Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1890-12-18
A Word in Season.

MIR. Allan w. Thurman, the prom
isiDg son of the old Roman, express
es himself ss heartily in favor of
many of the objects of the Farmers
alliance, but adds that there are
some things he cannot approve among
them. 81 will never commit N.Y.
SELF" he says, ''to the support of
the scheme for erecting government
warehouses and advancing money
upon goods stored by the people.
Such a movement, If ever inaugural
ed, would be terrible blow to the
people, and the final result would be
ruin. 1t would have the evil effect
of making the people dependents
upon the government and strike a
fatal blow at the independence of
the American citizen, who is proud
to ssy that he can take care of him.
self. These enterprises would soon
fail and those who became the bor-
rowers would find themselves hope
lessly involved. 1 regard such a
scheme as but a new name for So
cialism the doctrines of the one suit
the other very nicely. While the
Farmers alliance leaders are endeav-
oring to fill their net with the various
outside elements, they lose sight of
the fact that they are driving away
from their organizations thousands
of farmers that are in full sympathy
with them in the earnest endeavor to
work with one object in view-that
of lessening the burdens of taxation
and the bringing about of the neces-
sary reforms to that end. To be
successful their must he an object in
view, but as a third party L hardly
believe that the alliance will be more
fortunate than its many predeces-
sors, although they might completely
change the conditions in many Of the
states temporarily"
So for Mr.. Thurman. All he says
Of the produce storage scheme is
true. 1t is wild and foolish. But
1t is exactly the same thing that the
government is now doing for Wall
street spectators and other specu
lators in silver bullion. If that sort
of thing Is to go on, If government
is TO be made In permanency {
scheme for gouging, swindllng anc
looting, we see no reason why the
farmers should not 60 in for theil
share of the plunder. They have a
much right to have their wheat cor
nered and carried at government ex
pense, with government treasur,
receipts issued on it and made lega
tender, as the owners of and specu
lators in silver bullion have. 1t is
swindIe, but as the Federal govern
ment is now conducted it is a gam
of gouge from beginning to end, an
, the farmers are being gouged by
at all points.
The warehouse scheme is sociaI
ism, and revolutionary socialism, bu
not a whit more so than the issue @
government currency in such wa
that the farmers pay, and the gov
ernment benefciaries receive from
to Is per cent. usury in it as mean
of getting it into circulation. 1t
not as much socialism as the bullio
swIndIe, the Mckinley sTindle o
the other devices for robbing tn
people and increasing the p!unde
for the plutocracy.
But Mr.. Thurman is not called Of
to support 1t. No Democrat nee'
support it. IL was injected into th
Farmers alliance platform by politi
clans in hopes of discrediting tn
movement. 1t has not done so, no
will it do so. The alliance itself ha
never agreed on it. 1t furnishes
point of attack for enemies of th
movement, but no friend of th
| movement need stumble over il
. There are reforms enough demande
by the alliance that are also demand
ed by the Democratic party. The
!. principles lie parallel through almo:
the entire course. Why. then, 81
: lect the two things, or either one
them, on which Democrats cannt