The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1890-04-26
4 SeandalOus Deal.
Especial to the Commercial. |


Washington, April 1S.-A dicker be-
tween the Farmers Alliance, the
Knights of Labor and the Republican
party. This is the latest scheme on
foot here. That such a dicker is being
attempted by Republicans here there
is no doubt. II is the hope of the Re-
publican leaders to make such trade
with the Alliance in order that that
organization will cut loose from the
Democratic party and thereby, to .
large extent, benefit the Republicans
in the next Congressional race. The
scheme, as it is being privately discuss
ed here now by leading Republicans
of the House and Senate and high Off.
GERS In the Alliance and Knights of
Labor Federation, is for the Republi-
can party to assume a similar attitude
toward the Alliance that they did in
the Cate-Featherstone contested elec-
tion case from Arkansas. Feather
stone, who was the Alliance candidate
and who was defeated, was seated by
the Republicans and he is now voting
with them and has a seat ON the Re-
publican side, although he claims to
be strictly an Independent-only vot.
ing for the right and good of the ALI
ance.
This revelation ought to sink Fcath.
erstone as low in Arkansas as
Chalmers is in Mississippi. Congress
man John Allen thus lais pare the un.
principled coalition:
at is now apparent to the Republi
can party that unless they can control
Southern elections either by the ma.
chinery of Federal election laws or by
divisions among our Southern white
people they will be overwhelmingly
defeated this fall. Their program Il
to encourage an alliance between
Southern Republicans and the Farmers
Alliance in the ho., of disrupting tn,
Democratic party in the South. Il
will only be tried In the South, fol
they think their politicians can gC
among tho Alliances of the North ant
West, and by waving the bloody shirt
and arousing prejudice against thu
Southern people they can hold then
in the Republican party and thus re
tain their ontrol of the House of Rep
resentatives. The unscatlng Of Judg,
Cate of Arkansas, who was elected
and the seating of Featherstone, wht
was not elected, was the Inauguration
of the scheme. They would nevel
have committed SO great an outrag,
for just one vote. It was to encourag,
the Farmers Wheel or Alliance in IL
opposition to the Democratic party
see row 1t wosks, and lei the farme
take warning. Now that Featherston,
Is seated there is no more subservien
member of the Republican party II
the House tb,n he. This program |
the main reliance Of the Republican
TO retain power, and they will use thei
ill-gotten money and patronage to aC
conplish II. There may be individu
ais among our farmers organization
who, for the sake of office, would al
tempt to load them into this unhol
alliance, but they can't do 1t. Our Of
ricultural people are too intelliger
and patriotic to be caught with an
such tricks. They know the Republ
can party is the source of most Of til
ills from which they now suffer. The
know that the vicious legislation tn,
has made present conditions possib
is due to that party. That it is u
representative of the classes in the
war on the masses. They know al:
that the Democratic party is the on
organization equipped to make th
contest in their interest. Take Il
tariff debate two years ago, 1t j. Il
teresting to read II now, The Dem,
orats insisted that the farmers wei
being oppressed under our presel
system of taxation, and the Republ
cans, from the first speech to the la
In that debate, insisted that the farr
ers were prosperous and were gettir
rich by reason of the tariff laws. 81
how their statements are verified
the present depressed conditions
agriculture. The farmers are not fool
They have had too much experien'
with the Republican party to go
them for help"