The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-06-23
THE ALLIANCE

The Farhers' Alliance which !,
said to have originated in Texass
about two Years ago, is attractinss
much attention. It now numhaSss
about 1000 alliances, with. a MENU
bership of $4,000. 1t is STRICTLY q
business OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
in principles. The main<6biect is ~
protect it's mepbers in sales of crouS
and in PURCHASE of supplies by sell,
ing direct to conApmers or manufs"
turers, thus savingXo themselves tho
heavy commissionsApaid to, divers
middlemen, and by purchasing in
bulk, thus saving the PfQtits hereto
fore paid to dealers wheMeach far
mer bought in small Quantities
Their motto is, "Keep out of debt
buy in bulk, and from first hands
and avoid the iron-clad MORTGAGE"
There is a bookful Of sense crammed
into these few lines, and every far
mer, whether he lives in Texas; or
anywhere else, should commit them
to mcmory. The farmer should,
when it is possible, avoid debt as he
would avoid fire. AS the result of
his labor is dependent to a great
extent upon conditions and contin-
gencies which he cannot control
he don't know whether he will be
able to meet his obligations when
they mature or not, and if adversity
come he is at the mercy of his cred
itor. He plows his fields, plants his
crops; the season may be favorable
to termination of seed or not. They
may grow off all right and promise
we'll, and then the bug, or fly, may
destroy Or too much rain bury them
in|grass, or too much sun parch them,
floods wash or winds destroy, so
that the farmer is never certain that
he is going to reap what he sows;
but the debt stares him in the face
whether he reap or not, and the i'm
placable creditor must be met. Ifit
is clinched with a mortgage and the
creditor insists, then ruin comes.
We have known farmers to contract
small debts that they thought they
could pay without trouble, which
took them years to pay, because of
In anticipated crop failures or low
prices. 1t is better, far better, to
pull along and go without son e
things that are bought Oh credit, feel
Independent, and feel that what you
raise, whether it be little or much, is
yours, and not somebody else's. "SeI
to manufacturers and consumers,
aud buy in bulk from first parties"
The planters and farmers Of the
South, as we'll as of the North, have
lost millions of dollars annually by
their shiftless, unbusiness-like way
of selling and buying. They have
no more to do with fixing the prices
of what they sell OF buy than they
do with regulating the phazes Of the
They helplessly let the buyer
and the seller do that for them, say
ing what they will give Or what they
will take. There is no more reason
why the planter or farmer should
not fix a price upon his cotton, to-
bacco, grain, beef or pork, than that
the buyer or seller should fix the
purchase price, and then also fix the
price when he sells back to the
planter Or farmer that same cotton,
and tobacco, in manufactured form,
or that same grain reduced to -four,
or that beef or pork, on all Of which
at both ends Of the trading process
the intermediate dealers must have
their profits-and they all get more
than the planter or farmer does.
That is the way they live, and while
the men Of the pillow continue to do
business in the old way, they must
continue to pay these profits, and be
content with little or no profits
themselves, Organizations like the
Alliance, and the Farmers
Clubs now being organized in this
State, are bringing these matters
prominently before the planters and
farmers of the South, and are point
ing the way out of the darkness into
the light, if the toilers in the field
will but stand together and work
together as men in other avocations
do.