The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-08-13
THE FARMERS AROUSED.
THEY WILL RIGHT THE WRONGS or
ALLTHE PEOPLE.

ALL He PEOPl.S.
Some Kind Words from one OF the Lead
ing Agricultural Journals Of the Coun-
try-Some Of the Things the Farmers
Should Do Pointed Out.
More than ever before th3 politicians
are asking what the farmers intend to
do in politics. North and South the
commanding force of the farmers vote
is recognized. Heretofore the farmers
have marched to the polls like the sheep
to the shambles, but at last they realize
the situation and intend to count for as
much as the negro vote. the prohibition
vote. the labor vote, the Irish vote, the
German vote, or the purchasable vote:
Into the merits of the various local
contests Home and Farm can not enter.
We cover a vast field, and in that ter
ritory there are numerous local causes
of oppression with which only local
organizations and local agitation can
deal. In some sections county asess-
ments are unfair. county expenses are
eXtravagant and county taxation Is
high. The remedy here would be to
put better men in local offices. In other
sections the difficulty is with the State
governments, with the Legislature.
with various commissions. or with the
Governor himself.
Elsewhere it is with the courts, or, as
in Louisiana, the enemy of al enemies,
debauching public sentiment and defy
ing the moral law, is the lottery COM
pany. Again and every where the far
mers are suffering from a vicious sys-
tenn of national taxation. and from
reckless extravaganza in appropriation.
Congress has increased pension ap-
preparations to S167, 100000; it Is ofer-
ing subsidies to steamships and SUBJ
sides to the sugar trust; almost every
item in the appropriation bills shows an
increase. but the opinion at Washing
ton seems to be that there is little to
fear from the farmers vote.
They will think differently when the
votes are counted in the fall. In the
meantime ne wish to give 10 the far
mers few words Of caution, in order
that they may not fall in error and dis
sipate their strength in attempts to do
what can not be done. In the first
place, there is no power IN government
to make an idle, ignorant farmer rich.
Farmers can not be made rich by help
of the government; only by what he
digs from the soil. The trouble hereto
fore has been that the government has
directly and indirectly taken large
part of what the farmer raised and ap-
propriates it to the support of other
men in idleness.
Farmers are not communists; they
do not propose to rob any body; they
simply do not propose to be robbed any
longer. What the farmers have to do
is simply to repeal bad laws; stop ex-
travagance, and punish crime. This is
a great undertaking, and beset with
difficulty. In the first place, hundreds
of politicians will stuff their trousers
in their boots and parade as special
friends OF the horney-handed son of
toll. Others entirely sincere. and un-
selfish, will oYer-state the case IN the
Indictment of public officials, and when
brought TO book will have to explain or
apologize. Others still will present
crude and undigested plans of reform,
plans like Bellamy's nationalism, which,
have in their essential features, been
experimental with and abandoned.
1t is we'll to keep in mind the fact
that few years ago the American
Agricultural Association was announ-
ced as the special foe of monopoly and
the friend of the farmer. but IN few
years the secretary, in his role of the
farmers friend, was exposed in his at
tempt to unload on the yrangers alot of
worthless mining stock, while the ac-
tive organizer, Mr.. Thurber. is now be-
fore Congress asking for subsidy for his
steamship lines. Every man who cries,
Lord. Lord 7" shall not enter the king
dom of heaven.
Furthermore, let us consider the fact
that majority of the people Of America
are honest, patriotic, well-meaaing per-
sons, who have no enmity to the far
,ner or to the farmers interest: They
have simply been made tools Of by de-
signing politicians, as the fairness
themselves have been.
The cause of the farmers must be so
presented as to appeal to the intelli-
gence, to the morality, to the sober
second thought of all classes in the COM
munity. The most important interests
of the farmer are interests common to
all classes, and they must all be united
on one conlmon platform of equal and
exact taxation to all men, exclusive
privileges to none. 1t is not possible
to right one wrong by committing an
other. The evil of taxing the farmer
to enrich the manufacturer is not
righted by taxing the mechanic to en-
rich the farmer. What should be done
is to abolish all systems of taxation
which enrich one class at the expense
Of another.
ALL that the farmer wants is fair play,
good government. low taxes and justice
alike to the rich and poor. He will con-
tend for all this as best he can, gaining
here little and there little until the
whole field has been won.-Home and
Farm.