The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-09-29
REPRESENTATION

NEA NLSA4 1 "A 4O4N'
Mr.. EDITOR:-In THE PROGRESSIVE
FARMER of Sept. Sth [ noticed particu-
Iarly, and read with great pleasure,
qualification and profit, your editorial
headed "Office- Seekers" The utter
ances therein. as they accord so well
but are ten times better expressed and
eXpOunded than what I've been trying
to say from the first start of the ALI
ance in North Carolina on the same
subject, are after my own heart. VIII
YOU allow me to extend the subject
after my own hat-foOted, sIap-dash.
clOdhOpper fashion? | have please
pardon the ego in National and State
organs and local papers, written about
this subject to such an extent that I'm
afraid I've not only worn it out to a
fragile, bat those who have read the
articles will be sick at the sight of any
thing more from me on the subject. \
deep conviction of the Importance of
the subject is my only XCuse for these
parting remarks upon 1T, lnStlgated by
your able and timely editorial. | Will,
at the risk Of repeating myself on sew
eral points, be as brief as possible upon
this my pet subject.
By sending men to Legislative halls
to represent us who haven't marked
ability, and who can't hold their own
upon any question brought up for con
s]lderatiOn, we will accomplish nothing
in the way of reform. They will these
nincOmpOOps) only be the prey of the
few shrewdly political intellectual
ones who will direct and sway them to
adopt their own course, and, in every
way, subserve the aims of these willy.
scheming fellows self interests instead
of our own. The place for such men is
in none of the walks of public life.
They are bad enough when in the clos
est retirement of private seclusiOn.
But such men sometimes, such is our
blind fondnesS to be gulled and vince
died, get on the tidal wave of some
political cOnvulsiOn and are carried,
amid great hurrahs, to places of honor
and responsibility even when their I'M
fitness is known and acknowledged,
Surely, we've had sad experience
enough of such folly to now put a stop
to e~levating such men into places which
they fill, Or rather keep empty, to our
detrlment and their WI SeliShly am
bilious, shallOw-brained exhibition of
themselves. We should bear in mind
that we, the people, ire to blame by
deliberately allowing ourselves to be
tilched out of Our rights, desires and
demands (9 by putting men in place
who promise but never perform, and
who, withal know not how to perform.
Think you if we put a hungry wolf in
a sheep-fOld he would refuse to save
his appetite? This is just exactly what
we have done. We have persisted in
turning political wolves into our folds
7IVo4i1 1rD L0r-D 01pODr@ l1o@-11 I-1-1lr,
lambs to the greed and insatiate appe-
tite of their fathOmleSS maws.
Shall we, by our own miserable, in
eXcuSable fault in securing proper rep
reSentatiOn, submit to perpetual stag
nation and wallow, in the mean time,
in the mire of political ]rOttenness and
corruption by sticking, like a tick, to
either of the senile, superannuated
parties at the behest of politicians who
stink with the OdOr that permeates
their very souls and bodies from the
seething bribery of the putrid Offal of
lObbyism that reigns supreme at the
National Capitol?
Aye, political ambition for the last
% years has been nothing but a sod
denly SOrdid colossus of self interest.
No attruistic, nc patriotic impulse ever
disturbed the thirt, the rapacious
greed Of these demagOgueS to enhance
their w personal aims. Shall we,
by sticking to such creatures, render
ourselves pOwerless through such rep
r~ehensible panderingt to political selfish
ness and m~Cndacity, to resist the mer-
CHESS eXtOrtions of mOnopolistic satraps
and chartered swindlers whose reign
over us has been so perniciOus and
still is their purpose to continue? I'm
less we head off this soulless political
corruption every outrage upon this
and succeeding generations, which a
conjunction of private greed with ire
sponsible and unlimited power can en-
gender, will surely be the portion that
awaits us, with intensified helpless.
ness, to throw off such an enslavement.
Let us remember that in choosing rep
~resentatives we are exercising not only
a grave responsible ity, but bear in
mind, at the same time, that we are
upholdIng a great issue based upon
economic truth, and in defence Of it
we should be utterly oblivious of men
and places, position and power" or
else we are doomed to be, for all thine,
miserable victims to selfish political
ambition and ~plutocratic greed.
II we are true to ourselves, true to