The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-03-07
NASHVILLE CENTRE, MIMI,
Feby 18th, 80.

Feby 18th, 80.
Ed. GREAT West:
We see from last weeks GREAT
WEST that the Executive Committee
of the State Alliance has issued it's
program for the annual meeting.
If we differ with the committee on the
manner in which the state meeting
ought to be conducted, we do SO
with due Difference to the formidable
array of names with which it is sign
ed. In the first place we believe with
the Farm, Stock and Home, "that
the mere fault finding era is past, -
or at least ought to be, and conse-
quently that all long -winded speeches
on the grievances of farmers, which
are generally made, with one eye OF
the speaker on the dispensers OF
Doodle, as the number of our Alliance
men who have been bought off will
show, will be a mere waste of time.
From every indication, our next an
nual meeting will be the largest and
most important which has ever been
held. Let us avoid the folly and mis-
takes of former meetings., by devot-
ing the time to the discussion oil
questions of practical Importance.
We all know now, and thanks are
due in great measure, to the GREAT
WEST, for the knowledge, the differ
ent grievances which the farmers suf-
fer. Let the Alliance at it's next an
nual meeting, adopt a plan of CAM
paign, to remove some of them, as
the Farm, Stock and Home says,
''let us find out what we want and
then take it," Now, what the farm
ers of Minnesota want the worst just
now, as we take it, is the difference in
the price OF his wheat, between that
which he gets and it's price in Liver
pool, less reasonable charge for
carriage and handling.
We may not be agreed as to meas
ures of relief, but we ought to be
agreed as to what will not relieve us.
for we have tried them long and oft
en- enough we have tried long strings
Of resolutions, and we have tried
the Railroad Commissioners, but as
Mr.. Donnelly has aptly said, "they
fight the railroad Co., with a stuffed
club" Let us spend no more time
on them At one State Alliance meet
ing we have in mind, after we had
been dosed with whereases enough to
have turned a Nationalist sick, an
other ambitious embryo statesman,
got permission from the good ma
tured, but deluded audience, to in
f1ict on them a long rambling re-
hash of what we had just suffered.
At the same meeting another speaker
took advantage of an invitation to
speak, to speak against time, and
he took up every minute there was
given for the discussion of matters OF
general interest. Let us beware OF
such, at our next meeting. Don't be
led on to false scent; sit down on
the time killer, sit down hard on the
man who while he is talking to you,
has his longing, lingering look''
fixed on the man with the Doodle. Be
gentle, but firm with the soft but
harmless fellow, who simply wants to
astOnish the natives and get his
name in print to show his admiring
relatives. They will all be there, and
they will kill the meeting as they
have killed every State Alliance
meeting, we have ever attended, with
the exception of the one. held in Man
kato in 1S83-if they are not kept
down.
Our advice would be to confine the
business of the meeting to the dis
cussion of measures of relief, taking
the most important first, which we
take to be-: "How shall we get our
grain to the consumer without being
robbed, and next, if thereis time, the
same in regard to our cattle.
| SETH BOTTOMLEY.
Open Letter to Mr.. Comstock.
To The GREAT WEST:
Below find a resolution passed by
the Moorhead Farmers Alliance and
letter accompanying a copy of the
Resolution:
RESOLVED, By the Moorhead Far
mers' Alliance: That we request our
Representative in Congress, the Hon.
s. G. Comstock, to work and vote to
put binding twine and the ma
terials from which it is manufacture
ed, on the free list in the proposed
Reform Tariff bill which is now be-
fore Congress, and that our Secre-
tary be instructed to forward q copy
to the Hon. s. G. Comstock. The
above carried unanimo ouslv.
R. w. PROBsTFIELD,
Secretary, pro TEN.
MooRHEAD, MIMI, Feby 25th, 80.
HON. S. G. COMsTOCK, M. C..