The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-06-24
.rHE LAWYER IN PoL1T1cS.

L Ob7VO AS VIVA ~A
State Secretary to be presented to the
as pirants for Congressional honors to
sign or reject. On last Wednesday
Mr.. L. NJ. McAllister, Secretary of
Mecklenbury County Alliance, pre-
sented one of these cards to CD. II. &.
Jones, the lawyer candidate in Meek
lenburg. Col. Jones refused to sign
the card and gave his reasons in a
letter to Mr. Nc Allister. The Chronicle
of Thursday morning published the
demands and the letter written by
Col. Jones. The Chronicle evidently
thinks it struck a bonanza, for it gives
the article under big head lines, which
start as follows: "The Alliance in
Politics" We are inclined to thinki5
should have been the "Lawyers in
Politics ; So far as we know, only
one farmer has been brought forward
for Congress in the Sixth district.
The pot is just now ready to boil, and
our understanding is tina; there are
seven lawyer candidates in the field.
So the lawyer must be in politics
pretty extensively.
This paper has shown that other
classes have been more largely repre-
sented in Congress than have the
farmers, and we have proven conclu-
sively that it is unfair, and that there
must 90 a change. But we have never
said that all lawyers or other profes-
sional men are unfit to be representa-.
tives of the people. On the contrary,
many of the wisest and best represen,
tatives we have over lad have be,
Ionged to the legal fraternity. But
Notwithstanding we have many 0on-
orable lawyers in the country, we
have to day in the American Con
gress some of the meanest rascals I'm
hung.
The farmers of the Sixth district
feel that they want a change; they
want a farmer with good sense, hon,
esty and conservatism, a man who
will represent them as well as the
towns.
Now let us see if the farmers of the
Sixth district have good reasons for
wanting a change. The American
Senate consists of 80 members. SSrty
nine of them are lawyers. Two are
merchants and the remainder are
bankers, railroad men and spectators,
except Senator Casey of North Da
ko a. The farmers have one man in
the Senate to look after their interests.
Is it any wonder that the American
Senate has not done one thing for the
farmers of this country since the war?
But it has done a great deal against
their best interests. In Congress we
have 335 members. THO hundred and
thirty one are lawyers, twenty.eigh5 are
merchants and thirteen are farmers,
one physician, one school teacher, one
surveyor, three preachers and eight
editors; the other fifty two are con
nected with banks and railroads, as
are many of the lawyers, OF the
sixty nine lawyers in the Senate, a
large per cent. are interested in banks
and railroads. F0rty,tWO of the eighty
tVo Senators are millionaires. So the
L4L11AOIo VI 40i I4C4C LII Glto QUILL Y
have IA representatives out Of All.
OF the total mum Der Of national leg S
tors, 800 are lawyers. Now that does
not prove conclusively that we have
no lawyers who will represent the
people, but the state of affairs now
existing does prove hat those we
nave trusted have failed to fulfill the
promises made by themselves and the
parties they represent. Our Southern
members have rode into power and
have held their places by promising
to abolish the revenue and modify the
tariff. Many of them are old
fossils. In the North such men
as ingalls, and Sherman have rode
into power and have kept their places
by ~arousing bitterness and sectiona
feeling and oy fooling the people into
the belief that a high protective tariff
will finally make them all prosperous
and happy. We have been paying
All men from $4,000 TO SIS, 900 per
annum and they have put in a good
portion of the time wrangling over
things that have been an injury to the
entire country. The legislation nearly
all has been in favor of the few who
would pay for it. Taat is why AZ of
the Senators are milIionaires. In a
word we have one lawyer in the Ma
tional Congress to every 2l3 lawyers.
We have n farmer in Congress to
every $780, 900 farmers. Take the
case, gentlemen.
Now be it understood that we do
not claim that there are no lawyers in
the Sixth district worthy of support.
What we say will apply to any dis
trict in this or any State where the
farmers feel that they want a Con-
gresham. We don't advocate the
nomination of unworthy farmers for
any Office. We want and need farm.
ers like Washington, Madison, Jack
son and Jefe "son-farmers who will
work for good for farmers and at the