Richland beacon., 1889-08-31
POLITICS IND THE FARMERS.

ne ALL f!ItIS Vi lut .ctstic SuCCcSsiuI an
aloLg the line in their fight against
presping aegregations Of capital in
the shape of bagging trust, sugar
trusts, cotton oil trusts. and any and
all agencies Of oppression. And there
il 10 newspaper in the State more
in accord with the farm
ing interest in their efforts by com
bination into unions and alliances to
better their conditiau than the BEA-
con, which has never wavered III its
advocacy Of every move in the direc
tion Vi greater prosperity and con-
ten,rnent for tie men who till the
soil.
We feel therefore that the BEACON
is il, a position to sound u note of
warning when its friends, the farmers,
are likely. in its Judgment, to 60
wrong. And We wish to say right
here that when lecturers of the
Union undertake to discuss purely
political and economic questions, and
stray from the path of agricultural
rectitude, it is time fol all well-wish-
ers of the farmers Of the State to
speak out in meeting and point ont
the quicksands upon which the farm
ers' ship is drifting.
In all things in which those who
cultivate the soil have a common
interest. 1t is proper, we think, for
farmers unions and alliances to
speak plainly and to the point All
who raise cotton are deeply concerned
in fighting the bagging trust, which
seels to rob them all for its own en-
ricbnent. They also have common
interest in fighting the cotton oil
trust when it endeavors to FIJI its
own pockets by putting its hands in
the pockets of the farmers. In these
cases, it will be observed, there can
be no honest difference of opinions
among farmers, or even lawyers, or
doctors, or merchants, or editors.
Everybody is agreed on the line of
policy pursued by the union and the
alliance.
But when the representatives of
the farmers-their lecturers and or
ganizers-go to outside matters on
which all agriculturists are agreed,
and discuss controversial issues, then
the downfall of all farming comblna-
tions is near at hand. Why is this SO?
Because, so far as their agricultural
interests are concerned every farmer
has an equal interest. What benefits
one, benefits all, and there can be no
division Of sentiment. But outside of
these purely farming matters, those
who cultivate the soil have interests
that widely vary. One may be bene-
fitted by having a law passed; his
neighbor may be ruined by the same
law. One farmer may be in favor of
doing away with fences entirely;
another may insist that it will hurt
HIM more than it will help. And so
with half a hundred other things.
There is no common interest in these
things, and farmers unions and al
liances ought to have nothing to do
with them.
These observations are brought out
by the statement Of a correspondent
of the Clinton Patriot Democrat on
the subject of recent address by
State Lecturer Guice, of the Farmers
Alliance. This gentleman,it is stated,
went over a wide range Of ground,
insisting among other things that
what his country needs is currency
not redeemable in coin, and therefore
not based upon gold and silver
standard. Now, right here, We think
the lecturer in question went out Of
his way to advocate a doctrine that,
in our judgement, ,oiH wreck every
farmer in America. No newspaper
that wishes well to the planting in
terest in Louisiana ought to sit idly
by and allow such uttrences, even by
a union or an alliance lecturer, to
pass unchallenged. The doctrine ad-
vocated by Mr.. Guice, is rernicious to
the last degree, and destructive of
evervbody's interests in this country.
AMI again, the Farmers Union at
its late session in Alexandria passed a
resolution urging the abolition of the
court of appeals. Now. the BEACON,
~ Is well known, strongly favors
such abolition. but we think it de-
cidedly uuwise for the Farmers Union,
As body. to take any such action.
There are some good men-many of