Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-04-24
No Politics IN the Alliance.
PRESIDENT STACKIIoUsE DEFINES
THE POSITION OF Ills ORDER.
[From the Barnwell People

Inc IOllOWlnS correspondence eX-
plains itself:
HARNwELL, S. g., March 20, 1890.
Col. T.. 4. Stackhousc, Little Rock,
S. C.--Dear Sir: was elected cd
itor of the Alliance Department of
the Barnwell People on tho 9th of
July last. did not desire the po-
sition, but accepted and have man
aged it to the best of my ability,
for no personal gain, benefit or pur-
pose, but simply for the good of the
order.
In the issue Of the 18th instant l
gave an editorial on "The Alliance
and it's aims" I enclose copy and
ask you, as the head of the order in
the State, to tell me if it is or is
not good and sound Alliance doc
trine. l ask this of you because of
the adoption and publication of the
following resolutions in the Bambcrg
AaUe'tiser by tho Bamberg sub-Al-
lance. ask your judgment simply
because 1 want to know whether
am right or wrong, and 80 to you at
headquarters. Yours fratcrnally,
nj. j. PATE.
THE RELATIONS Or THE ALLIANCE
TO POLITICS.
LITTLE Rock, S. c., March 81,
1890.
Mr.. Nj. J. Pate, Barnwcl, S. c.
Dear Bro: Your letter Of Goth
containing clipping, "rhc Alliance
and it's aims," and resolutions in
reference to the same by the Bam-
berg Alliance, was received during
my absence from home last week.
Perhaps l can best answer your
letter by stating as briefly as posi-
BILE what conceive to be the re elations
of the Alliance to politics.
The first declaration of intentions
in our constitution says: "To labor
for the education of the agricultural
classes in the science of economical
government, in strictly non-parti-
san spirit
This declaration is full of suggest
i've thoughts. The first thought
suggested is that these classes need
to be educated in the science of
economical government. This leads
naturally to the inquiry, have these
classes been careless about this kind
of education, and if so, has this
carclcssness made them the victims
of vicious legislation, legislation that
is unequal and oppressive to these
classes. I'ne Alliance assumes (and
we think correctly that such has
been the case.
Tariff protection might be cited
rs an illustration Of this kind of un-
equal and oppressive legislation.
And it may be well to remark here,
that tariff protection is more dis
tinctivcly a party issue Gas between
the two great political parties in
this country than any Other. Tariff
protection taxes tic agricultural
classes =, the largest consuming
classes of manufactured products
to build up and enrich the great man
ufacturing industries of this country.
The Republican party favors the
protective policy. The Democratic
party opposes it. The Alliance bids
its membership to free themselves
from partisan prcjudiccs-the great
party blind-and to examine this
question in the light of reason and
right and then to do what would be
for "the greatest good to the great
est number.
Then if we take up the financial
or money question, which is more a
class than party qucstion-neither
of the great political parties having
looked after the interests of the ag-
ricultural classes in the financial leg
islation for the country since 1865.
In proof of this we might cite the
extraordinary privileges granted to
the national banks, the discrimination
against the farmers securities in the
establishment of these banks, the
demonctization of silver, the reduc-
ton of the volume of currency by
the retirement of United States
bonds and the cancclling Of national
bank notes, and in short, the cstab-
lshmcnt and maintenance Of tinan-
ciaI policy that is surely reducing
the great middle class to condition
of dependence and want. This poll
cy, if long continued, will make a
strong centralized government ana-
ccssity to protect the rich and hold
the poor in subjection. AS remarked,
this is more a class than a party
question, but partisanship has been
the blind that has blinded the farm
ing classes to the great wrong that
has been inflicted upon them. Of
course if al the great farming classes
of this country could have freed
from party and sectional
pre- judiccs, and if they had been ed
ucatcd in the science of political
economy, they would have stood
and these wrongs could not
have come upon them.
In the above brief illusions to the
necessity of educating the agricultu-
raj classes, | have trcnched on the
second important suggestion, viz:
the spirit in which it is to be done
tf. Al .s.,.k