Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1889-09-05

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therefore organize and stop the mer-
chants giving credit. In the Alli-
ance you know every man i; you
know what he needs and whathe is
worth. Let him have through your
exchange just what he can live on.
Treat all alike, rich and poor learned
and ignorant. "Equal rights to all,
special fayors to none.n 6
In Texas the sub-Alliance appoints
an executive committee of three
men. No note is taken without
good security. The notes and Sc
curities are given to these threo mon
jointly. They go to the bank with
these notes and securities and on
them draw the money to run the
Alliance during the year. The mon
ey is paid out to the members month
ly. Thus the poorest farmer gets
his money at reasonable rate of in
terest MS we'll as the richest, and he
can buy just as much with his dollar
as his wealthy neighbor. He pays
no ruinous time prices. You see
we are working to get out Of debt |;
working to get the world by the tail
and a down hill pull. We take an
obligation to buy nothing on time
and stick to it.
"I'll not sell you any goods" said
the merchant at first to the commit
tee, "and when fall comes, you'll
see, - you'll be busted."'
But we amt busted yet.
Two years ago we made an Alli-
ance platform and put our cotton on
it in blocks of thousand bales. The
cotton buyers came, and they were
glad to come. We got our own
class regulation. There was no cut
ting of our bales three times by the
street buyers. We guarantee every
bale to stand the test of our class
regulation. Should bale be falsely
packed the guilty member would be
searched out and expelled from the
Alliance. And we have our first
reclamation OH any Of this cotton
yet to pay.
You drive into town now with
your cotton; the street buyer mounts
your wagon and he cuts up this side
and down that, just slashing away,
never less than three times, until
your cotton is well nigh naked. He
rams his hand away in and out
comes pound or two. This is re-
pcated the customary three times,
and then the poorest sample is Sc
lccted by which the grade of your
cotton is determined. Suppose one
of you drive to market with your
cotton, the street-buyer comes up,
and you say to him, "Sir, you can't
cut my cotton" He looks at you
with o sardonic grin, and says, "You
poor fool, you can't help yourself"
But tell you, if every farmer said
tho same, wouldn't he be the lone
soonest cotton buyer you ever SAW
Now l am not down on the street
buyer; | am only down on this in
fernal custom. Never allow the
street buyer to cut and buy your
cotton. Organize, bulk your cotton,
sell it in lots of five hundred or a
thousand bales, and you will be
treated with respect. You will get
your own class regulations and bet
ter prices. And you will do away
with so many of these street buyers.
Perhaps they will 60 to farming, and
if they should want to come out and
help us dig, don't you object. They
are good fellows, and if they dig
dirt like they can dig into your cot
ton bales, they will make the dirt
fly.
The Alliance does not attempt to
bind man politically nor rchgiously
I care not whether he be Republi-
can or Democrat, believes the devil
has forked tongue or not, just so he
acts with you in all your wants.
At this time the farmer pays
higher prices than he should. Take
our domestics, which sell at four
cents at the factory. The jobbcr
puts on one cent. The retail NOR
chant then puts on his proft-the
Lord only knows what, l don't. You
may know at the day of Judgment
not before.
The retailer can't keep one price.
a good man will got fair price If
you have large farm he is glad to
get your trade, and will give you
rock bottom prices; but if your col
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