The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1890-08-15

s0phistical and, az | knew they all had
their origin here, | determined to find out
4 the intention ms well as the character OF
the men who are welding this powerful
influence | knew thatT could not get at
the bottom of the plans myself, so Sc
cured the services OF Il man whom could
trust to the work for me. From my
| agent learned that the whole movement
! is nothing more or less than huge
money making scheme, ran By Il set OF adj
vcnturcrs. who had their political aspira
rations almost irreparably damaged by
the great parties to which they belonged"
The official. organ which is published
by these fellows will bring il about
SIS 900 The revenues derived from the
| sub-alliances are great. All this money
Is handled by these men. who receive
large salaries. What they do with it don't
know, but the anteccdents are strongly
against their making proper counting OF
| it. ! suppose. of course, the money they
get from the paper must he theirs.
But the popularity of the paper was
gained through the endorsement OF the
Farmers Alliance, whose members were
induced to pledge themselves to take
I00, 00O copies of it annually.
Il can't characterize the methods OF
these men too strongly. They have taken
every occasion and every means TO create
disscnsion among the farmers. From
Washington they send out lecturers,
whose expenses are paid by the people
they bewildcr. They present in glowing
terms the great advantages to he derived
hy the combination of farmers and the in
dorsement of the theories of the Alliance.
The result is that the farmers all
over the South are wonderfully excited.
These lecturers are aided by wornout poll
ticians, who seize the opportunity 10 come
to the front again, and who hope to float
into office on the topmost wave of this
movement So far as | have been able
to learn. it is not the object of these men
to work an independent movement. Their
plan is to concentrate all their energies
in creating rupture i'll the ranks of the
dominant party In the South il is in the
democratic party. and in the ives! it is in
the republican party. No one can over
rate the popularity of this movement. 1t
is extremely powerful and far-rcaching.
DO YOU think il is IL lasting move
mcnt?'
No. do not Your history will tell
YOU that the Know-Nothing party was not
long-liycd, but while it was in existence
it created the greatest revolution in poll
tics Through it many congressman were
elected. and IL president was almost seated
in the White House.
DO Won feel ut liberty tn say what YOU
learned about the past history Of these
leaders,
Yes. By making public the record of
these men feel that am doing Il service
to the honest and intelligent men of the
country. To begin with, there is the
president of the Alliance, Colonel l.. L.
Polk, of North Carolina He is supposed
10 he planter, although he has been in
minor political Offices ever since the war
He is shrcwd, designing man, of great
capabilities, who organized twenty years
ago the movement in the State of which
this is the outgrowth. He is an accom-
plishcd and persuasive talkcr, and is in
cessantly lectur,ng. understand that he
is now in Kansas, doing his best to bring
about the defeat of Senator Ingalls,. Polk
; was Democrat. and under the last adj
ministration WAS an applicant for the
place of Commissioner of Agriculture. He
was unsuccessful, and he attributed his
failure to Senator Vance. North Caro-
lima is purely al agricultural State. and
the farmers there are thoroughly imbucd
with the ideas and theories advocated by
the Alliance. | would not be surprised to
see Colonel Polk succeed Mr.. Vance in
the Senate. Polk is the purest of the
whole lot, but perhaps that is because he
is fanatic.
The head devil of this secret oath
bound organization, however,is one DR.. G.
w. Macune. He is the chairman of the
. Executive Board and also of the Legisla-
tive Committee. He was born in Illinois,
where he studied medicine for short
: time For some reason he left that State
4 and settled in California. He did not
4 stay there long, but finally drifted down
in Texas. For time this alleged doctor
e practiced his profession at small place
J. in Mr. Mills's district. He afterwards
went to Dallas and was made custodian of
the Farmers Alliance warehouse there,
which was al enormous concern. In an
e unaccountable and peculiar way the es
!, tablshmcnt failed, and its failure proved
disastrous TO its patrons. The matter is
t now in litigation. Macune had always
a been Republican, but he quickly en-
braced the theories of the Alliance.
e suppose that the members of the AL
liancc cOHslucr tHdt udcuHe integrity III
the failure Of the warehouse ut Dallas was
| fully indicated when he was made chair
man of the most important committee of
: the Alliance. Macune is the man who in
vents the vile reports that are sent out
from Washington, and who keeps the AL
lance in state of frenzy by putting q
false coloring on every piece of legisla-
ton.
''Terrill, of Texas, is the chief lecturer.
He is another disappointed politician, who
has not been recognized by the party to
!, which he belonged. / believe that he was
once Republican. Terrill is the man
|, who promulgates the vicious reports
that emanate from Washington. General
, Humphrey is another lecturer. He says
: he was Il gadier-general in the Confed-
crate Army, but no one who served in
thp ormy ever heard Of him Humnhrpy's