The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-07-30
WHAT IT AIMS TO DO.
ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
NATIONAL ALLIANCE.

He Thinks the Alliance Will Educate
Tho Farmer.
GREENvILLE, S. G., July 24.--Col. l..
L. Polk. President Of the National Al
lance, delivered an address tonight to
large audience at the Opera House
About eight o'clock DR.. j. VIM.
Stokes, President of the State Alliance,
in happy speech presented Col. Polk,
who, he said. combined the Nestor and
Achilles of the great Farmers Alli-
ance. Col. Polk came forward and ad-
dressed the audience for two hours on
Alliance topics. a synopsis of the ad
dress is here given as we find it in the
News and Courier:
He expressed himself as delighted at
being in South Carolina, and especially
that grand cid town, Greenville. He
had been from the lakes to the Rio
Grand, from the Atlantic to the Golden
Gate of California. The warm recep-
tion given him by the South Carolina
Alliance delighted him. He considered
no place brighter or happier home
than the Piedmont belt of South Caro-
lima. He reminded the young men of the
State, when seeking the Eldorado, that
they had it at home. Had been on an
official tour Of the Alliance States, and
was returning home. He had mess
age from the people of the great North
west to deliver to the Southern people
This he would do in the course of his
address. It pleased him to see the
great unity that existed everywhere.
1t was there and when he came he
found it here It was the design of
God that ours should be great coun-
try, united in every way. He had been
speaking since June "a, every day, Sun
days excepted, and his voice, as could
be seen, was very weak, so he would
make a rambling talk. lie was going
to speak plainly and tell the truth as it
was. If anyone did not want to hear
that he could not interest him. Farm
ing was very quiet occupation, hence
farmers were quiet, unobtrusive peo-
pie. There had never been such an up
heayalin the popular affairs of our
country. There was cause for it, and
it was his intention to show these
causes. He expected to wabble a good
deal, and in this connection told very
amusing enecdote about the old man
and boy who went hunting-the old
fellow did the shooting and killed the
birds, but was accused by the little boy
of holding the gun over the whole tree.
He made the assertion that the cause
of this trouble came from a radical
point. All admitted depression in ag-
riculture, but gave every reason but the
right one. He asked why the railroads
and manufacturing interests were so
prosperous, and why were towns and
fortunes built up so rapidly as never
before? But then there was peculiar
fact in this connection: When did the
people ever know agriculture to Ian
guish as to-day? The people were
taught we had a grand Government,
where all had equal chance; but there
was something wrong. The farmers
before him fed the whole people; moth
ing could be done without them. Jay
Gould with all his gold, would starve.
1t would not feed him.
In 1850 the farmers owned 70 per
cent of the property, in 1860 only SO per
cent, while now they own only % per
cent, but the taxes have not decreased
a bit, but have even increased. He re-
ferred to the taxes on assessed property
and not the indirect taxes. 1t had
been just the other way, factories,
banks, etc. He gave these figures, as
the people could reject him and his ar
| gument, but not facts and figures.
Crops had continued to decrease in val
ue while lots of improved machinery
was used. This even failed to make
farming profitable.
1t was no use for him to tell them
agricultural interests were depressed.
They knew it. There were men before
him who had owned land-he did not
know whether they owned it now or
not-had worked hard and lived eco
nomically, but they were poorer to-day
than ten years ago. It made him eX-
claim: Great God! how can this be so
in this great country of ours?" He
could only refer the people to the sta
tisticS, where they could see it was so.
Another matter of peculiar interest was
that the smaller farms had been alb
sorbed by the larger ones. Where then
was the money?
When he went to New York and
other large cities along the Atlantic
seaboard he was struck with their
grandeur. When rolling across the
beautiful green prairies of the West he
viewed her great capabilities and he
could in all this eXclaim: "What
great country is mine!" But when he
went to quiet country home, where
the old family Bible lay open in the
neat little cottage, where the mothers
taught their sons and daughters the
| duties and responsibilities that awaited
them, ne must cry aloud that the great
ness of country is in the family home.
When he looked at the condition of
our Republic he was struck with the
likeness it bore now to the great and
fallen republics that had been buried
in the dropping sands OF time. TIE
people were becoming fast divided.
The wealthy were arrayed against the
poor. The trouble was the poor were
being swallowed up by the rich. When
ever the farmers boat was wrecked all
must go down with it. The farmers
were charged with being lazy. Hede-
MED this The South Carolina farmers
were the best dressed body he had met.
He did not want to be inquisitiye, but
would like to know how many $50 suits
were in the crowd, or how many they
had at home? They were certainly
making a brave fight under adverse
circumstances.
When he went to Washington he
called on the great statesmen there to
inquire of them the reason of depres-
sion in agriculture. He first met Mr..
Dodge, the great statistician. Mr..
Dodge said they needed diyersilcation
in agriculture. How beautiful, how
i 1,,Hl 10
into bad habit of not believing every
thing that was told him. He generally
found out for himself. If diversified
ton was needed why was Michigan in
such bad condition with her diversi-
fled farms? 1t was the same il MasSa-
chusetts, one of the old States, so Mr..
Dodge's theory dld't work. In the last
mentioned State 142 farms had been
abandoned, right by the factories,
where whistles were dinner horns for
Il nf