The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-09-05
In Regard to Alliance Duties.

In Regard to Alliance Duties.
The real, underlying principle o
the alliance is cooperation in tn,
transaction OF business. Ever sine,
a city has been built the exchangers
have transacted all the business io1
the producer. The exchanger has
made the money, made the exchange
and made the profits.
The new civilization introduces ar
entirely new principle. It is not new
in invention-but it is new in adop
ton by farmers through organiza
ton.
The exchanger has become so nu
merous, so wealthy, SO grasping, that
we behold not a hundred farmers tC
one exchanger-but two farmers to
one exchanger.
Among the most powerful of ex
change classes, among town people
has been the Insurance organization
The great masses of toilers little
dream OF the enormous wealth oil
these companies. Insurance has be.
come a necessity. Every we'll bal.
anced, judicious, foresighted man is
insured, in both life and property
And upon this necessity corporations
have lived and grown bloated with
accumulated millions.
So wonderful have been the profits
OF insurance that almost every class
of people, guild, society, order and
occupation have organized compan-
les within themselves to furnish
each other insurance without such
immense profits.
The farmers have done so within a
very recent period-since the alliance
has come into definite action.
There is now life insurance COM
pany among the farmers, which as
sessed each member of band of a
thousand, in case of death, to pay a
thousand dollars to the widow, chill
dren, or other beneficiary, in case OF
death of the insured. To make sure
payment the assessment" is always
made in advance that is, every
assessment (of from 1 to $2), at the
time of a death, is collected for the
next death.
These associations have been in ex-
istence for many years. Some Of
them are hundreds Of years old,
among business men. They rarely,
if ever fail. There is no accumula-
ton of money. There are no salaries.
There are commissions to agents,
and printing, and small clerk hire,
and usually a small reserve fund.
There is no department of business
urged upon the farmer more earnest
ly than this, by the entire alliance.
1t is business % it is righteous, it is
ioresighted, it is home love crystal
lied into reality. The farmer has
been too long separated from himself
his kin, his neighbors. They have
too long been dependent upon others
for these business relations. The
publishers of this paper have been
urged to take hold of this work-to
band the farmer together in self
protective association. The great,
grand, central idea is that ''busi-
ness" association of this character
will benefit them vastly more than the
merely social tie OF an alliance.
We have therefore taken up this
work, fully convinced that it is need
it is good-that it will de-
velop fraternity and strength. You
have seen the large advertisement
of the Aid Association. Our agents
have the blanks.
So earnestly anxious are we to
have the farmers thus unite that we
state, unreservedly, that these ad-
vertisements and circulars do not
cost the Aid Association one dollar.
The small commission will pay all
the expenses OF the business, but if
we can get the farmers to become
GOLF inc11rorc Uo cbo11 ho~vo ibid n
worthy cause. Ii you have an Aid
Association Agent in your section,
go to him and investigate, and then
join the Association. 1t will enable
you to sleep better and work more
cheerfully.