The advocate., 1890-05-28
From Smith County.

desire notices Of meetings, news notes,
etc, and offer few notes and wish 10
announce that the next meeting Of tho
Smith County Alliance will be on May
%, at Smith Center.
The question which is now puzzllng us
Is whether 10 keep politics out Of the al.
lance or TO keep the alliance out Of poll
TICS Some think we don't need 10 talk
about parties or politics, but as the alli-
anco has great power, II ought TO at once
take hold Of governmental affairs and do
whatever is needed for the best interest
Of the farmer That is much easier said
than done. Nearly all the farmers here,
both democrats and republicans, have
gone into the alliance in the interest of
wife and babies No doubt there are
some who have gone into II in hope OF
Office.
We have had several meetings at our
county seat, and have had as much good
will and harmony as could be expected
OF course some people wear blue goggles
and things look a little blue TO them;
others, like myself wear green goggles,
and things look little green to us, and
we differ from those blue google fellows,
and when we all get In a good humor we
find we really all meant the same thing,
only we used words in a little different
sense, or had on different colored Cog
gles.
One thing many Of us must guard
against, and that is abusive language. IL
will do no good to call bankers, railroad
men, eXtravagant public officers, ETC.,
thieves, robbers, and like names, for II
we farmers we're to exchange places with
those men, and laws left as they are, we
would do as they do as regards selfish
ness. IL is class Legislation and the un-
reasonably high protective (or, in fact,
pro-taxes) tariff that needs changing, and
not men.
No doubt 1t would be we'll TO try TO
have better men, but that would result
from training in infancy, teaching our
children the way they should go by going
that way ourselves.
The educational part Of the alliance is
to me the most interesting. Ifone's head
was only a sponge 1t could not help alb
sorbing some useful knowledge at our
meetings. Some OF us are too hasty. We
want to realize at once. When thorough
business men open up new business
they don't expect TO realize much for a
year or So If they hold their own while
working up patronage they count that
good. "Ilaste makes waste" When
machinery works very fast it wears out
very fast. We must learn to "make
haste slowly"
Many old men are now asserting that
they have left their old parties and In
tend from now on TO vote for wife and
babies. But we shall not say much of
that until the votes are counted this fall.
We have good country out here.
Most Of Smith county is level and beauti-
full, and settled by good class Of people,
There has never been u lawsuit in our
township. We support eight newspa-
pers in our county. Five of these are re-
publican, one union labor, one independ-
ent and one democratic. They get along
in "fraternal" sort Of way, whacking
each other over the head now and then.
Two Of the best republican papers some
times seem quite vexed and speak of
each other "not in the dialect Of doves"
but it seems to do no harm, and the old
earth turns right on. Our lawyers are
all of long standing here, and well estab-
lished. Our county is but little in debt;
we have a fine court house, and no bonds
against it; a credit to Smith Center and
our county.
If I were competent TO advise, / would
cav co tho oIlioncaa, Don't no diarO,,rs