I thought Mary Elizabeth Lease said this?

Question

I'm doing a report on Mary Elizabeth Lease and I came across this little bit of information:

Lease is widely quoted as having told the farmers of Kansas--and, by implication, Populists generally--to "raise less corn and more hell." but the phrase was actually coined by Ralph Beaumont, a fellow labor lecturer. Lease later observed that she let the comment stand, when it was attributed to her, because she thought it was 'a right good piece of advice.'


i always thought that Mary said that (my teacher said so too).
So, who said it, Mary or Ralph. The article I found this on is here: http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/lease.html about halfway down the page

Answer 1

Interesting observation!

Over the years, I have loved tracking down quotes. While you are correct that the Vasser article attributes the quote to Beaumont, I could not find any evidence to support this.

According to an article by Professor O. Gene Clanton who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, Lawrence: Mrs. Lease later denied having originated the statement, but she said she let it stand because she thought "it was a right good bit of advice." -- See Topeka State Journal, May 25, 1896, and Kansas City (Mo.) Star, October 25, 1914.

Professor Clanton's online article is part of his book, "Kansas Populism: Ideas and Men." It's interesting to note that Mrs. Lease and her quote appear in the book, but Ralph Beaumont does not.

Answer 2

Mary Elizabeth Lease Quotes