Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-10-23

aided literally in the building of the road,
which was to enable them to find larger
market for their mari, which was of value as
a fertilizer. But the road had not been in ope-
ation'long before they refused to carry mari.
They got over the point Of being common
carriers in the same way as the New York
Central had. Of course the value sof the
mari beds went down, and one fine day the
Camden and Amboy railroad company
bought them for small price and now are
making good deal of money out Of them.
This oppression of the people by souless
corporations is greater than ever was the
oppression of feudalsm in Great Baitain.
Commodore Vanderbilt is worth his mill
lions, made by gambling in stocks and steal
ing railroads. The fault is in tho system of
business, not in the men. Any of us would
be quite likely to do the same under the
same circumstances If we have honest sys-
tens of exchange aud transportation men
will operate them honestly.
Our banking system is such that 2500
men or corporations are all that can 60 into
banking, aud those are controlled by a ring
who ride upon the people.
The great woolen and cotton manufactur-
ing corporations in Massachusetts are shut
ting down or running on short time, throw
ing thousands of operatives out of employ
ment, because they cannot make sales. Why
is it? Are there none suffering for want of
cotton and wooden clothing? Then why can
not manufacturers make sales? 1t is be-
cause through their system of trade the
goods are so increased before they reach the
consumer that the ragged poor cannot buy
them, and so the poor consumer on the one
hand suffers for want of clothing, and the
poor factory operative on the other hand
suffers for want of employment. Capital is
combined, and measures are taken to relieve
not the poor workingman but the rich cap
italist, and 80 the mills are idle. The same
influence controls legislation. Congress is in
the hands of the rich When Jay Cooke
was pushing a grand railroad scheme he said
at one time that he wanted four legislatures,
and he bought them and built the road,
Some may object to the Sovereigns be-
cause they are a secret society. So are the
stock and corn exchanges, so is every store,
every family. All have their secrets.
When these capitalists know that the
| w SoJSiu 10 ndlu DlCooCu anu uluob
sell his crops, being combined there is no
competition, but they agree what they shall
pay and the farmer must take their price.
Then they borrow from the banks and with
the money buy grain at their own price and
store it in warehouses. They then take
their warehouse receipt and deposit it in the
bank as collateral for more money, and with
this money buy more grain. By.and.by
grain is high and they sell out, and we pay
the long price, while the producer has re-
ceived very short one, and all the differ
ence goes to the spectators This because
the farmers were not organized.
The income tax was the most righteous
tax ever levied, but it made capital pay its
share Of the expense of government, and
capital, organized, secured its repeal. The
president and all his cabinet were opposed t
the repeal, but petitions signed by merchants
and capitalists all over the country come il
asking for the repeal, labor, for want of or
ganizations like the oranges aud councils
did not protest, and the tax was repealed
thus throwing burden of sixty millions
upon labor which should be borne by cap
ital.
duu MOllCu OIHdulLO "
control production and distribution as cap
ital has done, aud we must work with pa
tience for it cannot be done in day.
The Pacific mills in Lawrence employ
5000 operatives, and these are controlled by
dozen people who travel the world over
dwell in palatial mansions and are sateC
with beauty, refinement, literature, and all
the luxuries Of life, while 5000 people work
ten hours per day in vitiated atmosphere
with poor food and scanty clothing to pro
duce all this wealth. Do you wonder there
is drunkenness and crime?
We cannot control production now, bu
we can control distribution, and that i
where there is most need of reform. Manu-
facturers do not make money so fast as mid.
dlemen. A. 7. Stewards wealth is not the
result of his labor; he never produced any
thing. The middleman's profits arise from
passing products from producer to consum
er.
The farmers in the West met to organic
against railroad extortion, but when 600 o
them met in the grange the thought strucl
them that by combining their orders the.
could buy cheaper than they had been do
ing. So they corresponded with several pillow
} manufacturers, but the manufacturers re
fused to sell otherwise than through thei
agents. Every well, ;" replied the patrons
"then we will neither buy of you nor your
J agents." The Patrons then started the &C
operative pow company at St. Louis, an
Immediately plows came down from S2l
SIS, and now they sell for $3.50. The
went to Mccormick, who makes the McCor
= mick reaper, and he looked at the matte
Alright. lie knew he had to pay too muc
for getting his goods sold, so he made then
terms that they saw fit to accept, and tn
. result is that 1925 buys the reaper tina
r used to sell for 1925, aud Mccormick get
Q S25 more for his machine than he did befor
through the agency system. We may, per
: haps, live to see honest trade, but now al
D will agree that there is no such thing.
: As the order Of Patrons moved eastward
s il came in contact with mechanics and the
: saw that they wanted such an organization
Y The Patrons by their constitution could nc
{ admit mechanics. 1t was suggested that tn
: constitution be changed to meet this cast
: but on mature deliberaton it was concede
Q by both parties that it was better to hav
! two organizations. In meeting together, tn
J. farmers, coming from distance, would wan
to have the meetings in the afternoon, $
f they could get home to do the "chores." o
! the other hand the mechanics would want t
r meet in the evening, after their days worl
K Again, in the manufacturing villages tn
Q mechanics would be regular in their after
d dance, while the farmers, being scatteret
\ would not be 50 regular, and so would n,
L have their due portion of power in Il
8 grange. The result was the formation of ii
Il new order, with the understanding that Il
Q two societies should work hand in hand, an
= if some time in the future it was though
d best to merge them IN one, it could be don
n All persons engaged in industrial pu