The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-09-19
THE ALLIANCE UNVEILED.

Tie Secrets Of the Order Made known to
the uninitiated-The Experience of a
New Member.
Eiberton, Ga, Star
Ever since the Farmers Alliance
movement was inaugurated, the un-
initiated and Ineligible public has been
racked with curiosity to learn the Sc
crets Of the order and their mode of
2 breaking in new members. Somehow
our Alliance friends have guarded their
secrets with unusual vigilance, but it is
left to the Star to tear away the veil of
mystery that has surrounded this high
and noble order, and lay before our
inquisitive readers information never
before published in any other news
papers. We have for months kept our
best reporters ,ooe1tfeee. alert, and en-
ploves,tuf ufsv--n varv--n thS ~c-------z-<-..;ntar-
% eSsu-1he most experienced I'll va
Viewers to unfathom the secrets of the
,oslsiassszsases but without avail until last
week, when, the Star editor
discovered the eaaliy guarded Sc
crets.
Itwas our good fortune, during re-
cent trip to Oglethorpe county, to spend,
near the hospitable village of Crawford,
night with friend who had just gone
& through the trying ordeal that sepa-
rates the outside world from the Far
/ mers' Alliance. The friend, whom we
shall designate as McKeever, we found
the most battered wreck of humanity
we have ever met, while his usually
& handsome face wore al abject look of
terror, misery and despair. We found
McKeever in sad need of sympathy,
and by pouring few vials of pity and
consolation on his head, succeeded in
extracting from him the following his
tory of his woes-but after we had
applied the cork-serew of professional
interviewer, and sworn, on a pile of
patent Office reports as high sour
head, that we would never divulge the
Z information that he gave US.
You see before you, explained Nc
Keever, a newly-made, but only half
fedged Farmers Allianceman. You
know that during my checkered career
Ihave been regular jiner, and eagerly
went into every secret organization
that came along. T have ridden the
Masonic goat, climed the creased pole
OF the Odd Fellows, been thrown down
& the Knights of Honor stairsteps and
fell sprawling over the fences built in
my path by the Grangers, and actually
took drink. of water when joined
the Good Templars; but these initiating
programmes were as downy beds of
ease compared with the trying ordeal
saStsRhich I passed yesterday at
The hands of the Farmers Alliance. I
had formed an idea that as soon as I
Joined the Alliance the mortgage
against my farm, stock and crop would
moulder into ashes, while that old
long-standing store account would dis
appear froru the face of the books; that
would have the privilege of fixing
my own prices on goods, and force the
merchant to pay me twenty cents
pound for cotton. So made up my
mind to join the Alliance, and yester-
day, donning my Sunday-go-to-meet-
8 ing clothes, repaired to the school house,
where the order met, and sent in my
application by neighbor who was
3 charter member. In due season the
giad-tidings were conveyed to me that
I had been balloted for and accepted,
and boiling over with eager gratifica-
tion, followed by my conductor into the
wood-room adjoining the main build
ing. Here my guard made our presence
known by picking up section of fence
: railand rapping three times on the door.
This gentle signal was answered by
three raps from within and the query:
"Who comes there?"
"a horny-handed son Of toll, cropping
in darkness, and anxious to have the
] light of the Alliance shed upon him."
replied my guide.
s:Break down the barricade that
/. stands between Brother Farmer and
light, and admit the applicant spoke
sonorous voice from withiE
Just at this instant tbg
which had been rensgzzd from its
hinges, wss kickedo over, and striking
- up Of the head, raised this
ou see here. I thought it was an
nt at that time, and so made up
mind to grin and bear the pain.
70 stout men stepped forth and
ntly seizing me by the arm, was
led into the middle of the. main
| saw that the house was pretty
filed with spectators. Sitting Oh
of q cotton bale was the Grand
egul of the order, as I afterwards
rnl a. l.: