The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-07-08
SENATOR VANCE AND THE SUB
- TREASURY PLAN.
He Writes a Letter to President Carr
and Declares that He Cannot
Support the Bill and Gives
Several Reasons.
SENATE CHAMBER, June %, 80.

SENATE CHAMBER, June %, 80.
Elias Carr, Esq.,, President Farmers.
Alliance Of N. c., Old Sparta, N. g.:
MY DEAR SIR:-So many reports
concerning my position on what is
known as the Sub Treasury or Farm
ers' Warehouse bill have been circu
lated in our State, and l have re.
ceived so many letters of inquiry on
the subject, that | have deemed it my
duty to answer them all in this way.
| write to you as the honored head of
the Farmers Alliance of North Caro-
lima, and desire in this manner to make
known to the people my honest opin
ion on this and cognate subjects. l
do this all the more readily because l
am conscious that | have never, in
the course of my political life, con
cealed from the people who have hon
ored me any candid conviction in re
gard to any important public matter.
1t is too late for me now to begin
such q course.
On the 25th of February, 1890, at
the request of Col. L. L. Polk, Presi-
dent, of N. F. Alliance and Industrial
Union, [ introduced in the Senate bill
No. 2,8O6, popularity known as the
Sub-Treasury Bill and procured it's
reference to the Committee on Agri.
culture and Forestry, where it was
supposed that it would receive more
friendly consideration than from the
Committee on Finance, to which it
would otherwise have gone according
to the rules. On receiving it [ told
both Col. Polk and Dr.. Macune, the
Chairman of the Legislative Commit
tee Of the Alliance, that | was not
prepared to promise them to support
the bill; that it was a great and radi,
cal departure from the accustomed
policy Of our legislation, and that there
yer questions both of p~racticability
and constitutionality, which [ wished
to reserve. [ told them also, that l
hoped for good results from it's intro
duction. and believed that its discus
sion would attract the attention of
the country to the condition and the
wants of the agricultural classes, and
if this bill was not deemed the proper
one, that some other would be formu.
lated in the direction of the needed
relief. [ procured al carly considera
ton of the bill by the CO nmittee, and
a very able and ms, III: eresting dis
cussion by Messrs. Polk and Macune
was had. But so far without result.
The committe has not yet made a re-
port, though [ am assu I'd that a ma
jority of it's members are anxiously
seeking to devise a method of relief
which shall not be open to the objec-
tons of that bill.
Ny own position remains the same.
[ cannot support this bill in it's pres
ent shape. But | am not opposed to
the principle and purposes of the
measure. On the contrary they are
those which [ have for ten years ad.
vocated, and for the accomplishment
of which 1 have in every county in
North Carolina again and again urged
the organization of the farmers, point
ing out to them how that all other
classes of society were organized for
the promotion of their separate in
terests. 1t is a shameful truth, that
in the enormous growth of the wealth
of u country in the last twenty
years, the farmers have not proper
tionately participated. All candid
men admit that they have not had
their aggregate prosperity of our
country. The reason of this is
as plain to be seen as any cause
for any effect. For a quarter of
a century the legislation of our
country has been VIGOROUSLY in the
interest of certain combinations of
capital. The manufacturers has been
protected by enormous duties upon