The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-07-24

6lSLS OF q National League and OF state
Leagues, with county and town Leagues.
The National League has general super
vision of the affairs of the Farmers
League and the work of organization,
and attends specially to the farmers in
terests in congress. The state Leagues
as soon as organized push the work OF
organization in their respective states,
and attend to the farmers special inter.
ests in the legislature. The county
League attends to the farmers interests
in county matters, and to affairs in SEN
atorial and representative districts The
town Leagues furnish the delegates who
constitute the county Leagues, and at
tend to the farmers interests in local
districts and in each election precinct"
1t was the League which shelved Gov
ernor Bulkeley, of Connecticut. It was
the League that was largely responsible
for the revolution in Massachusetts,. 1t
was the League which alone wrought the
political miracle of transferring the Mas
sachusetts senate from body four-ffths
Republican to one which is evenly bal
anced between the parties. The League
members were foremost in the revolt
against Quay in Pennsylvania, and in
other eastern states they everywhere ex-
ercised an active independence at the
polls.
The organization is of Massachusetts
birth, and its brief history is wonderful
ly significant and interesting. It was
started in the Bay State in the autumn
of 1889 for the purpose of effecting a
single object-the passage of an oleo-
margarine bill which the farmers had
for years been demanding. It was an
eleventh hour expedient resorted to by
The New England Homestead, the most
widely read agricultural publication of
that section of the country. In the mid
die of the state campaign The Home
stead called upon the farmers to COM
bine to secure the election of senate
which would pass the oleomargarine
bill. The house Of representatives has
uniformly passed the desired bill by
large majorities, but it has always failed
in the senate.
The evaporation Of the farmers was
shown by their prompt response to the
suggestion of The Homestead. There
was less than month in which to work,
too short time in which to seek to con-
troll the primaries in some of the sena-
torial districts. But within the month
nearly 40, 1000 farmers enrolled themselves
upon pledge to vote for only such can
didates as would agree to support the
bill. Then The Homestead made it's can
vass of the candidates in the forty sena-
torial districts, and shortly before elec-
tion printed the result. It was difficult
task for the farmers, because twenty six
of the forty districts are composed large
ly of city population. In answer to The
Homestead's inquiries sufficient num-
ber of pledges from candidates was So
cured to assure the passage of the bill in
the senate, no matter which party was
successful.
The net result was that of the forty
senators elected twenty-five had given
written pledges to vote for the oleomar-
garine bill. Then came an interesting
sequel. The bill passed the house by an
overwhelming majority. The farmers
were sold out in the senate. Two sena-
tors who had promised to support the
bill yielded to the influences brought to
bear on them, and it failed by tie vote
once more. OF course the farmers of
Massachusetts were wilder than ever.
They are in politics now to stay, and
party ties are thrown to the winds.
Such revolt in the rural districts was
never known, and it will by no means be
confined hereafter to single issue.
Requests began pouring in upon The
Homestead to push the campaign and to
make it national movement. A few
weeks after the election this demand
was complied with, and preliminary
organization was formed, with George
Powell, of Ghent, N. Y, as president;
Herbert Myrick, editor of The Home
stead, Springfield, Mass, as secretary,
and Walter P. White, of Connecticut, as
treasurer.
The farmers of Massachusetts, were in
dignant, clear down to their boots, over
the treachery from which they suffered.
They began whetting their knives for re-
venge last summer. Two or three of the
men who went back on them came up for
reelection. All the candidates for the
senate were thoroughly canvassed, and
every man who failed to give distinct
pledge for the farmers bill was black
listed. The result is that more than
twenty-five Of the forty senators-elect
were pledged to vote for honest butter.
The headquarters of the League are
at Springfield, in the Office of Secretary
Myrick, who is the founder of the organ
ization. Discussing the purposes of the
League, and the political uprising among
the farmers, Mr.. Myrick says:
'The country has no conception yet of
the extent and significance of this move
ment. Farmers have always been told
that they could not successfully com
bine. They have just found out that
they can organize as effectively as any
other class, and they are burning for the
opportunity to assert their power in
unison. Party ties are hanging very
loosely today upon the men who have
long been regarded as the corner stone
of both political parties. We are work
ing in thorough harmony with both
the Alliance and the Grange. Half
our members probably are also men,
bers of one or the other Of these or
CARNATIONS.
"We simply say to these orders: The
League will do the dirty work of politics
for you-work that is dirty only because
dirty men have been doing it. We aim
to restore the farmer to his former po-
htical prestige as the balance wheel Of