Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-04-18
.ATADDREss TO rAEl1rRs.

Ar ADDRESS 70 rAEnrzs. B,
Put Forth ~ ths oon,nnittee Appointed st
the Farmers Convention, recentiy held
In st. Faul. n 5s5ss
The committee appointed by the farmers
convention, held in ST Paul March Is, 10 and
20, have issued an address, which. after relat-
ang the evils of and oppressive burdens I'M
posed by corporations and monopolies, says:
Kings OF monopolies have secured favorable
legislation through bribery Of legislatures sub
sld1zed public press and unlawfully usurped
powers, until the industries Of agriculture, the
trades and commerce are made to contribute
their legitimate profits to corporate nonopolies,
beyond reason or justice. Railroads, endowed
by charter. with extraordinary privileges con-
stlucted for public good and duly compensa-
ted, have been and are being used as q means
Of outrageous oppression by Illegal assessment
OF unreasonable freight rates charged for the
transportation Of the products and com,aodi-
ties Of agriculture and other sitirnate indus
tries Of our country. Roads traversing the
great cereal districts Of Minnesota and Dakota
are especially censurable for exposing exorbi-
tant and oppressive freight rates. The officers
OF one of the said roads, in answer to specific
requests made by committee appointed by a
convention Of North Dakota, claim to have
made liberal concessions in the interest of the
people. OF the three specific concessions
claimed to have been granted, two are without
privilege to construct elevators Of Is, 900 bush.
els capacity; and secondly, claiming that the
road had reduced freight rates during last year
10 per cent less than the previous
year. In the first place, the roads unlawfully
usurped control over elevators by establishing
the present system, and therefore had no pow
er to do otherwise than abandon usurped con-
troll thereof. In the second place, concerning
the claimed reduction of 10 per cent on freights
by Redistribution of freight rates, weights
aud local rates. an average increase was made
~ claimed, instead Of reduction. OF the
we can only say Of them that their exorbitant
charges on products, lumber, fuel, machinery
. and merchandise have resulted in extraordinary
and unreasonable profits, which amounts to
this, that for every dollar paid to these cor
poratons, ~ to 81 cents goes into their treas
ury as profit Through the usurped, nnlaw-
ful control Of elevator capacity by railroads,
rich elevator companies have secured absolute
control of the wheat by driving independent
purchasers from the agricultural dis
tricts. These elevator companies as
;,,arP' ars OF oa the hMnneapos
powers by railroads and the latter corporations,
gigantic nlonopolies have been created with
power to control the wheat market Of the whole
Northwest These monopolies have exercised
these usurped powers and other dark practices
to an extent, which, for the year 1883, has re-
suited in corporate greed absorbing several
millions of dollars Oh the wheat crop of Min
nesota and Dakota, which should have gone
to the producers as their legitimate profits
These are the greatest evils Of which our pro-
ducers complain, but there are others which
are oppressive and unreasonable. In the mar
kets, the farmer finds authorizations and inlita-
tons of butter which. centralized capital has
forced upon it, and he must enter into lunous
competition with these counterfeit products
Actual settlers in the State of Minnesota and in
Dakota, are being taxed for the improvement of
untaxed railroad lands lavishly granted by
state and national governments. Railroad
corporations have been and are now conspir-
ing to restrict OF obsorb river and lake navlga-
ton petltionad for by the people of Minnesota
and Dakota, for the independent transportation
bf their products to other than the centralized
markets controlled by these and other monopo-
lies, Lumber rings aud monop6iies have
heretofore secured absolute control Of the pine
lands sold by the government, and are now
conspiring to defeat measure before the nat
tonal congress intended to give the inla bitants
OF our prairies cheaper lumber for the con-
structlon OF more comfortable habitations,
ganization of farmers, trades and co-industries
OF the country, rests their only hope for secur-
ing eqnal and just legislation for the produc-
ton of their several industries against the en-
croachments, tyranny and unlawful usurpa-
ton of monopolies which threaten them with
serfdom and slavery With the producers of
our country thoroughly banded together, stand
ing shoulder to shoulder in their demand for
equitable laws und their faithful execution, the
result must be grand victory over tyranny
and wrong. No man should receive the sup
port or vote OF amy person engaged in aSricul-
ture, the trades or commerce, who will not first
pledge his unqualified support and adherence
to to the the principle" Of our platform Neither
should any person receive the
support of these industries, for any office, vino
is not thoroughly and unqualifedly identified
with our interests. Any person who accepts
and travels on the free pass of any railroad or
transportation company while holding public
office OF position, places himself under obiga-
tons to such corporations in such manner as
to render independent action for the public
good Impossible, and should not be trusted as
our representatives. Farmers, we call upon
you to organize, attend your party caucuses,
send true men to your county and state con-
ventions who will see to it that true men, I'M
corrupted and incorruptlble, are nominated,
and then see to it that they are elected.