The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-08-05
Politicians and Farmers.
BY Worthy Master H. Eshbaugh, of the
Missouri State Grange.


shady grove, school-house, corner-groce-
ry, or, maybe, whiskey shop, to advance
the political aspirations of partisan wire
workers. Here this partisan office seeker,
who is willing to sacrifice himself, If need j
| be, on the political altar for his own good,
will tell you of all of the evils and errors
existing in every political party except his
own; how the. farmers are imposed upon
by other parties, corporations, monopo-
lies and kindred combinations; how they
are over-taxed and over burdened with
| injustice and oppression, that has kindled
/ within him deep sympathy for the dear
| people, and especially for the farmers. o,
how every pulsation of his sympathetic
| hearts beat in perfect unison with the
Oranges, and how his very soul longs and
| his political heart bleeds for relief and JUS
| tice to the farmers. After this farce is
enacted then comes the taffy, in kind of
sensational play that the farmers, and par
| ticularly the Changers, are little the best
| people on earth, that they are always
quiet as they should be; always honest, as
| they are obliged.to be; very economical
| and industrious as they must be in order
| to pay the taxes and exactions and have
| still enough left to live on; and, lastly,
| that the farmers are the solid men of the
| country and always stick close to party,
L
now will remove the errors complained
of and bring the relief desired. Then oc-
| ours the election, if successful, he cares
| but little about the farmer or his interest.
| Present errors remain undisturbed, with
| new additions added; the warm sympathy
| entertained before the election for the
! farmers cools with the close and soon
| gets down to freezing point, if not to zero.
| This is not only the practice of the
| smaller politicians, but it is more or less
indulged in by better class-sometimes
even by those who claims to craftsmanship;
and, just as long as farmers of all parties
| are willing to be duped in this way, these
things will continue. Office-seekers are
not to blame to use the very bait that far
mers bite at the most readily.
We will give case in point to illus
| trate the course pursued by some of the
politicians of the present date. Mr.. De
Pew, of New York, a noted lawyer, who
stands high in his profession, is the at
| torney of the Vanderbilt railroad corpora
| ton, and is a prominent politician. He
| makes his political speeches in this same
style during every election campaign, and
| less than two years ago was prominent
candidate for United States Senator
with promising hope at one time of sue
cess, although finally defeated, and at that
time both he and his friends sought farm
ers' votes. In arguing the railroad inter
est before a legislative committee the
same year against legislation in the inter
esI' rights, he said the trouble with the
farmers was that they were too extrava
giant in not living in their frugal old
fashioned way, that they were now send
ing their sons to colleges, and buying silk
dresses and pianos for their daughters,
and that they-the farmers-were trying
to get these at the expense of the railroads.
What contrast between the pretensions
and speeches ofthese men when the farm
ers' votes are wanted and when the cor
porations employ them to carry some
dirty and oppressive measure!
A very few when compared with the
large number of the sons on the
farms get to colleges, and how insignifi-
cantly small when compared with the
number of daughters on the farms is the
the number that get silk dresses or pianos.
The farmers produce over seventy per
cent. of the wealth of the country, and if
they got but 70 per cent. of what honestly
belongs to them, they then might be able
to educate 10 per cent. of the sons of the
farm in agricultural colleges, and may buy
silk dresses and pianos for their daughters.
AS it is they cannot, for the reason that
legislation passed by their pretended
friends takes the profits that belong to the
farmers sby legal and moral rights and
gives it to manipulators and corporations.
Wereit not for the farmers, tricksters would
not get into the legislature, neither would
Mr.. DePew have any education, or Mr.
, Vanderbilt a railroad. The facts are
these. men by their acts show that all the
sympathy they have for the farmers and
all they care for his Interest is, that he
| L j. L
produces largely to add to the wealth Of
the country, which is to be distributed
between the Office holder and the mon
eyed corporations.
If they legislate to leave him simply
enough for his family to live upon provi
ding they exercise due economy, they
imagine they have really dealt very gen.
erously with them, and in return every
farmer should be ready to obey the po
litical behests Of these self-chosen leaders
/ Farmers know these things to be SO
and that we are drifting from bad tc
worse; they know that within the mex
four months they will have to select Rep
: resentatives and Senators to the STATE
, Legislature, and Representatives to the
5 United States Congress. These places
in large number of cases, will be sough
! after by lawyers and professional politi
!, clans, and they know equally as well tina
! they have no hope or relief nor no expec
3 tations of any change for the better By
| filling our legislative halls with the sam,
4 class of men we have been accustomed tt
select. Then why select them again
Why not select men to represent you il
4 the State Legislature and in Congress
= from among your own claes, select farm
: ers to represent you: try that, it can no
be any worse, and we have great reason
to believe that it would be much better
. Political aspirants, as m after of course
I will advise you to the contrary, they vii
e not like it. and will not take kindly to tn
n idea of sending farmers to the Legislatur
q and will grumble and find much fault
}, that course is pursued, but it is no wors
for them to find fault and grumble than
{, is for you, for Just as sure as you cleo
0 them you will soon find fault and grumbl
o worse for sending them than they will TO
4 being left at home.
The real facts are evidently plain 4
:, every farmer who has at all posted him
;! self; and it has been taught us SO emphat
e ically and so repeatedly that we have n
It reason TO hope for anything better unit
!. the agricultural interest is properly rep
! resented in the legislative. Departmental
. the country. 1t matters but little wha
G political party you select for either Stat
or National legislators, only that you sc
e lect from your own class honest men c
d ability and integrity, men that can not
y sweryed from duty by threats nor brides
J men who have sufficient intellect to knol
3 your true condition and how to deal justl
o with all interests, and manhood enoug
IS to dare to do right. The farmers can d
e this, and if they do not, if they perm
themselves to be again misled and elect, q
they have done in the past, those VIII
q seek the Office only for what money ther
9 is in it, then they should forever cease tn
l. cry of hard times, high taxes, high trans