The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-04-15
OUR REPUBLIC.
The Duty of the Alliance as an Organi-
cation and the Duty of the
People Generally.

wa ~"
Mr.. EDIToR:-The deep interest
which l feel in the welfare of North
Carolina and in the CO operative efforts
proposed or to be proposed by the
Farmers Alliance to rid our hard
working people of the heavy burdens
laid on them by the w-makers of the
Union, is my apology for this com
m%unication.
In all new enterprises many hopes
are cherished which may never reach
a realization; time and experience are
required to check the overlooking en-
thusiasm of the d~evotees, to rectify
the alteration of judgment, and to
point out the legitimate ways and
means of success. And when such q
movement as ours is inaugurated,
having for its field of operations forty
great States, many of which are singly
larger than many of the most re-
nowned kingdoms of the old world, it
is of supreme Importance that we
make haste slowly, and, above all
else, that we prepare ourselves for the
avoidance of mistakes by close and
careful study of the obstacles in our
way and of the conditions on which
success must depend.
Whatever the Alliance seeks to &C.
complish through Federal legislation
must fall within the scope of the
powers of the Congress, and must
furthermore, have due regard to the
nature of our complex system of gov
eminent. The people of this country
have been misled by the doctrine of
the majority rule; the political litera-
ture of the Union and the thoughtless
copying of the language of gush and
of biennial fattery have served to &C.
complish this mischief. To correct it
and give the people the truth which
"shall make them free" is a duty
which, at this time, is imperatively
necessary; and The PROGRESSIVE
FARMER with it's thousands of readers
is above all others the vehicle through
which the correction ought to be
made.
The United States are called a Re-
public in all our books and newspa-
pers, and the geography tells the chill
dren that a Republic is a country in
which the people rule-meaning, of
course, the majority of the people.
Now let us test these definitions.
Getting the facts and figures from the
census of 1880, when there were
thirty, eight States, we find:
l. Twenty of the least populous
States have less than "a per cent. of
the total population of the Union;
that II per cent. of the total popula-
tion-a majority in each one of these
States-can elect State legislatures
which may choose 40 U. S. Senators
Ia majority--and thus control the
legislation of the Union. These SEN
ators also confirm or reject the nomi-
nations for Federal judges and mar
shals, foreign ministers, etc., and
make treaties with foreign nations.
Clearly this is government by a ma
jority of States.
2. Twenty. eight of the least popu-
lous States, having less than 48 per
cent. of the entire voting population,
can by bare majorities in each
amounting to about "a per cent. of all
the voters-elect 2O8 Presidential
electors and thus elect a President.
3. Eleven of the most populous
States, having less than Sc per cent.
of the entire voting population, can
by bare majorities in each-amount-
ing to about % per cent of all the
voters in the Union-elect 1872 mem
bers of the House of Representatives
Ia majority-and 2O4 Presidential
electors.
There is not, therefore, necessarily
any such thing as government in our
Union by a majority of the people,
and in fact more than one President
received a majority of the popular
votes, and by proper research we
might discover that both branches OF
the Congress have sometimes been
controlled by majorities chosen by mi,
!, norities.
Another wrong impression has
been made on the public mind, viz,
that the Federal Congress is we'll nigh
unlimited in it's powers, and this has
been brought about mainly bvI the
fact that the legislation of the Union
has for many years has been p~rajctic
ally almost unlimited.
Let us see what warrant the4e is
for this. The supreme law of the
Union - the Constitution -co1fers
, upon the Congress certain powers anG
: expressly prohibits the exercise of any
4 others. Besides the powers to taist
/ funds for necessary expenses, to lcoir
!, money, to regulate commerce pAtur