The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-11-17
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
To the State Farmers Alliance.

Of California:
Among the expected events ever be
Gore US IN the flight Of time, which the
heart fondly anticipates as we near the
point ( fruitlOn, is the annual meeting
of 6le State Alliance; to those who
parted at a SOSe, and have travelled
through the vicissitudeS of the passing
q Since last we separated, manly
aspirations, no doubt, have excited
each Of us to deeds of energy and enter
prEse-tO eXertiOnS in the battle of life,
where some have won the need desired.
and others perhaps, have wearied by
@Ehe way, intrOublea and disappointment.
Sur fareWellS were uttered In the
true sentiment of brOtherhO d, and, as
we parted, each one on his path of life,
the strong ligaments of affection be
tween heart and heart and heart. have
held us in sympathy in our wander
z2ngS, warmed us into action for the
%fuiEllment of our missions, and finally
brought lis together again In the salts
factory assurance that III progress IN
Shis great work has been onward and
triumphant: Then let our first earnest
desire be, in this happy reunion, that
Itmays0 continue until all Ourdemands
shall be crystalized into law, and then,
let US, in unity of purpose act our parts
m the preservation of the Temple of
Liberty which shall shelter us, and
which we hope may shelter those who
vii live in the far off era when our
names and our times will only be known
as part of the record of a glorious past.
[ welcome you, my brothers n SIS
ters of the State Alliance, with all the
feeling and sympathy of a heart that
car appreciate the true value of a
friendship springing from the best i'm
pulses of Our nature. l congratulate
you upon the general prosperity of the
Alliance throughout the State, and
4pon the good order, harmony, and
unequalled success of this great Reform
throughout the United States. From
every quarter, the glad tidings come
that union and fraternal feelings pre-
~Ea1 among us; that in a remarkable
degree, we have been spared by disease
and death. Not OneOf those who parted
at San Jose have passed over the river
) the frail bark of old CharOn, the
grim ferTyman, but health and happi-
les have a0Ounded. No gloom is
n05ed, and but little contention is
heard. Good will, good hearts, and a
determination to win, characterize the
broad arc we repreSen Mt, and but little
3iscord prevails among the brethren,
and this mostly upon the eligibility of
candidates who petition for member
ship. This question IS settled many
times wrongly by the blackball, which
causes eartburningS among the friends
Of she rejected, but on the whole, the
members rise above these small mat
5eTs and look forward with hope and
confidence to the time when our de-
l78ndS will be the law of the land.
Eney recognize the fact that this is the
same struggle for liberty and justice
shat the tOiling millions have been en-
gage3 in since the birth of time, and it
has been resisted by tyranical govern
Eneuts until all went down in wreck
and ruin.
All along the path over which man
has travelled since the birth of Adam
are scattered the wrecks of govern
cEzeatS that tried to enslave the tOiling
millions. These are dead watch fires,
serving now only to mark the spots
where the great army Of civilization
~caTnped for q night. On the very spot
where mans infancy was graded a
score Of nations have risen, fOurished.
and expired; and nOmOrrOw'S sun shall
esVer dawn on them, to chase the gloom
and darkness from their starless night.
BY the tomb of Achilles and the Palaces
of Priarn the slavish herdsman tends
his dOcks; and the wandering Arab.
0A&GCLASClOuS VI Ul0 ldl6u glory WHICH
has m down to us through the pages
of history and the glimmer of tradition,
pitches his rude tent by the shattered
columns Of some proud old city of the
dead past, and pillows his head on the
~CTUmbllng fragments Of thrones and
crowns. Decay and destruction has
been written on all by the ineXOrable
hand Of hard and cruel fate, and the
Earth we tread seems % but one vast
~sepuichre, in which lie buried the
hopes of all who have struggled for
&heir liberties against organized wealth.
BUT this contest must go on until man
nwIll govern himself, or his freedom is
lost IN the general wreck, when the
chains are riveted upon his ankles.
This great assembly of the wealth
producers of California is here for a
We are here in the name of
all that is pure and true and self deny
ing. We are here where sOftiest skies
are mirrors Of the beauties and majesty
OF the earty in bud and flower and
fruit. We are here, O beautiful land,
vsRhare life blooms and ripens by almost
&EEperceptible processes, and age itself
zEresbens in the fountain of perpetual
ryOath. We are here from many chimes,
representing many industries, and
many sentiments, to blend in a pathetic
harmy the rich juices Of a liberal
patriotism. We are also here to send
S0U cur protest against Poverty, Pau
perlsm, and ~Plutocracy, and the mes
sage Of our determination to maintain
the purity and integrity Of this great
republic, whose shores are washed by
the two great oceans. We are here
$40 denounce the most OdiOus species of
aEyranny. That a handful of men
should exercise the most base and
Iabominable despotism over millions of