Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1884-04-17
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Put Forth by the COMMITTEES Appointed at
the Farmers Convention, recently held
in 81. Paul.
The committee appointed by the farmers
convention, held in st Paul March is, 10 and
~, have issued an address, which. after relat-
ing the evils Of and oppressive burdens i'm
posed by corporations and monopolies. says:
'Kings Of m~onopolies have secured favorable
Legislation through bribery of legislatures. a sub
sidized public press and unlawfully usurped
powers, until the industries of agriculture. the
trades end are made to contribute
their legitimate profits to corporate monopolies.
beyond reason or justice. Railroads, endowed
by charter, with extraordinary privileges con-
structed for public good and duly compensa-
ted, have been and are being used az a means
of outrageous oppression by illegal assessment
of unreasonable freight rates charged for the
transportation OF the products and commodi-
ties OF agriculture and other legitimate indus
tries OF our country. Roads traversing the
great cereal districts Of Minnesota and Dakota
are especially censurable for exposing exorbi-
tant and oppressive freigks RATA The officers
of one of the said roads, in oil wer to specific
requests made by a committed appointed by q
convention of North Dakota8 claim TO have
made liberal concessions iii ca interest Of the
people. OF the three specific concessions
claimed to have been granted, two are without
foundation in fact, viz. The granting Of the
privilege to construct elevators Of 500 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
I,surped control over elevators by establishing
the present system, and therefore had no pow
err TODD otherwise than abandon usurped con-
troll thereof. In the second place. concerning
the claimed reduction OF 10 per cent. on freights
by u reclassiication OF freight rates, weights
and local rates, an average increase was made
as claime@ instead Of ~ asction, or the
We can On 1 ssg u f9 sEsm tbas esE F gs5lEaaas'
charges on products, lumber, fuel, machinery
and merchandise have resulted in extraordinary
and unreasonable profile, which amounts to
this, that, for every dollar paid to these cor
porations, 40t to 81 cents goes into their treas
ury as profit Through the usurped, unlaw-
full control Of elevator capacity by railroads,
rich elevator companies have secured absolute
control of the wheat by dri-iDg independent
purchasers from the agricultural dis
sricts. ns These elevator f. companies 'nes,not a.
Millers' association, and through these usurped
powers by railroads and the latter corporations,
gigantic monopolies 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 on the wheat crop Of Min
nesota and Dakota, which should haye 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 imita-
tions of butter which centralized capital has
forced upon it, and he muss entar11to runious
competition with these counterfeit products.
Actual settlers in the State OF Minneccta and In
Dakota, are being tsxedTo the improvementof
untaxed railroad lands layishly granted by
state and national governments. Railroad
corporations have been and are now conspir-
ing to restrict or obsorb river and lake naviga-
tor petitioned for by the people OF Minnesota
and Dakota, for the independent transportation
of their products to other than the centralized
markets controlled by these and other monopo-
lies. Lumber rings aud ~Inonopolies have
heretofore secured absolute control OF the pine
lands sold by the government, and are now
conspiring to defeat a measure before the nat
tional congress intended to give the inhabitants
of our prairies cheaper lumber for the con-
struction of more comfortable habitations,
IA the thorough, systematic or
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 dsurpa-
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 and their faithful execute on, the
result Esast be q grand victory over tyranny
and wrong. No man shonld receive the sup
port or vote Of any person engagedin agricul-
lure, the trades or commerce, who will not flrst
pledge his unqualified support and adherence
to the principles Of our platform. Neither
saould any person sScS;~s tho
support of these industries, for any Office, who
lsaot thoroughly and unqualihedly identified
with our interests. Any person who accepts
and travels on the free pass of any railroad or
TRANSPORTATION company while holding public
nace or position, places himself under obliga-
lions To such corporations in such manner as
h render independent action for the public
| good impossible, and should not be trusted as
0,r representatives. Farmers, We call upon
you to Organize, attend .s0ur party caucuses,
| lend true men to your county and state con-
~rentions who will see TO 1t that trane men, un-
corrupted and incompatible, are nominated,
md then sec to it thgt they are elected
i
There are now before the house, bills for
he erectien Of public buildings IN dliferent
Darts of the country calling for appropriations
hat reach an aggregate OF $8,5U0,O00. MIR.
stoaLslagar If the ec:amittee IN nnhlie bnild
ncs and grounds, viii ask the
6ouse that three days be set apart for tho con-
.;aeratiou of these bills The buildings called
for m Western cities are at Ipunc BLUFFS,
Iowa. sl00, 600; Keokuk, Iowa. la9,oO La
I,rosse wis. $4,000; q public building at
nnlnth and Winona. Mimi, 100000 each; ~