, 1873-01-16
The Delegates Describe the
:. .Pecuaiary Benefits Derived :.
:~>:.',s from Association. ! :;
The Railroad Companies Denounced for
Extrayagant Freight Charges:
C. Flagg, of Madison County, Ap-
pointed Permanent President.
Address by the Hon. M. l.. Dunlap.
Special Dfspdtch to the Chie1go 7f5btt'le.

|
| issued by ". ]. Beer, John Prickett, and i. F.
| Boss, the. Executive Committee appointed by
| the convention Of delegates from Farmers
! club hold in Kewannoo on the 18th. and 18th OF
| last October, the Illinois State Farmers Con-
vcnt;on met this morning in theOpera House on
Main street. The basis Of representation was
! fixed at one delegate from every. Farmers Club,
Grange, or other Agricultural, Industrial, or
Horticultural Associations. .
The objects Of the meeting. as set forth in the
] call, are as follows: go
] To perfect an organization 12ade at Ke*anee, BY
the formation Of State Farmers Association from
ead delegates the adoption Of constitution ~ ana der
township It tho State; discuss and insist upon
form il railway transportation the sole ot a8rcn-
tura implements; tho salc Of farm products BY COM
mission merchants, md such other abuses Is have
grown up in rnidstanl now taxing md impov-
erishnx producers and co1s.1ness and to transact
such other buslness US may be brought ectore tho
Convention
The Convention was called to order by John
/ Prickett OF tho Executive Committee. who
nominated the Hon. L. D. Whiting, OF Bureau
County, for Temporary Chairman.
TIC motion was agreed to.
Dir. ". c. Hogg, Of Madison County, moved
that Messrs. Smith, OF HewAunee, and Tufts, OF
Ccntralia, Secretaries Of the kowaunee meeting,
DO elected Temporary Secretaries.
The motion sas agreed to. +
The Temporary Chairman then Addressed the
Convention as follows: -,
SPEECH OF THE HON. L. D. WHITING.
BRor1En FARMERS OF I11!So1s: We, have
mot to consult Oh matters which pertain to our
pursuits, nnd to consider and declare our Benti~
mcnts on certain things which concern the pub
lie interest, =
In response to the cali of your Executive
whcro for q brief time, to meet you hero, not
more to testify my sympathy with your pur-
poses thnn to learn wisdom by your counse1s,
and to catch s6ne inspiration from the spirit
which aDinaates you.
| This is m ege and an era of organization. We
behold it, and feel its effects in various wayH.
Nearly every profession, calling, and pursuit,
except our OWN, associate, organize, and COM
bina to promote, their interests. Tho eyricul-
turist, igolated md scattered, nway from the
Pest Office, aud telegraph, and lecture
room, is the last to. move. II he felt
himself pressed and over-burdened By high
prices for ell he bought and low prices for Ill
lie sold, ho has sought to cure tho evil by more
labor While most other pursuits push up the
prices Of their commodities, If need be by short
ening their hours of labor and sometimes BY
wholly stopping tie wheels, no haye met this BY
ductions aud 10 hurry them upon the market.
Willie the oil men OF Pennsylvania are seeking
to plug up the holes so as to stop the flow Of oil,
and thereby send up prices, the corn.raiscr
furrows, until he oyerHows the land with it's
abundance. 49,.
am yet to speak Of other combinations who
toll our products according to their own greed.
Poverty, it not bankruptcy, now stares ua in
tho face. In the midst Of such overwhelming
abundance as to choke the marts OF trade, and
whila the consumers on the seaboard and across
tile waters are hungry for our products, ne can-
not realize enough TO paJ OUT taxes ana M Labor :
greatly decline in, value, agricultural labor yet
more reduced in price, rural improvement must
suffer blight, and general poverty cover the
land, and TINS dwarf md wither every luterost
dependent upon the farmar's prosperity.
It is because ne believe that Wo need not; and
will not bare, this condition Of affars to prevail
That the farmers are moving. There are RENEE
dies for all evils and 80 there ID somewhere, and
in some way. q cure for the ills which th-eaten
"a. For some months past the producers IN
various sud widely separated places have been
almost spontaneously coming together IN local
organization. This Convention Of the Farmers
OF Illinois is to coneider the matter Of binding
together these local societies by State organtza-
ton.
As it ia somewhat new for our people to et-
tempt my general organization, the question ia |
very naturally asked. what ta the pn1poso2
No ono is authorized or able, especially In ed !
vance, to pronounce fully for any movement. I |
s!lau answer Us saa it from my own standpoint.
Farmers associations ere intended for mutual |
improvement in our .callng,-to call forth new !
'Lu0QRuL8a AllQ u1nuE6 u6ElAA AAtUAN{dttA A4AIuk
ourselves 80 to produce better results With less
labor-for social enjoyment aud Tor intellectual !
and moral improvement. Such associations will
afford the opportunity for neighborhood coop
dairying, farmers ingurapce,-p perhaps in buying
and selling to some extent, and 80 generally to
effect for our class what organization has done
for othors.
But we desire, also, to understand more fully
the relation between agriculture and the Gov
ornment, and, especially, to sec thGt Justice ia
done on matters Of taxation. As cheap trdns~
porldtioa is vital to our prosperity, NO mean in
some manner to solve this problem, aud it ia to
this matter especially to which I shait nov cal!
-FOUR 2tteptio
:The West must long remain an exporting aud
IN importing country to IN enormous and ill.,
oreasing extent. = The prices Of our products SO
qp, Or down, as Transportation varies lts scale.
chief stap!aa bring a good price, SO the West
classes, professions, and trades
ire nearly equally interested in cheap transport
tation. AS nearly Ill travel and transportation
must be 50 largely dono on railroads, shall
now, to soma e1tant, discuss
.- RAILROADS. l.
Railroads are 80 convenient for their speed
md adaptabiuty to alplaees and all seasons
They ara IN harmony with tho
senius Of the age. Some Of us can remember
heir feeble beginnings in America, and We bare
Hatahed with pride and hops their marvellous !
,roWth- More than aixtT thousand miles now |
p1ead themselves over the country liko net i
Tork, from the Lakes to tie Gull, and from sea
O. sea- Civilization is 90 adopting itself to
hem, that they are nearly as vital to society as
he air TIC Breathe. Let their march be onward | !
u every naighborhood Is penetrated. No wise !
ha9d are 'hsi sas aaa dsssais
eveloping which, it is clear, viii not .
orrect themselves. The whole country Is t
ow axeited By their administration Until re- | t
emily, it was confidently believed tha. their c
tbs most natural and best regulator OF business.
mt Of this the country nov despaiIB. Railway :
.inga (and the term KING" Is not lpaptly ap-; i
Ged) have learned to Hank campaidon b COM i
ina lion. Tho Hhole rail1oad aystom fs fast