Sentence:  And I have another reason which I will express to my St Paul friends, and that is, that they have always been controlled in their political action here by a class of men who have always some traps set for the country members—by men who are always up to this border ruffian kind of trickery—this kind of <WSD>skullduggery</WSD>, as it is called in Minnesota. And now St. Paul allows herself to be controlled by these same border ruffian politicians. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour.