The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-02-02
THE 1REDELL FARMERS ASK
SOME QUESTIONS.

-aDOllGlOu VI tHe Internal reVeDue
The Farmers Club Of Eagle Mills
township, Iredell county, would he
glad if yourself or Mr.. R. H. Battle
who appointed e the committee Of
twenty-one would publish the names
and the number Of manufacturers Of
tobacco, cigars, farmers and distillers
on the committees! "t-'
it is asserted here that the commit.
tee is composed of lawyers and editors.
Yours respectfully,
JOHN w. CHAMBERLAIN, Sec'v.
Houstonville, n. c., Jan. %, 1888,
We clip the above letter from the
News and Observer of the 3lst ult. In
answer to the request of the Eagle
Mills farmers Club, and in. explana.
ton Of the ACTION therein referred to.
occurs some sentences which we opine
will NOT be satisfactory to the gentle.
wen who compose that club. The
News- and Observer says:
"The committee referred to was
appointed by. direction in order to
carry out the internal revenue plank.
of the party platform. 1t was chosen
with this end in view, and as a matter
of course and of propriety there were
were lawyers and editors upon it."
"The committee was appointed
under instructions for the express
purpose of urging the behests of the
Democratic party in the State with
respect to the odious internal revenue
system, and it was made up according
ly. Any other course would have
been absurd"
by aOhose "direction" and by
whose construction" was this done, is
a question which these gentlemen will
naturally ask. But they will doubt
less feel co~mplimented when told that
to have constituted this committee in
any other way "would have been ab-
surd." The News and Observer then
gives the anne of some excellent and
worthy gentlemen who were on the
committee and who represent large
"tobacco manufacturing sections of
the country, and says Though these
gentlemen labor under the ban our
friend has established of being
lawyers"
We entirely fail to see the slightest
ground in the letter of Mr.. Chamber
lain for the charge that he placed the
"lawyers" "under the ban" He
simply said that cit is asserted here
that the committee is composed Of
lawyers and editors" and he called for
the names "of the manufacturers of
tobacco, segars, farmers and distlllers
on the committee Does the Nevs
and Observer mean to say that to have
constituted the committee so as to
have embraced, manufacturers OF
tobacco, segars, farmers and distill-
ers" "would have been absurd I"
Does it mean to say that the simple
mention of the fact that a committee
was constituted Of zoOyers and editors
was placing the " lasoyers" under the
ban ? Why not the editors as we'll?
The PROGRESSIVE FARMER has no.
sympathy with that spirit which would
encourage class feeling or class preju-
dice among people. 1t is not only
subversive Of social order, but it IS
antagonistic to the spirit and genius
of our institutions and dangerous to
our liberties. We recognize the Dig
nifty and high character of the PROBES
sion of the law. We know that in all
history whenever and wherever Civil
liberty, called for friends or demanded
the sacrifice of martyrs, the lawyer
has been among its irmest and fore
most defenders. But we do know
that some of the legal brethren are a
little too sensitive. In this instance,
we think it was perfectly natural thai
in a matter in which the classes re-
ferred to in the letter of Mr.. Chamber
lain, were SO deeply and vitality interest
ed, they should have expected that they
would be represented in any body o. :
citizens whose mission was to remove