The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-03-20
More About the Alliance.

surprises and amuses me. Surprise
me to learn that as fair-miDded ant
able a mau as yourself should give ut
terauce to statements so un-Americal
and amuses me to see what biased
unfair opinion one will obtain by gath
ering the facts from one side of the cas,
only.
HOEing you will give space to on,
who desires TO express nothing but the
truth / will endeavor to answer some
of your statements concerning the f
NJ. Il. A. and the Alliance.
You say the +. NJ. b. A. came bear.
ing a good name, which brings to,mind
an article i'm the REGISTER of q year
ago commenting on the failure of a
firm that was under contract to sell
goods to the i. NJ. i. A. where you
say that such should be the fate of all
firms that entrust the transaction OF
their business to any organization or
set of men, thereby leading one to be-
lieve that in your opinion failure was
the right fate of anyone who contract
ed with the organization. But in the
next sentence you say the F. NJ. B. A.
lost its good name by lending itself to
the selfish schemes of designing dema-
gogues. Who are these terrible ode
signing demagogues?" What dark
and bloody schemes were they endeav-
oring to perpetrate upon the men
whom they called brethren? Had the
notorious Molly McGuires changed the
base of their operations from the dark
and Shiny coal pits of Pennsylvania to
the fair fields of Allen county? Or was
another Coffeyville outrage only nip
ped in the mud by the timely death of
the L. NJ. 3. A.? If either be true then
God speed the day when that and all
kindred organizations be swept from
the face of the earth. But happily
nothing of the sort is true. The +. NJ.
Is. \. served its time and has received
from its votaries blessing; and may
its days of usefulness never be over is
the prayer of all true members of the
order. But the memorable logic of
events retired that organization from
Allen county only to make room for
another having precisely the same OBJ
ject in view, viz: the betterment of
those connected with it. "The great
est good to the greatest number" is
the essence of social philosophy. The
+. NJ. B., A. restricting its membership
to a certain class and only limited
number of that class has been succeed
ed by the broader and more complete
Alliance. The good work begun by the
former has been added to the burden
of the latter. That she will be able to
carry it on to the shining goal of COM
plete success is fOregone conclusions!
1.-THE Alliance comes bearing bad
name because it is a southern organic
alton with southern principles" is the
way you put it. That sentence ought
to go down to posterity as a malignant
specimen of fanatical sectionalism, but
hardly worthy the versatile pen of one
who represents the public opinion of
the shadowy end of the Nineteenth |
century. Let me say right here, i'll
the Alliance is the humble instru-
ment whereby one iota may be accom-
plished toward filling up the bloody |
chasm made by that monster, Slavery, |
and left as natural sequence of the
Rebellion, then its work is well done
and succeeding generations will bless
1t. Southern principles are Northern |
principles and Eastern principles are
Western principles, for the East, the
West, the North, the South all make
one grand Nation over which floats
the Stars and Stripes, the protector of
the weak, the symbol of liberty.
Now a few words concerning the
Alliance as a 'secret political party"
Nothing can be farther from the truth
than the assertion that such is the
case. "There shall be no religious or
political test for membership" is one
of the provisions of the constitution.
Every member is at liberty to act and
vote as he sees fit. I hardly know
what is meant by a secret political
party. 1t seems 20 me such thing is
an absurdity, if not all absolute i'm
possibility. A secret is a thing known
only by those interested. \ secret /
istence is known only by its members.
Such cannot possibly be the case with
the Alliance. l will venture the as
sertion that there is not now, never
has been and never will be an orgauiz-
alton of any kind, religious, political,
social, scientific, educational or what
not, but that it kept part of its pro-
ceedings sacred from the prying ewes
of an oft-times meddlesome public, Ii
and was therefore to that extent Sc
cret. The demands, declaration, con-
stitution and, in fact, absolutely all
the works of the Alliance except y
its ritual and unwritten work become ,
the property of the public sooner or
later. Have We not the right to keep
cur own private affairs to ourselves?
Is it any difference TO you and Your :
what and my neighbor do, 8
so long as We obey the law and give !
You what is justly yours? What then
are the Objectionable secret features of |
the Alliance? The fact that the Su- i
preme Council of the Alliance refused =
10 endorse any nOlitical Marty at ito
Ocala, Fla, meeting was published
broadcast Throughout the land. The {
constitution, a copy of which / take 7
pleasure in inclosing herewith, de-
elares there shall be no political test
for membership. All this and many
other things that the unbiased eye of L
tair-minded man can zee ought to
convince the most critical that the AL I
lance is not a secret polical party >
-transplanted i'll Kansas for the pur-
pose of overthrowing the Republican 8
party" Your quotation concerning t
sneaking along byways and hedge Y
rows to darkened country schoolhoHs- >
-, gaining entrance by signs, ETC..
and the one with regard TO the pay c
nent Of salaries five times as big as v
hey could earn at en- honest" bust r
hess, are unworthy place in the coll
INNS Of the REGISTER.
CHRIS. ;. RITTER, I
Pres. Co. Alliance. l
There are a few points in the above Il
communication from our friend Ritter o
hat seem to call for brief comment. C
He quotes what the REGISTER said t
b6ut the Z. n. B.,A: estmiIfS with !