St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-29
How the Alliance Nay Be
Prrofitably Used in Boil
STEERING Prices.
What the Outcome Will Be-
Future Prices and How to
Secure Them.

HASTINGS, Mimi, July 2S.-A CORE
spondent for a Chicago paper inter
viewed Hon. Ignatius DOnnelly, preSi-
dent of the state Farmers Alliance, at
his home at Nininger. Mr.. Donnelly
said:
'What do think of the scheme of the
Farmers Alliance to corner the wheat
crop of the United States, so as to put
up prices? Well, in the first place, l
don't understand that the Farmers AL
lance has any such scheme. L think
the whole thing comes from a few men
worthy men, no doubt. and Jealous
but do not understand that they have
any authority to speak for any national
Farmers Alliance organization, and
l am very sure that the State
Alliance of Minnesota has never
had anything to do with the
matter. The fact is, the more powerful
and numerous the membership Of the
Alliance becomes the greater is the
temptation for outside interests to use it
for their own profit, and the greater,
therefore, the necessity that those who
really represent it should be careful.
conservative and honest men. If half a
dozen men can control the time when
100000 bushels of wheat shall be sold
and the price it is to bring they will
WELD power greater than that OF all
the bulls and bears in Chicago and New
York put tOgether-a power almost
bOundleSS with which to enrich them
selves and ruin others.
"DO you argue, therefore, that the
farmers ought not to combine TO control
the price of Wheat?'
Not at all. But l claim that what
ever is attempted in that direction
should only be done after the fullest
and most careful deliberatiOn. and with
the most complete organization. l
would suggest that at the time of hold
ing the Peoples party's national con-
VentiOn, Feb. p next, an organization
might be effected embracing all the
Farmers Alliances of the United States.
Each State Alliance should elect a COM
mittee OF its wisest and most honorable
men, and these in turn might elect
national committee. Then the latter
committee should elect officers. The
duty of these officers should be to Or
ganiZe a ayStem of collecting statistics
of all crops raised in the current
year in the whole world, and they
should issue monthly bulletins Civ
ing in cipher information to their
members as to the condition of the crops
from month to month, with their views
as to the prices that could be reasonably
demanded for the same and sugges-
tons as to the proper time to sell. so as
not to OyerStOck the markets. The
local alliances could elect reliable men
TO make reports every month to the
m nc 70 If
grain. cotton, etc. on hand and tine
condition of the growing crops. To
save postage a small newspaper could
be issued monthly in which the infOr-
NATION collected could be published,
but in such way that it would be I'M
Ineligible except to the secretaries of
local alliances, who would, in secret
meetings, read it TO the members for
their information and guidance"
Gould you get honest men to carry
out such scneme?7
Il think we could. There is grad
ual process of wedding out going on in
all the alliances. The men who can see
nothing in the movement but a chance
to fill their pockets Will be pushed
aside. The producers are much in
earnest, and there is no reason why
they should not be just as shrewd and
capable OF self government as the non
producers. In fact, if you trace back
the history of all the smart fellows of
the cities, in nine cases out of ten they
were farmers boys. The honest man
in many cases is simply the knave who
is intelligent enough to know that it is
TO his interest to act honestly.
some old philosopher said that if
in the long run 1t was more prOfita-
bic to be rascally than honorable then
the wise man would turn rogue. As
long as the alliance was loosely organ
lied, small, pOWeTleSS society the smart
Alexis played with it, and were ready
to sell it out to the highest bidder. But
when the order grew powerful, and the
farmers had blood in their eye" they
began to find men who would stand
right by them through thick and thin.
And have no doubt that the farmers
have now reached such a point of de-
VelOpment that they could safely carry
on such a society as l have described"
''WOuld not such an organization. if it
was successful, put up the price of food
beyond all reasonable limits, and starve
the cOnsumerS?'
THAT question illustrates the neces-
Sity there would be for such a national
council or congress as | have described
of the best men of the several states. |
have heard men talk wildly about put
ting wheat up to s. bushel. That is
nonsense. II means S25 a barrel for
-four. Such policy would rapidly de-
feat itself, for itwould force the prOduc-
ton of immense quantities of wheat by
the semi-serfs of Russia and the ryots
of India. to whom an organization could
not extend. and i'll a little while we
would find the wheat interests of the
United States permanently ruined. If
the farmers had the power to fix the
price of all their productions they would
have to exercise that power with great
caution and fairness, and in a broad
and humane spirit. If they get
good, fair price for what
they raise, price that will
pay a reasonable interest on the capital
invested, that will insure them the com
forts of civilized life and give them a
competency for their old age, the agri-
cultural regions of our land would be-
come a paradise of prosperity and
beauty. and every pursuit would thrive
with the success Of the farmers. As it
is now, the farmer does not fix the price
Of a single thing he sells or buys. He
is the subject and the prey of all other
interests. Hence he IS going TO the