The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-01-31
DORMANT ALLIANCES.


Committee.
DORMANT ALLIANCES.
FERGUS FALLS, Mimi, Jan. 10, 80.
EDITOR GREAT WEST:
My DEAR DocToR-While reading
the great variety OF contributions
printed in your issue for Jan. 18th,
l noticed two that were of more than
passing interest to me, namely, one
from my friend and colleague in ALI
ance work, Erick Olson; and the
other from another friend and col
league Mr.. Brandborg.
My friend Brandborg uses some ex-
pressions that to me, who knows
him, indicates that when he formed
his article he was either in a hurry,
or too tired after hard days work,
to review what he had written. He
starts out by intimating that an
Alliance had just been organized in
his town, and winds up by saying:
"Our County Alliance has been in
years past one of the best in the
State: but I do wish that some good
man would come up here and rattle
the dry bones. We have a very in
telligent class OF farmers in the
county, as class, but they have be-
come discouraged and stampeded.
They are awake now, and all it wants
is somebody with ability to organize
us, and we will be as good as new
again"
If l mistake not the farmers OF the
town OF Henning, in this county, Or
ganized an Alliance in 1884 or 1885
with Mr.. Brandborg as President,
and if my memory serves me right
he has been President of that Alliance
ever since.
He writes about "dry bones"
Now, let us see: If remember right
ly the Henning Alliance has been
represented atseveral meetings OF the
State Alliance by it's able president,
and it has had delegates at every
meeting of the County Alliance since
the Henning Alliance was organized,
except at the last meeting. I think
they failed to be represented there.
That does not indicate many "dry
BONES"
''Discouraged and stampeded." I
agree to the first expression. 1t is
enough to make anyone discouraged
to fight as we have for our rights and
then to find thatmonopoly is always
on top.
l have myself spent hundreds of
dollars and months, aye, years of
time in the Alliance work only to find
whatever efforts we have made to
right the wrongs of the producer, the
tongue and the almighty dollar of
the corporation lobbyist has gener-
ally triumphed. Often have we found
in the legislature that those who pro-
TESS the greatest friendship to the
producers, were tied hand and foot
with corporation Doodle. Striking
instances of that kind could be cited.
"Stampeded?" No! Most en-
phatically, no!
Thefarmers of this county are at
present resting on their oars, as it
were. In the early days OF Alliance
work we made the blunder to hold
meetings too often, thereby lessening
the enthusiasm of the members. In
a county like this (Otter TaiD con-
tanning as it does 60 townships, many
delegates have Travelled upwards of
$50 miles to go to and return from a
County Alliances meeting. Very few
men feel able or enough interested in
public affairs, to make many such
trips. And as there are only GER
tain number of men in every neigh
borhood who have enough insight
into the injustice and extortion
practiced by corporations, and
enough grit and public spirit to at
tempt to defend themselves, the
burden falls unjustly upon them only
aud they soon give up the unequal
struggle. The meetings become
scarcer and less attended. The aim
of the Alliance has been and rightly
SOL to shape legislative and executive
action against discrimination by
railways and elevators, and to inn
prove our system of taxation. And
as the corporations have succeeded
in adopting a system of biennial cleo
tions and biennial legislative sessions
in this State, and as it seems that
very little, if anything, can be accom-
plished by the Alliance, except
through the ballot, it follows that
tho WOO no uhon thoro q ro M clcot;o,,o
are years of inactivity in the Alliance.
l claim, therefore, that the Alliance
members in this county have not
''stampeded," but that they, at the
proper time, will be found doing bust
ness at the old stand.
Iquote my friend again:
"They are awake now, and all it
wants is somebody with ability to
organize us and we will be as good