The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-05-23

No tyranny IN 404ss
A prominent man in the politics OF
Minnesota said recently, in speaking
of the freedom OF the grain trade:
sTrade is free-any man can buy
or sell anything he has money for.
This idea that farmer or anybody
else has not the open markets OF the
world, is rank anarchy"
One of the men whom the farmers
of Minnesota has put in office,
said this in our hearing-and two or
three others were rapturous in their
agreement with the speaker. One
responded
"These farmers are lot of sheep
run in by demagogues-that's all
there is of it!''
These ignorant public pimps did
not know that they were even then
treading upon a volcano which but
needed some fiery torch to hurl them,
and the system which fostered them,
into the gulf OF that very anarchy of
which they prated!
When the Knights OF Labor, Of
Chicago, purchased five hundred tons
OF coal at the Indiana mines, and not
one of the several railroads would
bring that coal to the city was
trade "wide open" to any one who
had money? Think you that these
men from the Easements, who had to
sell back their coal to the barons,
reveled under a free market and a
benign paternal government?
Some of these tailor-made snoups
who drink champagne under the
public expense for "stationery," will
yet recall a certain French States
man-who little dreamed that Vesu-
vius would burst her crater so soon.
When told of want and woe among
the laboring men, he exclaimed, in
derision, '"The poor-let the poor
eat grassv- in less than week
Monsieur's dead body was dragging
over the stony streets OF Paris, at
his horses tail, with his mouth stuf-
fed with grass! The 1000 farmers
robbed of home and lands by the
mortgage-fend in the last two years,
with overdue mortgages today
will make fine body of men to talk
ree-markets to!
Gree markets!' Why, the ignor-
ant fools don't know what they are
talking about. In writing this arti-
Gle we turn our eyes and they light
upon the "Grocers' Criterion"-a
public journal, OF May 9Th. And here
is what we clip therefrom. The ques-
ton was-could the farmers, or the
Alliances, or even the farmer stores
buy and sell like other men? Here
is the story of our Free Markets:
Sprague, Warner & Co., through
Mr.. Batchelder, said: "Our policy is
to protect regular merchants. We
do not want trade from Farmers AL
liances if they are going to distribute
goods among themselves. Will not
sell consumers; have a check in front
OF me now for $11 .25, which. you see,
is from a consumer. 1t will be re-
turned to him to day. Won't sell to
hotels. We repeat, our policy is to
protect our regular customers"
W. NJ. Hoyt Company say: owe
opened two or three accounts with
cooperative stores, but it was just
at the beginning of this movement,
and we gave the matter very lit
tie thought, in fact we did not
realize what they were up to.
We cut these off some time ago and
have refused to have anything to do
with the cooperative stores since.
Last week one of these parties came
in from Iowa with $1,000 with which
to buy new stock OF goods, but we
declined to sell to him. We regard
these stores as consumers, and
wholesalers who are soliciting the
regular retail trade and catering to
the farmers store, should be avoided
by the former. Our house is very
particular to sell to none but mer-
chants.
The jobbers everywhere should do
all they can to discourage that part
of the Farmers Alliance pertaining
to merchandising. We think that the
Alliance might exert beneficial in
fluence in many lines. There are
wrongs which they might right,
abuses which they might, in a meas
ure, correct; but they will find that
the old channels of trade and COM
merce are too deep for them to stem.
We stand for the regular retailer
first, last and all the time"
The first establishment visited by