Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-02-25


velop Momentum and Overwhelming
Force.
This is the all important subject Of
discussion from one end of the order to
the other. The letters and communica-
tions received at this Office show that
three times as many people are writing
and thinking on this subject than any
other at this time. 1t is like an epidem-
ic which suddenly spreads over the
whole country. There is no telling
whence it came, h ow long it will pre-
vail or how disastrous the result may
be. Under such circumstances it is ex-
tremely important that a great order
like the Farmers Alliance should have
plain and well understood policy upon
the subject, otherwise difference of
opinion gradually becoming fixed senti-
ment under the fire of discussion, would
tend to promote division and discord
within the ranks. If there is no fixed
and settled policy officially interpreted
there will be many local versions of the
policy interpreted by the partial eyes of
personal inter est and great confusion
must of necessity follow.
The order and the public are, there
fore, to be congratulated that the SUI
preme Council did see fit to inaugurate
a policy, plain, simple, easily under
stood, conservative, wise and consist
ent The following is an extract from
the report of the chairman of the exec
utive board as adopted:
He cautioned the order as to the great
sponsibility resting upon this body at this
time as to what action 1t takes in regard to
the political situation. The order could
never participate in any partisan political
effort, and In the South it was opposed to
giving its sanction to any independent or
third party move on the part of the men,
bers, while in the West and Northwest the
delegates claim that the order will retro
grade If such sanction is not given. In this
| emergency he thought he had a compromise
to offer that would meet the case exactly, and
that was for this body to hereby say that It
gives its sanction and call for a meeting to
be held about February, 1892, TO be composed
of delegates from all organizations of pro-
ducers upon a fair basis of representation
for the purpose OF "a general and thoro ugh
conference upon the demands of each, and
| to the end that all may agree upon Joint
set of demands just prior to the next Ma
| tional campaign, and agree upon the proper
methods for enforcing such demands If
| the people by delegates coming direct from
them agree that third party move is neces-
! sary, it need not be feared. That the next
session of this Supreme Council elect dele
! gates from this order to represent it in said
| National conference of productive organiza-
tions for political purposes
For the purpose OF carrying out JnlS
proposition, the following resolution
was introduced by Brother Guice, Of
Louisiana, and by the body referred to
the joint committee on confederation:
Whereas, We have already adopted the re-
| port of the chairman of the Executive Board
in part, and whereas said report did recon-
mend that this body authorize a call for a
convention of all labor organizations to be
| held in February, 1892; now, therefore, be 1t
Resolved, That this body elect a commit
tee composed OF one from each State, here
| represented, to be known as the National
Executive Committee, for the special
| purpose OF comforting with like COM
| mittees from other organizations,
| and deciding questions as to time and
| place OF meeting, basis of representation,
| and submit to their respective States the de-
| mands of all such other labor organizations
as will probably be represented at such la
Dor conference each member to be ex- officio
| chairman in his State and to have authority
| to appoint Congressional district chairmen,
who In turn shall appoint county chairmen
| for the purpose of bringing our demands
| and those of the other labor organizations
squarely before the people during the COM
| ing year, and secure an expression from
them as to what concessions they will make
in order to secure general co operation and
what methods they will adopt to secure the
same
The general joint committee on fed
Grafton, to which this was referred, is
composed of Ben Terrell, chairman; L.
E. Livingston, r. F. Rogers, 81. L.
Loucks and w. j. Talbert. This COM
| mite was called together by the chair
man and met in Washington, D. c., on
the 22d inst.
The condition of the business, briefly
| stated, is: Neither the officers of the
order nor the delegates to the Supreme
| Council at Ocala were willing to attempt
to define the ultimate position of the
membership, nor were they willing to
| choose delegates to convention for the
purpose of doing so, but In order to
settle the business they refer it back to
the people by placing the conference
meeting over year away, in order to
| give ample time for the demands of all
| organizations of producers to be pre-
sented and considered by each, so that
the delegates to the next Supreme Coun-
| Gil will come with full knowledge OF
the sentiment in his State, and with full
| power to represent it in the selection Of
delegates to the great conference. II
| will take all this time to get full and
member of the order, and if such indi-
viduals by their duty elected dele
gates meet in February, 1892 and
formulate a set of demands on
| which all the producers of America
stand pledged, and offer such demands
to both political parties to be incorpor-
ated in their platforms, and both such
| parties refuse to accept, then such or
ganizations of producers Immediately
resolve themselves into a new party for
the purpose of enforcing such demands.
IT all this should occur it would in no
way commit the Alliance as an
order to partisan political move
ment but would leave the order as
now. The confederation might, and IL
might not, be committed to a partisan
political move, but in case it should be
and should fail, and the failure broke
up the confederation, there Is no more
reason for supposing that would hurt
the various orders that participate in
the confederation than there would be
for supposing that the destruction of a
party would destroy the individuals
that compose it
The great labor movement of to-day
Us educational. 1t does not depend upon
agitation, and therefore every new step
In its evolution must emanate from the
ranks OF the people. It has no leaders
who can manipulate II to their own ad-
vantage and advancement, and If any
such leaders, self-constituted, should
turn up they viii quickly be rebuked.
The demands of all organizations of pro-
ducers willing to cooperate in this great
cause will be published in The National
Economist and all other reform papers
at once. They should be read and dis
cussed in the subordinate or primary
organizations, and whom delegates are
elected to county, district, State and
National meetings, they should be fully