
months stirring up the prejudice and
cupidity of the people of southern
and western Minnesota. The result
was that when the special session met
labor members and southern and
western Minnesota members were
completely cowed and voted according
ly. If all the members who told me
privately that they did not believe in
tonnage tax but that they had to
vote for it, had voted against it, the
bill would not have passed.
One very peculiar reason for the
large majority given the bill was the
soldiers bonus. Twenty millions
is an appalling sum-we must find
some place to get the money, said
many members. "Ha! There is
Northern Minnesota. We have more
votes than it has. We'll make it pay
the twenty million" It is question
which is more to. be admired, Min
nesota's splendid 500, 100000 appre-
citation of it's soldier boys, or it's
gcleverness in making somebody else
pay the bill. f. the governor had
approved the tonnage tax bill and the
courts had upheld it, the people of
southern and western Minnesota
would not have contributed one single
penny to the soldiers bonus. The
patriotism of people who pick some
body else's pockets to show it's fervor
is patriotism that is fearfully and
wonderfully made.
Northern Minnesota's Remedy.
Northern Minnesota has for nearly
twenty years been fighting an uphill
fight in the legislature to save itself
from the despoiler. It's enemies
have fought against it both in the
legislature and among the people.
Their campaign of Misrepresentation
and appeal to prejudice and cupidity
has finally been taken up by a po-
litical party and unscrupulously push
ed to the limit. The result is that the
people of southern and western Min
nesota are so stepped in prejudice
and so ignorant of conditions in the
ether half of their state that only the
most desperate measures will bring
them to their senses and show them
the truth.
Northern Minnesota is at fault in
that it has almost totally failed to
carry on the absolutely necessary
campaign of education. We have
let our enemies carry their vicious
propaganda to the people Of southern
and western Minnesota and have
made almost no attempt to Offset that
propaganda with the truth. We must
conduct thoroughly organized cam
paign of education, day by day, and
month by month. We must meet
prejudice with facts. But we must
do more than that. We have waited
so long that the situation is desperate
and we must resort to desperate
measures.
Draw line east and west through
st. Cloud and make separate state
of the territory to the north of that
line. What would be left to South
ern Minnesota? A rich agricultural
region, that's all. Our blindly pref
udiced neighbors of the south would
then find themselves bereft of all
mineral riches, stripped of their
great forest wealth, minus nine thous-
and or more of their boasted ten
Thousand lakes. The South would
suddenly find its taxes trebled. It
would suddenly come to its senses. 1t
would suddenly discover that North
ern Minnesota was worth developing,
worth helping, worth having.
Minnesota is great state, but its
greatness lies mostly in the north.
The people of the north are sturdy,
Independent people. They will not
submit to be ruled without their con-
sent. Let Southern Minnesota be-
ware. 1t exults in it's strength and
its power TO take. So did Germany.
II may laugh at protests and appeals
to justice. So did Germany. 1t
may go ruthlessly on its way. So did
Germany. Let southern Minnesota
think before it further plays the
Hun. If it persists, as the Hun per-
sisted, it will finally pay as the Hun is
paying.