Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-09-27
THE ORANGES AND THE MER-
CHANTS.

Merchandise is as old as the
first advance towards civilization, and
will continue to the end of time. As
a reliable proof that the cry of war
upon merchants, is mere fabrication,
We quote from the reply Of Mr. Saun-
ders, chairman of the executive COM
mittee of the national grange, to
question put by Herald reporter, on
this point
i have received letter, to-day,
from the master of a grange in Ten
nessee," said Mr.. Saunders, who
writes: We have capital of $4,000
with which to start a cooperative
store; plessesend us your plan My an
swerwas: The Grange does notencour-
age cooperative stores. Until one can
befound that has stood the test of twelve
years business, such organizations can
not receive the appreciation of the ma
tional executive committee. They all
run into speculation, and that is what
we want to avoid"
Upon the foregoing, the Gazette re-
marks: 49,
After this official declaration, if
there is any antagonism between the
mercantile and farming interests, it
be.will brought about by ill-advised, or
designing men"
The Gazette is right, about that
but unfortunately for the farmers, and
every other good cause, such men are
always on hand to mar the harmony
between motives and ends, hoping that
something may turn up from which
they can derive profit. The oranges
have been in existence for more than
two hundred years-frst in Wales, and
then in Scotland-as we have been in
formed-yet during that entire period,
there is no proof that there has been
the slightest antagonism between them
and the merchants. 1t was reserved,
it would seem, for the would be states
men of this date, to detect the antago:
nism and to aim a blow at the farmers
interests by demonstrating their in
compatibility with those of the mer-
chants. In the northwestern States,
where oranges are as numerous as
neighborhoods, we hear of no conflict
between them and the merchants-if
they do not act in concert, they live in
harmony, each respecting the rights of
the other, and neither seeking points
of difference upon which to hang a
gauge of battle. Instead, we find the
northern oranges waging war upon
monopolies-upon the monopoly of
freights by consolidated railroad capt.
tai; the monopolies built up by the
tariff, that a fund may be collected
from the producers to fill the pockets
of official and ring thieves upon the
combinations of middlemen, who, in
the form of rings, come between pro-
ducers and consumers, fixing the prices
to be paid by themselves, for grain,
pork, tobacco, cotton, in short, every
product of the soil, and then fixing the
prices at which consumers may buy of
them. These are the middlemen upon
whom the oranges make war. With
such a gigantic struggle before them,
it would be egregious folly to diverge
from their line of march and fritter
away their time and energies in pursuit
of every straggler reported by dishon-
est, or unfaithful scouts, to be hostile
The oranges like every other combina-
ton of men, must be judged by their
acts, not by the selfish misrepsenta-
tons of those who hope to CLEAN some
thing from the harvest of discord
The syllo-gism constructed by such sell
fish mischief-makers, is in this form ::
The oranges are hostile to merchants
the Chronicle advocates the oranges,
therefore the Chronicle as hostile to
the merchants. As Etheridge said of
one of Andy Johnson's syllogisms, any
fool can see the silly, but the most in
tellectual cannot discover the gism or
the force ofsuch bogus logic.
Almostevery pursuit, in business life,
has its combination and for protection
advancement, some of them, for the pur-
pose of controlling the farmers votes,
butmost of them, to deplete his pockets,
but as soon as the cheated, oppressed
and long suffering producing classes
combine to protect their interests and
maintain their rights, the cry is raised
by those in the interests of rings and
mOnopolies, that the structure of So
ciety and business is to be revolution
lied, chaos to come again and the world
brought to an end. The cry will not
frighten the farmers. They are in the
right. Let them the right pursue un-
til justice prevails over wrong.