The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1888-07-19
The Farmers Alliance and the Mississip.
pi Mills.
Wesson. Miss. July II, 1855.

my having discharged some of my
employees. The communication reads
as follows:
"Heauregard Miss, July 9.-[Spe-
cial. l-Consideratle excitement and
great Indignation is manifest in our
community at the action Of Captain
Oliver, of the Mississippi Mills, in
discharging today from his employ a
number of people who were members
of the Farmers Alliance of Beaure-
gard, who do their trading at the
Alliance store in this place. Cap,
tain Oliver stated that any II could
join the Farmers Alliance that wan.
ted to, but he don't want them tc
work for him and don't intend they
shall.
"This was a direct blow at the Al,
lance, and as it has ouer l0n mem.
bers resident at WessOn, a majority
of whom are workers for their daily
bread, it will work great hardship on
most of them.
"Ihe Alliance ls ordered to assem-,
bic on Tuesday evening and there i,
no telling where the war will stop
as Oliver has thrown out his cOlors
with wal to the knife. This may
have a tendency to bring down prices
to a living percentage among com,
peting merchants, and give the far,
mers and laborers some of the realiz.
ed reductions.
''The origin Of the wholesale dis.
charging business it seems was be.
cause the Alliance store here, man.
aged 10y Will J. Biggs, is under writ,
ten contract with number of Ali,
ances, aggregating membership oI
about 500 farmer and laborers, tc
furnish goods at first cost with s pei
cent. for cash trade. The trade was
growing fast, and it being the cheap
est store quite q number of opera.
tlves Joined the Alliance and they
moved their trade here, which cause
quietly brought down the odium OF
Ca"taIn Oliver and the merchants."
| would not notice this colnmuica-
ton at ali if it were not intended to
lnjure the Mississippi Mills with the
Farmers Alliance abroad, with
whom We are on good terms, and we
beg a small space for an explanation.
The Mississippi Mills employ now
about 1000 men, women and children,
about 500 Of them working inside the
mills. We believe we pay Il EN-
pi0yes as good or better wages than
any other manufacturing establish
ment Of a similar kind in the United
states, and since the labor trouble
two years ago all has gone on harmo-
niously. We have now a population
of about 1900 and are building a new
mill which will about double our ca
Pacl'y ana increase our operatives to
about 1900 and our population to five
or six thousand, The mills buy all
''elr ra" materisI-cot'on ana WOO!
-"'Fe'l from inr '"r'""r"' paying
"'E'''N' P''''S' ana nave u" i1Hht I"
l
'i'"N' VII" '"' "Ii'tr7 Niiia1ce'
an" o. ~ 'H!'''' J" 't' "fNahiHa-
lI"h' nut our people mere are not far
hlef7' Tue! are employees "I Il manu-
'a'tiflhS e"taoilShliPht In 0rderto
WORK successfully employer II en-
p'"!e' must De on g"ou terms, ana
more particularly IL ihls the case in
large ihlI'N IKE ours Il mills own
II greater part OF Tie town OF Nes-
son IN ""l'h the hlIIs are located
an" we nave III our town ten OF
'"eINea7 So0i feiiao!e merchants
- can We I""hH any 'o"li OF it,
-'@e III Ihe N'ate'
II 10" u 81 b~'a4fegard, AS you see
from me Telegram at the head OF tins
afticl'' mas ID II what they clam tc
Ne " FARMERS Al'iahce' @hG they
nave induced quite a number OF oul
employees 10 J"lh thelli, as thelr teIe'
gram sets tor'h' 10 hulId up the mer
'hlltlle business OF one w. }. Biggs
ABOUT d nan d"1eh OF our employees
were very ac'lVe III trying 10 per
7|aue "'her5 10 Joih' ana II really be
Hailea laoor organization, or was on
NJ h'aufesar" from 'le START ah'
the Sala Alliance simply TOOK then
III uil"ef thelF wing lie "hoie 90
Jec' was 'o ii,j'IFe 'he trade OF IVES