Morris tribune., 1886-03-24
WHAT is THE DIFFICULTY
Resume of an Address Delivered by L. j.
Schlattman Recently Before the
Germantown Alliance.

man who will tell us what it is, how
and what it is and then show us sure
way out of our difficulties, will be en-
titled to our eternal gratitude. One
man complains of the country itself,
claiming that nothing grows we'll,
that there Is too much winter and too
little summer and that the cold and
wind saps the marrow from the farm
ers and assisted by an empty pocket
book makes them as blue as disap-
pointed candidate after election.
Another says, it is monopoly that
grinds us. With reasonable industry
and thrift and by tilIing our farms as
they should be titled, we can produce.
fair crops of most anything. But af-
ter we have the crops comes the ques-
tion, of what benefit are they to us?
The elevator company takes one part,
the wheat buyer another, the railroad
company takes two parts and the ma
chine men and interest on mortgages
fight for the balance, leaving the farm
er nothing to live on but last years
rags and dunning letters (and man
having a good appetite for these need
never starve).
Another cries out over-production.
There are too many farmers, the sup
ply of agricultural products exceeds
the demand and we must enter other
lines of business to better our condi-
ton and throw off the load of monop-
oily. All! my friend, if the supply ex-
ceeds the demand, why is it that only
few weeks ago ten thousand of the
inhabitants of rich and powerful Lon
don had to petition the government
for bread? And these were not hab-
itual beggars, but skillful workmen.
If the supply exceeds the demand,
why is it that almost every paper has
its tale of starving humanity, of riots
and mobs caused by hungry mouths
clamoring for bread.
Others would give still other rea-
sons for our lack of prosperity. All
are partly right and partly wrong. To
the first I would say, if your farm
don't produce attribute it to laziness
or ignorance. A good cure for lazi-
ness (and one which is sure to follow
is starvation. AS cure for ignorance
would suggest such an organization
as we'll kept Alliance. To get the
full benefit of it, you must attend its
meetings regularly and learn all you
can and teach all you know. l don't
believe in the habitual loafe" who at
tends to everybody else's business and
neglects his own. I don't believe in
the man who attends every meeting
of whatever kind to the detriment OF
his farm, nor do I believe in the man
who would in these enlightened times
take his sickle and toll from early
morning till late at night in his wheat
field because he does not take the
time to learn that his neighbor is do
ing the same work, with infinitely
less time and labor by means of self
binder.
If your potato patch is not as pro-
life as your neighbours. don't glare at
him with face full of envy; but go
to him and ask him how he did it.
He will probably say, why, Mr.. SO
and so told me all about il at our last
Alliance meeting. Go with him to
the next one and talk the thing over,
and also find out how it came about
that your neighbor raised five bushels
of wheat more to the acre than you
did. Learn there all that your neigh
bors can teach you and as a recon-
pensatlon teach them. all you know.
Learn that whatever is worth doing
is worth doing well, and that a social
chat with you nelghbor is worth more
than hard days work of uninstruct-
ed labor.
Now as to the grinding mon0polies.
Is there no cure? What is monopo-
ly? It is combination of capital,
shrewdness and roguery formed for
the purpose of raking up the odd dol
lars of the million and gathering
them into the hands of few good for
-nothing millionaires. MIR. Schlatt-
man next showed the origin, gradual
growth and development of monopo-
lies and appealed to farmers to form
counter combinations and fight the
devil with his own fire. He then ad-
ded:
MoROpolies form combinations
have leaders and act as one man. But
the average farmer is satisfied to plod
his weary way alone, like lost sheep
in the wilderness, prey to every car
nivorous animal that comes along.
He is like the dog that will howl when
you pull his ears, but that seldom.
shows pluck enough to bite his tor
mentor. When some humbugger,
more audacious than the rest, fieeces
him exceptionally close, he will abuse
with more words than can be found
in Webster's dictionary and then 90
home and tell his neighbors how he
has fought monopoly.
Ii asked to join the Alliance, he
will laugh at you and say: "Out with
such child's play. 1t is only a polit-
ical scheme gotten up to give Mr.
an opportunity to show what he
knows and get into office" At best
he will do no more than say: "Go
ahead, boys. If you succeed, 1 will
join later on" To all such let me say
that dependence on others has
brought us to our present condition
and that we need your help and need
it a,oU, not after the battle has been
fought Ifone who has the welfare OF
MS fellow men at heart, and who
works zealously and consclentiously
fa i.