The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-10-04
A PROCLAMATION.
The Earth Wiped Up With the
Dallas Mercury.
The Paper No Longer the Official
Organ of the Farmers AL
lance - Ringing
Document.

Whereas, The Farmers State Alliance
did, at its regular session in the city of
Dallas, in August, 1888, pass a resolution
by a vote of 123 to ~, abolishing the
printing board and placing the official
organ in the hands of the president, vice
president and executive committee of the
said State Alliance; and,
Whereas, The committee has, in pur
suance of the authority thus vested, made
an effort to comply with the mandates of
the State Alliance, and has, by those in
possession of the said Mercury, been de-
MED access to the books and possessions
of the Office, and the authority of the State
Alliance over the board denied, and the
above committee defied in every particu-
lar; now,
Therefore, We the undersigned do by the
authority in us vested by the official posi-
tion that we severally hold in the Farmers
State Alliance, issue this our official proc
lamation to the membership of the
Farmers Alliance throughout the who,e
state of Texas, and order that the same
the state, declaring the following to be
the ne status of affairs as they now exist:
First-The Mercury in August, 1887,
prior to the meeting of the State Alliance,
was in the possession of the Southern
Mercury Publishing company, they having
bought same from E. G. Rust and being
| indebted to him for balance on the pur-
chase of the plant as evidenced by several
promissory notes made by said corporation
in favor of the said Rust. At the August
meeting in 1887 said Southern Mercury
Publishing company corporation rendered
said paper and plant to the Farmers
State Alliance of Texas, to be owned and
run alone by that body on the condition
that the State Alliance would accept same,
take the management and control as its
official organ and pay the Indebtedness
outstanding against it. This was ac-
cepted by tbs State Alliance and print
ing board appointed by the president and
a law passed giving the president of the
State Alliance full power to dismiss the
members of the printing board at any
time. This printing board Of nine
elected from their body three members
as an executive committee, to whom they
gave full control of the business. Certain
members of the board discounted, with
their own money, the Indebtedness to Mr..
Rust, then authorized one member of the
board to make promissory notes of the
| State Alliance to themselves to GOV or this
indebtedness. They now claim that they
afterwards made a contract with them
selves that they should remain in posses
sion of the plant until the notes we're
paid, and that now the next notes falling
due are in April next. No such contract
was ever submitted to the State A lliance
or to the executive officers of the State
Alliance for ratification and approval,
and we have called upon them to show the
contract they claim to have made with
themselves, perpetuating their own
possession in defiance of the State ALI
ance, and they refused to show the docu-
ment; hence, we consider it fair, therefore,
to conclude that they have no such
| document.
Second-Those in possession of the
Mercury claim that their report to the
State Alliance only extended to June 80,
and that the business not having been as
prosperous since that date, has consider
able more indsbtness than was ther re
ported.
We have offered and agreed to pay them
every dollar paid out in behalf of the
Mercury, and to further pay all outstand-
ing indebtedness against it, and that we
would not wait until the April notes we're
due to make such payments, but would
make them imme diately upon the presenta.
ton of a showing that the trust reposed in
them in managing and conducting the
Mercury had been faithfully discharged
that is to say, we have offered that just as
soon as they will make a showing that
none of the funds have been
Incorporated, and turn over
avnrUthiDn
intrusted to them. We are willing to pay
no right to place four or five thousand dol
lars more of the peoples money In their
hands until they have accounted for that
already received. We must have a full
Investigation of the books and complete
statement of the business. This they
positively deny US without forcing from
us in advance money to cover the notes
due in April next.
Third-Since they paid the money for
the paper as a matter of their own choice,
and without the knowledge and consent of
the State Alliance, or its executive officers,
authorizing themselves by means Of their
official position to do so, and
themselves made the notes to themselves
and contracted with themselves, if they
have such contract, to remain themselves
in possession almost indefinitely it raises
a doubt as to their ever having had an in
tention of conveying said plant to the
State Alliance at all, and, to say the least,
shows the whole business to be such a
family affair that we can In no wise be
justified in paying the peoples money
into it without thorough examination in
every particular.
Fourth-We deprecate in strong terms
this forcible resistance of the lawful
authority of the order expressly delegated
to US by the State Alliance, holding same
to be an unjustifabe contempt of the
whole order, and should be resented as al
insult by every member of the order
throughout the state.
Fifth-We deprecate and deplore the
cowardice exhibited by the tenor of nu-
merous articles in the last three issues OF
the paper, and in this connection, we
hereby officially assert that @. w. Macune
has always held every book, paper, con.
tract, agreement or other information in
regard to the Exchange entirely at our
disposal that he has always been willing
to assist us in knowing the exact truth in
regard to everything pertaining to the
business; that we have never had occasion
to suspect him of the least shadow in any
particular in regard to any of his trans