The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-11-04
GO TO WAR,
,r,rs Exterminate the Troublesome
AD and DISCONTINUED Lower
Glasses.

I Thus z ALCAA
ApU and Disseminated Lower
Glasses.
rb. editor of the Dayton, Ohio,
En,on is responsible for the state
that the folio wing is a copy OF
p1 %t'or from a capitalist to one of his
friends; v Aro 1901
UD,rxD B1RKLEY, Dayton Ohio:
Yours of 25th ult. came to hand in
ino time but | confess my inability to
a a.yIu and satisfactorily answer the
I~ ~o9+ions YOU proposed. Indeed they
uro heen a source of great annoyance
n" most of us who have great capital
" onaeted in various days. The future
n|.Iitical outlook is anything but en-
ponraging. My only hope in the future
9Th tbe ignorance of the masses, and
tboir suscept bility of being used by
- inst as we have always used them.
g;II therefore, try to wer your
.,oot,oos on that basis. You ask,
Does the present agitation among
~ yower classes-I mean all lsboring
sIassos-indicate a reversal of power
from YOUR hands into theirs 2" Next
~, ask, Will the agitation likely
!monpt to anything in the long run,
~ rather in time? ?" To your first in
~terrogstory l will answer tina l do
"ot link the lower classes capable Of
conducting what now appears to be
war upon the upper classes for the fol.
lowing reasons:
They are by no means united,
oeitber in organization nor in objects
tn he accomplished, much less are they
sufficiently informed upon the real
condition they are in. To explain.
There $. for instance, the great organ.
fzst1ons fighting each other. Pow
derjv. Gompers and all the leaders
are at war with each other, therefore
the various organizations are at war
with all other organizations. Just so
Iopg as these leaders fight each other,
We will have nothing to fear. Nov it
is evidently our policy to keep them
HgbCing each other. The result will
be a final breaking up of these organi,
cations. The fact is apparent that
neither the lea iers nor the members
have the first glimmer of common
sense or they would have long since
united their forces and compelled US
10 give way step by step, nor need we
fear of their ever uniting upon any
one great controlling principle. All
that they can perceive is an advance
Of wages, and even if we have to con,
Sede a little in that way, it's only a
question of time, and that a short
time, when improved machinery and
growth of population will increase the
number seeking work, so that wages
will naturally tend downward. These
men 90 not yet understand that they
ought to direct their fight and ener
gies at thu root Of the subject. l am
still more positively convinced, when
look at the various branches of in
dustry, both productive and distribu-
tive l see a sort of pride among one
branch or other which precludes all
possibility of unity, For instance,
the CLERKS in the various branches of
distribution imagine themselves as su-
perior, and will not q Sociate with
those whom they regard as laborers.
We need fear nothing so long as this
pride exists among the various
branches of wage workers. We, of
course, can see no difference, out we
must keep this antagonism alive and
nOurish it. Looking all along the ap-
parent line of battle, | see 40 reason
for fear. They cannot now, nor is it
at all probable that Shey will unite
forces, nor strike at the root which is
90 deity covered up, that it requires
great study and patient inquiry to learn
where their trouble comes from. The
only body that may, and shat does, cause
any trouble is the Knights of Labor.
1t seems to me, q far as | can learn
they are the only organized body that
are educating themselves and are
hunting for the root The very fact
Ina they realize that the wage CUES
uon IS not the root, makes it ominous
Tor the fu ure. But all other organi
Eatlons are at war wish them, and it
must be our settled policy to wipe out
'nelr organization. We, in the East
are contributing to a fund to keep I'D
the fight between the Unions and the
knights of Labor. l am glad to be-
SoIe to say we are succeeding in this
There remains only one other cause
tOr apprehension, and that is, when
any OF the K. of L.-assemblies is
Wnat they call them, | believe-breaks
Up they ioin some other organization
anu lnstllI into them that devilish
consistency of hunting up the root,
anu thereby increase our enemies So
raI tney have succeeded, at least in a
ntS, to stir up the farmers and
TsuSfs sufficiently to give us trouble.
- Iue only remedy l can e is to take
Ilgnt of franchise from them and