Omaha daily bee., 1889-03-06
AN ASSOCIATION OF CRANKs.
Mr.. Yates Opinion of an Alleged
Farmers Alliance.

Farm' 'rS' AiilaHcc.
OMAHA Feb. 4-To the Editor of TIE
BEE: The following 1 clip from Sioux
City paper: "Representative Dorsey, of
Nebraska, presented II memorial in the house
to-day from the farmers alliance of his state,
stating that the present economic condition
of the state of Nebraska and the country
generally is anomOlous; inasmuch as, while
the production of wealth is unprecedented,
the condition of the producers of wealth is
not improving, but, on the contrary, retro
grading. While no period has witnessed
greater aggregate increase of wealth than
the last twenty years. at the same time the
farmers of our state are sinking deeper and
deeper into debt 1T is becoming hard to
find farm which is not mortgaged, tenant
farmers are rapidly increasing and
failures OF country merchants are
becoming more numerous day by day. A
conservative estimate places the amount of
farm mortgages in this state at $50, ,OO0 900,
which, at 7 per cent interest, takes SlO,5OO,-
0O0 annually out of the state. la addition to
this private indebtedness, there is Il corpo-
rate and municipal Indebtedness which is OF
appalling magnitude, and which causes
further exhaustive drain upon the energies
of our people. While the farmers of the
country are becoming involved in debt the ar
tisans and laborcrs are finding the conditions
of life harder. Meanwhile there are two
classes of men who seem above the reach OF
adverse financial misfortune, money lenders
and railroad owners. OF these the former
d
dented in the history OF the country"
Ought not our papers TO resent (such an in
famous libel upon the farmers of Nebraskat
Purporting to come from farmers ALL.
ance" and presented in congress as such by
n representative of this state, it is liable TO
do infinite damage. Personally have boon
OF a number claiming that the condition OF
the farmers of this state to be so prosperous
as TO deserve loans upon the most liberal
terms accorded by investors and the Equit-
ape Trust company, with which ! am con-
nected are now making loans throughout
the well-settled portion of the state on In
proved farms at the rate OF per cent per an
nun and u commission raising II 10 about
per cent interest net 10 the borrower, and no
loans are made ut a higher rate than per
cent If this statement is not falsehood
then we are misrepresenting the situation
and must either stop loanng or make tho
rate correspond 10 the desperate situation OF
the borrowers. l cannot but believe that
this "farmer alliance" is some association OF
cranks, III such an affair exists at all. ~
cannot possibly represent she true interests
of the farmers, aud am mystihed, as every.
one else must be, both at the existence OF
such document and the recognition ~ has
received ut the hands OF Mr.. Dorsey III II Is
true, or has even any solid founuation IN
fact, must say ! should like to know 1t
but hope 10 be aDle to "stick To the falth
that is III me-" that no better farming coun- /
try exists nor any more prosperous farmers
live than those we have in Nebraska. III am
wrong then they are, as a class, the greatest
perurers the world mas ever seen, as multi
tudes of affidavits on the files of our com
pany Will show.
think the subject must strike you as de
serving of some editorial notice.
IL. w. YATES.