Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1889-09-12
Hence Secrets .s g tll:sss T;.et
Reyealeds-.lIoW the Members are In
Nh itiatel[ s i W

~ OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES sSuo otuVts'U0AS W0 ~
q ltiatedI
s Eyer since the Farmers Alliance
movement was inaugurated, tho I'M
Initiated and Ineligible public has
been racked with curiosity to learn
4 the secrets of the order and their
mode Of breaking iii new members,
somehow our Alliance friends have
guarded their secrets with unusual
vigilance, but it is left to the Str to
tear away the veil of mystery that
has surrounded this high and noble
order, and lay before our inqmsitiyo
readers information never before
published i'll any other newspaper
\ We have for months kept our best
reporters on the alert, and employed
tho most experienced intcrvicwcrs to
&unfathom the secrets of the Alliance,
! but without avail until last week,
when, by chance, the star editor
< discovered the carefully guarded Sc
! crets.
# 1t was our good fortune, during a
recent trip to Oglethorpc county, to
spend, near the hospitablc village Of
Crawford, a night with friend who
had just gone through the trying or
deal that separates the outside world
from the Farmers Alliance. The
friend, whom VIC shall designate as
!. .McKecvcr, VIC found the most bat
+ tcrcd wreck of humanity we have
ever met, while his usually hand
somc face wore an abjcct look Of
terror, misery and despair. We
9 found McKccvcr in sad need of SYM
pathy, and by pouring a few walls of
pity and consolation on his head,
succeeded in extracting from him
the following history of his woes
but after we had applied the cork
screw of professional interviewer,
5 and sworn, on pile Of patent office
reports as high as our head, that We
would never divulgc the information
that he gave us.
4 You sec before you, explained
McKcevcr, a ncwly-madc, but only
half-nedgcd Farmers Allimccman.
You know that during my chcckcrcd
career | have been regular iincr,
end eagerly went into every secret
organization that came along.
have ridden the Masonic goat, climcd
the creased pole of tho Odd Fellows,
been thrown down The Knights OF
Honor stairstcps and fell sprawling
over the fences built in my path by
the Changers, and actually took a
drink of water when | joined the
Good Tcmplars but these initiating
programmes were as downy beds Of
ease compared with the trying or.
deal through which | passed ycstcr,
day at the hands of the Farmers
Alliance. had formed an idea that
z as soon as | joined the Alliance tho
mortgage against my farm, stock
and crop would mouldcr into ashes
while that old long standing store
account would disappear from tho
face Of tho books; that | would have
tho privilege of fixing my own prices
OH goods, and force the merchant tc
pay me twenty cents n pound iol
cotton. SO | made up my mind tc
join the Alliance, and yesterday
donning my Sunday go-to-mcctine
clothes, repaired to the school house
where the order met, and sent in my
application by a ncighbor who was ;
charter member. In due season tn,
glad tidings were conveyed to mt
that / had been balIotcd for and ac
ceptcd, and boiling over with cage
qualification, followed by my conduc
tor into the wood-room adioinin!
the main building. Here my euar'
made our presence known by pickin:
up section of fence rail and rap
ping three times on the door. Thi
gentle signal was answered by three
raps from within and the query:
"Who comes thcrc?'
ga horny-handcd son of toll, crop
ing in darkness, and anxious to hay
the light of the Alliance shed upo1
him." replied my guide.
"Brcak down the barrcadc tina
stands between n Brother Farmc
i and light, and admit the applicant,
spoke q sonorous voice from within
IS Just at this instant the old doc,
which had been removed from it
hinges, was kicked over, and strik
ing me on top Of the head, raise,
this lump you see here. though
it was an accident ut that time, an,
so made up my mind to grin am
bear the pain.
Two stout men stepped forth an,
-vinlnnf1v cnivipf, mo h,, III, or,,,