Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-10-01
Justice To ALI,

EDITOR INDEX: The great question Of the
day is politics, and it requires a great deal of
thought to do justice to all. Now, brother
farmers, let us go over few of the most vital
points and leok them honestly and squareIy in
the face. 1 am going to give you my views OF
1t. They may be right and they may be wrong.
The first great question is, "Who shall we
vote for?'' am q member of the Alliance, al
though my loss of hearing will not permit me
to attend the meetings, which very much re-
greet, but try to keep posted by reading the
papers. Now hear some of my brother Alli-
ance members say that if they had known the
Alliance was going into politics they would
not have Joined. 1 ask these members what
we could accomplish if we did not elect men to
make laws for our benefit?
also regret to hear that we have members
who complain bitterly of the merchants in our
town. This is not right; no man who is cap
able of sppreciating accommodation will think
this way. The merchants and business men,
with the exception of few, are our best
friends, for we are all in the same boat.
Now to illustrate this we will go back over
our history little. The farmer, merchant
and business man all came west together; and
permit me to say the farmer could not have
gotten along without the merchant, or the mer-
c0huL WltuOuL TIC Idru1cFs We 1OCdIou On IuO
new prairies; q little town like Medicine Lodge
springs up; we are all with limited means; the
merchant buys his goods on three to six
months time; we farmers use all our cash to
build house sand other improvements; we go
to the merchant and say, "Can we get goods
on timer He says he will do all he can for
you; he does not ask our note or chattel
mortgage for these goods; we put out q crop,
l4I,,o
for his pay. If we do not pay him he fails and
loses all his money and credit for the accom-
mediation he gave us, and to-day if the mer-
chants had all the farmers owed them, they
would sleep better.
Now, after they have befriended us, If the
Alliance should put store in Medicine Lodge
I would not feel like patronizing 1t. There is
such competition in trade that goods are
sold as low as could be done for cash,
Some complain of the eastern capitalist rob-
bling us. This is all wrong also. Now, l tell
you it is not the eastern capitalist. but some of
our own boys who have skinned the western
farmer. will prove 1t. Go to your mortgage
and see what the face of the mortgage calls
for; you will find il about per cent. When
you got this loan, you had to pay from IL to l6
per cent. You paid to our western agent the
named figures, IL to Is per cent. They robbed
you out of that money. These loan agents
have nearly all left our western towns. Some
failed (0 80 they would escape the eastern cap
italist from making them responsible for these
loans.
And ask you, who owns these hills our cat
tie are grazing on? Would you pay the east
ern capitalist what this land cost him? If you
would Won would get II. If q loan ia safe. he
only wants his interest-whioh now, that the
robber agent has got through with-will only
be per cent.
Now for tariff-My idea is to draw line d.
viding the east and the west. Let the east pro-
tect its business-which is manufacturing-by
a tariff if they choose, and let the west have
free trade. Its business ie raising meat and
grain. We do not need protection. How much
meat and grain do you think foreign countries
would ship us? Why, they do not raise enough
! to fll home demands We will load ship with
our meat and grain, and they send back goods
and machinery. and the ship will be loaded
both ways. We will realize more for our meat
| and grain and buy our clothing and machine
| nv cheaper. Would it not benefit US? Have
the government open this trade south of US.
| Do away with gambling in grain. Have free
coinage of silver; keep the saloons closed. so
as not to expose our boys to temptation, and
elect men who will make laws for our benefit
who cannot be bought. ELI BENEDICT.