The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1873-11-07
Correspondence.
The Farmers Movement-A Reply
to sc. E. K" by Farmer

-
pate the argument that he would use IN
defense Of his groundless assertions'
but. As | have the truth on my side, and
only have to relate facts just rs they
exist. il will not be necessary for me to
take a week and fabricatc some plauSi-
bic argument in defense of my as>er-
tious. Ee starts ont with what he no
Doubt intends to he 4 poser-trom the
stress he laws on it-about the farmers
of Doniphan county, Kansas, nominating
4 ticket composed exclusively Of farm
ers. Now, he is laboring under the
same delu>ion that Il great many others
are, whose wish is father to their beliei;
and viii no doubt affect to be surprised
when | say that this affair has no on
~mcction with the farmers movement,
and is something ]concocted, put i'll mo
| ton and kept going by its enemies. The
founders of the order of Patrons of lins-
bandrv anticipated that its members
would be composed of persons belonging
IT, all political parties, and OF every rellg-
iGuS persuasion, and, consequently, lis
members are under no obligations to
support any measure that will interfere
| with their social. moral, political or re-
ligiouS belief. and they are all free to
vote for whom they please. They will
not. and can not. us Il body support any
of the existing political parties; and il
would he Just rs impossible am undcrta-
king for them 70 attempt to form a new
party. Their very numbers and strength
would. in that case, be their own weak
ness; for, if they hung together. there
would be no party able or willing to OPP
pose them: and their enemies would
have nothing TO do but TO concentrate
their united strength on some particular
point to create a division, and-''a house
divided against itself cannot stand
when 4 division was once created, all
past experience goes to prove that the
weaker party would recruit their
strength out of the ranks of their enc
mics. The founders of the Ordc" an
der>tond that it would he easier, with
our strength. to mingle with and contro.
all parties and accomplish I'll obIec, i'll
that WAY. than it would be to act with
any particular existing party. or create
a ncw one. So. my friend 'G. l.. IA.
lean listen to the stirring cloquclcc of
Birch or the Editor of the Rural World
and listen to the siren voice of ambi-
tiou~ speakers, but these stubborn truths
will he the result of all unbiased invcs-
t%igatian. All the investigators of thrS,'
so-callcd farmers conventions, let them
| be in Kansas, Iowa. California or any
where else, are engineered by men who
have been Disappointed in seeking ono
office, or afraid they will lose onc by
not taking the popular side. All intel
ligent members OF the order understand
/ this. and, consequently, You will gencr-
ally find it 10 be as it was in Iowa. that
Patrons are not unitcd-tbey are un Ter
no obligations Ia be, in that case. EGt
when they do unite and express their
will through their State and National
! Conventions, there is 10 party that will
oppose it.. If there should be, there
would he no necessity for Patrons To Vi
olate their Constitution b. discussing
politics in the Grange: VT could do II
openly before the world, and crush that
political party into atoms. Politicians
are shrcwd enough to understand AL
this. and hence they are % going Ia
commit such suicidal act as to oppose
us. They are not the LEADERS of public
opinion. but fall in with those ideas
that are popular and make capital on. of
them for their W purposes. did
think that az. +. X" was Il ttientei
young school teacher, who took the
wrong side of the question merely fnr
| the sake of getting up a discussion. and
to give him Il chance to display his tai
cnt a. writer; but his last "iflsi"n
: would indicate that | was wrong, and
that he is Il simple, innocent, unsophiS-
"ticltel youth who knows no better. To
suppose thai Il small, insignificant con,
~ventipn IN Doniphan county. Kansas, by
taking action in n certain direction IN
political affairs would he a sure indica,
ton of what the Patrons of llu>bandry
were going to do, when he does moi
know that one of them belongs To tn,
order, j. sufficient evidence of his yer
dancy without taking into consideration
the implicit faith and confidence h,
places in the con that he reads il
the papers; and we presume that ''ic
r ludcd Nirginian' will Immediately viii
when he finds that he is referred to 1.-THE
late resolutions Of a farmers convention
at Jefferson City Does .G. f.. X
know how many Patrons were there, or
wha! part they took in framing ihost
= resolutions? or, even if he is statistic,
that they were all Patrons, can he figure
ont what effect those resolutions woul,
have on the Order: Simply no more
than il would have on the Nicholas
Church. provided they had all beer
= Methodists. The members of the ortlcI
have Il right To, and do, take action il
political and all other matters, witIou
the Order having anything TO do with if
Our friend is not quite So positive as IN
was. He says the result of III expert
1 mrnt .tis vet 10 be made known" Mex
week, according TO his rule of pro1rcs
sion. il will be u success. He says thai
Farmer said nothing about the trans
| portation question. admit that ! d,
not have the confidence in myself tina
he appears to have in himself. He sug
ec5tel questions enough for Il pro
, frssional politician to harp OF
through two or three cam
paigns: and | did not think that
could do all of them justice in on,
short article. But, for his qualification
| will suggest that If it is true that i
takes more varied talent, more brain
/ and more culture to carry on Il farm
= just As it should he, than il does to run
+ railroad, and the farmer who farms hi
< land just As it should be ought to be sal
i>licd with a few hundred dollars Il year
why could not Presidents of railroads IL
' satisfied with the same wages, in tn,
l. piace of receiving (some of them)
great deal larger salary than the PrcSi
| dent OF the United States? If he will in
, vestigatc the matter Il little, he will fin,
that they might retrench in their expen
L.. .--.Ll-. .r