The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-03-11
WHO ARE COMPETENT LEGIS-
LATORS7
BY DIR. JOHN F. FoARD.

1 $3.50. 4NOSUAOA 40 JAS1 III" VI NAUoL
importance to the millions of wage
learners and the greatly robbed and
oppressed borrowers of money of these
Estates since the war. The financial
Epanic which was inaugurated fifteen
Eyears ago by money sharks and their
hired servants is child of Satan, and
kcreated for the selfish purpose of rob
bing the majority to enrich the few
/ by class legislation Of the basest kind.
EThe National Banking system was the
first step, and the mother of many
subsequent national swindles The
bonded debt, contraction of the cur
rency, demonetizing silver, the many
railway swindles, and others too
numerous to mention, are the legiti
mate fruits of such wicked parentage,
the great harlot of the United States
Congress. Those acts of legalized
robbery were reduced to system and
perpetuated, and designed to run I'D
IN tf'aSt1tn, by unPrincipaled politicians S
and their employers to create millioa-
aires by the hundred, and paupers ~
the million. Their nefarious work
was well executed; for, in less than
ten years the fin anciat machinery of
the nation was in a wrecked condition.
| Thousands of millions of dollars worth
of property changed hands at ruinous
prices as fast as mortgages matured.
Tens of thousands of once active, sue
cessful and useful business men were
thrown out of employment, their
homes bought in by mortgages at less
| than half their cost and real value,
their helpless, innocent and needy
wives and children were made to ex.
change comfortable and luxurious
homes for hired homes of very in
ferior quality, to live as surfs or die
pre- maturely from over-work and
want-while many of their fathers
and husbands died without disease,
others we're carried off by diseases
contrac2Sd from undue exposure and
suffering before unknown to them,
and many others became inmates of
asylums and almshouses or lett un-
honored and unwept to drag out a
miserable existence in a cold, heartless
world, (thus created) by the inevitable
scramble for filthy lucre which natur-
ally followed in the wake of such
wicked legislation.
Who will be held responsible for all
these dire calsmities? Who can at
tone for them7 The oppressed mil
lions, of whose sufferings no human
mind can conceive are now calling for
relief
How can relief be had? Not by
continuing to elect the kind of men
to Congress and State legislatures as
a majority have been since the war.
Men who belong to or are in sympathy
with the present system of money
lending, corporations, monopolies,
trusts and rings, their agents or at
torneys are not to be trusted. If they
promise relief, it will never come.
Men of true courage and honest hearts
who fear no party lashes, who cannot
be bought by corruption, bulldozed
by black-guards, duped by tricksters
or frightened by ostracizing political
ring masters of any party are the only
men from whose legislation relief can
be had There are many wicked laws
to be repealed in every State and
Congress, and others to be enacted for
the relief of a majority of the free
men, women and children in this great
nation or utter ruin is to be the result.
Burnt children should be afraid of
fire Our past sufferings and present
troubles are quite enough to alarm
the most confdeing; and to remain In
a passive state is to have the irons OF
servitude visited per rnanently on the
limbs of unnumbered millions OF the
present and future generations of
American citizens. The rule has been
for the quiet, peaceful, hardworking
tiIlers of the soil and those mostly in
terested In its management, to allow
court house rings and their friends to
bring out candidates to fill all
offices of county, State and general
government, and then apply party
lashes to whip into obedient servitude
all who are needed to elect their man
or read out of party lines such as may
demur from their self appointed guar
dians Of the peoples rights, Office
seekers are not the men now needed
to undo the mischief of the past. The
Office should seek the man instead of
the man the Office. Both Church aud
State are now cursed by self-appointed
ofic ais OR those placed in power by
unholy combinations, and for sinister
motives and not for the well being of
society. Such men cannot be trusted
in a great revolution like the one now
before us. Besides, in this repu 3lican
government no man or set Of men
should hold Office for life irrespective
IL A nLavoso