Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1890-06-26
INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ACTION
THE ONLY WAY OUT.

49, 0AA8 0&NOAs4s4 I'LL 4OAo AVA4V&1
THE ONLY WAY OUT.
There can be no doubts whatever
that the full and complete success Of
the Grange movement was q failure
because it hedged itself in as nom
political organization, and refused to
administer heroic treatment in its
palmy days to the disease then in q
less virulent form, that now affiicts
the country.
That organization spread over the
country, and IN an educational way
has done a great deal of good, but it
lacked the vital principle necessary
to success, and went down. This or
ganization did rot meet the needs of
the hour.
Then came the Knights of Labor,
and it made the same mistake. While
this organization has been more ag-
gressive than the Grange, until re-
Gently it has been SO conservative
that Its influence though powerful
as an organization, has had but little
weight in shaping the Legislation of
the country. These two organizations
have done an educational work
sown the seed that is bringing into
prominence the Farmers Alliance, to
which was reserved the work of TAX
ing the initiative in independent
political action going directly to the,
root Of the disease.
The Grange, the Knights OF Labor,
the Alliance and all other labor or
CARNATIONS have ever and still hear
the cry, "Don't go into politics"
''Keep out of politicsT' etc., etc.
Universally this advice has come
from the politicians, who, if it was in
their power, would sink every labor
organization in oblivion. This cry
bas been taken up by thoughtless
and foolish farmers and laboring
people, who did not realize that they
were simply playing into the hands
of their enemies. There are-after
all these years of fooling the people,
too many of the same kind of fooled
fools left.
The people have been fooling away
their precious time for years in
''throwing grass" and like the ''old
farmer" in the story of 'the boy in
the apple tree" they have simply
been ''laughed at" but we are glad
to note the fact that ''stones" Will be
the missiles of the future instead OF
grass" Even this early in the cam
paign it is clearly demonstrated that
Independent political action is to be
the rule. The Alliance and Knights
of Labor under their mutual agree
ment for cooperation are leading out
boldly, and are encouraging other
industrial organizations to take hold
and lend helping hand.
In North Carolina, Nebraska, South
Dakota, Georgia and Kansas, steps
are being taken to put up state tick
cts, and all over the country congress
sional, Legislative and county tickets
are being suggested by the labor
organization.
How the politicians are bowling!
They are quaking in their boots!
They see in this Independent peoples
movement their downfall! To them
it is the "hand writing on the wallv'
Then how tractable: how kind, how
patronizingly friendly some of the
politicians are becoming!
Then again, how some of them are
scheming, plotting and lying in their
efforts to head off this peoples move
ment! We rejoice at their discom-
future, aud can laugh at their calami-
ties.
The whole system of the American
body polite IS diseased-poisoned by
bad and vicious class legislation, and
can be attributed to no other source
than the policy of the two old parties
that are as rotten as hell. No good
can come out of them. There is no
relief to be found in them. The
causes that have led up to the present
deplorable condition OF our country
paralyzed industries, general indebt-
edness, unremunerative toll, squalid,
poverty-stricken homes among the
laboring classes and millions without
homes tramping the earth, thousands
begging for work-ali in a land of
plopfv have GROWN mn under tho nd