Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-03-07
AnBvHL HEAD.
U. S. Hall. State Lecturer Of the 2
and L. U. Gives some Whole
some Advice.
HUBBARD, Randolph Co, No,


ton you ask is whether it is the in
terests Of the Farmers and LabOrers'
Union to make war on retail merch-
ants, by either starting cooperative
stores or by throwing all our business
into one merchants hand.
The importance of the question
you ask cannot be over estimated,
whether you look at it from the sell
fish stand point of the good Of our or
der or from its effect upon the bust
ness men known as retail merchants.
The present impoverished condi-
ton of the farming class has been
brought about by the combinations of
business men known as trusts, mon
opolies and associations of a business
character, the object Of such assOcia-
tions beng to increase the price of /
what we have to buy and to decrease
the price of what we have to sell.
It is on account of these trusts that |
we have been forced to organize our
selves into the Farmers and Laborers'
Union. The immediate effect and
sole object of trust is to set aside
the normal price Of any commodity
that is fixed by the laws of supply
and demand, and to break down all
competition between the members of
the trusts, therefore one of the great
ear marks of trust is lack of compe-
tition among its members.
The question now arises; as we
have been forced to join ourselves in
to a body or a union in order to de-
fend ourselves against trusts; how
must we act after our organization is
perfected?
VIII we turn our body against
those who have turned against us?
viii we organize against those who
have organized against US, will we
fight the trusts that fought us? All
of our brothers will answer these
questions: yes" I then ask have
you ever known of a combination
among retail merchants to beat down
the price of what we have to sell or to
increase the price of what we have to
buy?
I have asked this question in
great many counties in this state and
before large audiences and I have
never been able to find in a single in
stance where there has been any such
combination. On the contrary you
will find in every country town in this
state the livliest competition among
the local merchants; you see them
advertising their business in the pa
pers, by hand bills trying to under
sell each other, and in some cases
more or less back-biting; in fact you
find the very llvliest competition for
trade. You can then set it down as a
safe proposition that there is no trust
among our local merchants, except
in such cases where we force them
into Il trust.
The local merchants can be drawn
into trust but only by US forcing
them in.
Is this a proper position thea for US
to occupy? I think not We CLAIM
land it is true) that we are forced in
. to organization on account of others
having organized against us; now do
we not vlolabs the principle of our
existence if we turn upon those who
E have never made war upon as and
: TRY to crush them out of existence,
and thereby force them into a trust IN
self defense?
If we pursue such a course as that
we will build up fifty trusts where
there is one now, for every country
town will have its trust organized for
, the purpose of breaking US down. It
, viii be a happy day for the trusts of
this country when they can see the
! energies and strength of our order
+ turned against the local merchants
7 and other legitimate business. and
not turned against them. the trusts
Farmers. you ought to be too old
fox hounds 70 be led off by a rabbit
, running across the f9x's trail. Don't
allow yourself to be fooled. The COM
mercial agencies of the country show
that over so per cent. of the local
7 merchants Of our state have failed in
business or quit it as not paying in
9 the last Is years. That class Of men
!, are not robbIng us. We are being
: robbed by the trusts engendered,
a built up and fOstered by inIquitous
: Legislation, and then let US turn our