The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-09-04
FRANK MEAD,s LETTER.

|
Senator Davis Speech on the Tarif-Re-
marks a,1 e, as to the Condition and Duty Of
the Farmers AlIiance--Local Poll
tics in st. Paul and Minneap-
oiis-Ehe Census.
Union Special Correspondence.
Senator Davis's earnest plea for free.
binding Irvine for the farmers, in his.
speech delivered in the United States
senate last Wednesday, will meet
with hearty response from
/ his constituents in Minnesota. The
tWine trust is one Of the most rapacious
las it is one of the most inexcusable
/ known to this day Of infamous combina-
lions, Of soulless and constituencies cap
| ltal. 1t does seem that there is almost a,
complete justification for open rebellion
| on the part of the agricultural industry.
The farmer is first compelled to struggle
with tile untoward forces of nature
The frost and the rains of the early
spring time first assail him. These
obstacles safely overcome, he COM
menccs unremitting warfare against the
destructive parasitic life which assails
his fields and crops in endless succession.
Safely delivered from these, he watches
the skies from the four points of the
compass suspicious Of cyclones and hail
storms, and then comes the dread of the
dronth and the frosts Of the late summer
and early autumn. When he has finally
Go11 = :ne
prepared for his defeat by the merciless
laws OF nature, and has sown and reaped,
and garnered, it would seem that he
should be permitted to enjoy the fruits
Of his labor unvexed by the Vaccinations
Of his fellow mortals But here his real
troubles just begin. Tribute is laid upon
him by the merchants profit for food
and clothing; the banker taps him for
interest; the railroad robs him for trans
porting his products to market; the ele-
vator squeezes him for the cost of sto1-
age, and brazenly destroys his profit by
reducing the grade of his grain; the
machine men swoop down upon him like
| vultures and gather in what little meat
the other cormorants have left upon his
bones.
The one thing that is most astonishing
is, the endless patience with which the
| farmer endnres these persistent and
I.ceaseless attacks upon him. Is it any
wonder that old homesteads in New
England, New York and Pennsylvania
cultivated since the first Puritans and
| Quakers made settlement upon the con
tinent, more than three centuries ago,
are to-day left deserted and desolate to
the anarchic forces of unchecked ma
ture-to return again to the chaos of
jack. pines and briars? Is any wonder
that the price of improved farming lands
| all over the country have deprecated in
value on an average of almost fifty per
cent? Is it. at all surprising that young
men Of intelligence and enterprise are
deserving the pillow and crowding to the
cities?
| . s. X X j.
The one thing remarkable in pecul-
iar sense, however, is the awkward man
ner in which the farmers proceed to
right their wrongs. Instead Of standing
firmly by the men of trained minds and
strong intellects who have manifested a
desire to help them, they organize mob
and place themselves under the leader
ships Of selfish and self-seeking dema-
gogues, who proceed to use them for
their own ends, and leave them in the
mud when the pigeon has beensufficient-
ly plucked. This is the chapter of his
tory which is now repeating itself under
the latest guise Of organization known as
the Farmers Alliance.
| But am very glad Senator Davis has
! spoken out in meeting as to one of the
| great wrongs of the farmers of Mime
! sofa; and every reader Of the UNION
should rejoice that what one man of
! large intellect can Go to right those
wrongs will be done. Senator Davis has
!, none Of the arts of the demagogue He
i does not parade and pose as the friend
OF the farmer. He does better He
takes his place on the floor Of the United
i States Senate-Which is platform with
the world for an audience land calls at
tention to one gigantic outrage inflicted
upon the people he represents, and de-
mands justice for his constituents.
Farmers who are leaning upon the
broken reed of a political organization
led by belligerent demogogues who have
already begun to fight amongst them
selves forthe spoils Of office they hope
to get but have not yet achieved, will do
!. we'll to read Senator Davis speech
delivered on the 9th day Of August in
the senate ofthe United States
/ st. Paul had Democratic county con-.
4. vention the other day, and nominated
4 fl,a al