DAVID MARSTON CLOUGH Thirteenth Governor of the State of Minnesota, was born in Lyme, New Hampshire, December 27, 1846. He was a prominent lumberman in Minnesota, and now in the state of Washington. He was governor of Minnesota from January 31, 1895, to January 2, 1899. DAVID MARSTON CLOUGH THIRTEENTH GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF January 31, 1895, to January 2, 1899 T HE gubernatorial rose which has been placed on the breast of sixteen chosen citizens of Minnesota, is something to covet, something worthy of ambition, a decoration which carries honor. These histories are not the cenotaph of a party; they are the reflected character of the people of the state. These governors have not been the petted children of good fortune. They are, in a large measure, the express image of the people or some powerful class of them. Sibley represented the border barons, the daring men who controlled in the barbarian days of the territory. Miller and Marshall represented the martial spirit of the Civil War. Austin personated the rising judicial force, silently at work in its influence. Pillsbury represented the general business industries of the state. Nelson was a stalwart type of the Norse element which has become powerful in its influence. Lind embodied the political unrest which, from a variety of causes, permeated the public mind at that period. Clough was the ideal lumberman, of an interest which comprised many strong men who were always active, vigilant, and assertive. A further glance shows how class interests have controlled. The first group which dominated our territory was the great fur traders, the brawniest of men, who were represented by such intrepid spirits as Ramsay Crooks, Robert Stuart, Charles Oakes, Charles W. W. Borup, Clement H. Beaulieu, and Allan Morrison. These were followed by Henry H. Sibley and Henry M. Ricc. But the power of the fur traders gradually melted away before the advent of new interests. With rapid growth and population came the lumber barons. Pine became the synonym of wealth and power. These, with the Falls of St. Anthony as an operating center, held sway over every pine-fringed stream and lake that flowed from the North, and with their virile force floated into the politics of the state. There was was Dorilus Morrison, Loren Fletcher, the Pillsburys, the Washburns, the Walkers, and John Martin. There were also in the lumber business such strong companies as Nelson Tenney and Co., E. W. Backus and Co., C. A. Smith and Co., H. C. Akeley and Co., Shevlin and Carpenter, the Bovey Lumber Co., Merriman and Barrows, Farnham and Lovejoy, and L. Day and Sons. Such men created a formidable array of competitors, and among them Clough had to battle his way. But in the process of years their power, like that of the fur barons, has been dissolved by the destruction of the great pine forests which are rapidly being And now ap eaten up by the greed of commerce. pears upon the scene a new and wonderful interest. Two rivers of iron pursue their sinuous way through the mighty masses of eruptive rocks in northern Minnesota, long secreted by a covering of soil and great forests, but recently uncovered, exposing fabulous wealth. To these deposits of wealth people have come, and towns and cities have sprung up, as with the magic of Aladdin's lamp. This interest, too, evinces a passion for power, and will yet claim its day in the political arena. Their moneyed hand is already felt in moulding things. Thus do class interests appear in the shifting political kaleidoscope of our state. Agriculture, the basis of all other prosperity, as a class interest, alone has never had its representation in the executive chair. David Marston Clough was born in Lyme, New Hampshire, December 27, 1846. His father, Elbridge G. Clough, was a lumberman, and so David came to his life avocation by inheritance. The Clough family was of Welsh origin, and all were farmers and lumbermen by pursuit. The oldest son of the family, Gilbert, served with honor for three years in the Civil War in Company A of the Eighth Minnesota Infantry. David had very limited educational opportunities. His attendance at the district school was very irregular. From early years he had to work on the farm in summer, and in the winter he generally went to the |