The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-04-29

whole State. Within the past three
months he has made purchases in that
way daily to the extent of anywhere
from $1,000 to $1,000, and yet he has
never had a dollars worth of goods in
his establishment. This effects an
immense saving to u people, and
has very greatly strengthened the
order in our State, because in their
depressed condition they are in a
proper position to appreciate the value
of a dollar saved"
THE MIDDLE MAN.
els it not a fact, Colonel Polk, that
the ~benefcient operations Of the Farm
ers' Alliance have largely taken the
farmers of the South out of the hands
of the middle men?
We'll, it is rapidly leading in that
direction; it has not done it as yet.
There are many environments of the
Southern farmer which no other
farmers in this country have expe-
rienced since the war and he was
perhaps more absolutely at the mercy
of the middle men than any other
farmer in this country. He is, how
ever, rapidly releasing himself from
their clutches.'
THE JUTE TRUST.
"Was not the Farmers Alliance
the means of breaking down the jute
trust of the South ?"
q Voc civ. ooI +hovy o-ipooI v1Oo
derful self-sacrifce and patriotism in
that fight. The jute trust in the year
1888 Q889 possibly did not let is
know that they were in existence I'm,
It'll our cotton began to open and was
ready for harvesting. They ran the
price of jute bagging from seven cents
up to fourteen and a half cents. At
that time we had not a mill in the
South that could make cotton bagging
or any suitable substitute for jute
bagging. There we were, with our
fields white, and without a yard of
anything to wrap this cotton in; con-
tracts were due, liens and mortgages
we're due, and had to be met. But,
to show you the spirit with which
they met that attempt at robbery, [
will state that in my town, where
there were sold that fall $4,000 bales
of cotton, [ think | am safe in saying
that not 500 bales were wrapped in
jute bagging, and [ know I am safe
in saying that not twenty-five bales
belonging to our order we're wrapped
in jute bagging That illustrates the
condition Of affairs all over our State
and all over most of the States of the
South at that time, where they could
get any substitute at all for jute bag
ging. This year we have in sight
now not less than 20, 900, 900 yards of
cotton bagging, and we think we will
have a supply almost equal to the de,
mand, certainly equal to the demand
in the Alliance during this year"
"PATERNAL" GOVERNMENT.
"Now, Colonel Polk, DEPRESSING a
little, or rather coming back to the
point of beginning, how do you meet
the objection of a paternal govern
ment, which is interposed against
some of the recommendations of your
Alliance ?"
"You allude to the Sub-Treasury
bill, 1 presume? I have seen that
applied.
ayes; 1 have seen its application
there"
while we fail to see the force of
that argument, when we remember
that we ask for nothing but an exten.
sion of the present system, we believe
that a government that can store
whisky in bonded warehouses for
three years, and issue money upon it,
can afford to store cotton, wheat and
corn for the farmers of this country"
"Do you believe, Colonel Polk, that
the depression of values in farm pro-
ducts is caused by our competition
with the entire world on all products
save cotton p
~ presume your question is based
upon the idea advanced by Senator
Morrill, and Mr.. Dodge, Statistician of
the Agricultural Department, that the
low prices of products is due to over
production 2"
81 have so read in their books"
81 do not agree with that, however.
In the first place, 1 hold that there
can be no over-production of food
products in that country where there
is a single child crying for bread. AS
a matter of fact upon the hypothesis
that we have to-day $4,000, 900 peo-
pie IN this country, if we take the ex-
ports of breadstuffs from this country
during the year 1889, and allow a
normal ration (that is to say, the gov
eminent ration allowed to each soldier
there was not enough made in this
country to give the adults of the
country a normal ration"
THE PEOPLE UNDERFED.
"In other words, there must have
="