St. Landry democrat., 1891-03-28
FARMERS, LABORERS
And the People Generally Addressed by
Alliance Men.
SHORT DOZEN OF MEMBERS OF THE OR.
DER, SOME OF THEM LEGISLATORS. HAVE
A FEW PTTHY POINTS TO ELUCIDATE TO
THE PUBLIC.

| A FEW PITHY POINTS TO ELUClDATE TIC
TIE PUBLIC.
An Address to the Farmers. Laborers, and al
people of Texas
AUSTIN, Texas, March I've the I'M
| dersigned members of the Farmers Ali
! auce of Texas, come before the people
with facts that ought to be known.
The grand principles of the order are as
| enduring as time. Their very grandeur
adds to the calamity caused by any viola
been violated by the very men in whom
we have most trusted. These violations
and their perpetuations have reached that
| limit where forbearance ceases to be a vr-
| tue, therefore we enter our solemn protest.
These principles were violated in the
| organization of the Alliance Exchange at
Dallas. where thousands of dollars we're
wrung from the pockets of many poor
men IN Texas. by taking advantage of
| tender ties of fraternity, with circulars
making professions which have proven
| false and promises which were never in
tended to be fulfilled. The management
of that concern was false and fraud llept
| from start to finish. Some of those en-
gagged therein knew this, and yet no single
one among the leading spirits rails ed pro-
! testing hand while their enormous salaries
were being pocketed While the lesser
lights did protest. they We're vilely and
| maliciously slandered as traitors in dis
gu,se. By tactics as shrewd and plausible
as they were devilish. they gained conf
dence from the membership which for in
tensity and unanimity was phenomenal,
and then violated it by robbing them with
| a merciless greed which has no parallel in
history. (This does not apply to the
| management of the commercial agency,
now in existence The men who led in
this outrage have by some strange mis-.
chance of practice, continued to lead our
people They have been leaders in the
several movements looking to torturing
the principles of the order into political
| platform. They lave been leaders in i'm
| polling upon the country what is known
as the subtressury bill in shape thai it
must perforce CO operate towards the
organization of third party. which can be
| used BY these leaders either to gain
political power, if strong enough, or in
| the event of too much weakness, to sell
out as political farce.
The Alliance of Texas is in position to
| purify the leading party in Texas, if
purity is needed, and soon to bring about
| a condition of things which viii relegate
chronic office hunters and those who have
| controlled the party in the interest of
| the money power which is willing to pay
corrupt men any price to defeat the PEG
pies cause. We sincerely believe the
| Efforts of these leaders are with view to
breaking the peoples power, and we be-
lieve in the purity Of an honest govern,
| ment and to perpetuate the same and q
| noble order, to aid in defeating so fearful
| and calamitous purpose as is now being
| perpetrated by lot of steerers upon the
honest Alliance men of Texas. These
| leaders have not only tried to sell out the
farmers of Texas, but sold out to Pa. CAL
houn, in Georgia, and almost sacrificed the
+ people upon the alter of bribery, when
the Alliance of that State discovered the
traitorcus plot, and defeated it by de-
| feating their candidate, millionaire rail-
| road man. and leading spirit in the gam
bling speculations of Wall street.
These leaders did not stop at this. Prior
| to the late State Alliance, their trusted
| and too willing satellites bushwhacked
| Texas, and secured the election of SUI
fcient number of delegates to the State
Alliance to pack that body in their in
terest, make it a tool of their nefarious
schemes and secure its quasi endorsement
of the subtreasury plan; not only this, but
they waited until large number of dele
gates (some 10Y had gone home, keeping
| the willing tools on hand-when they,
ffaudulently ana by false pretense, Sc
cured control OF our organ-all tnas was
| left to the order. And to do this, the
chairman, at the hour of mldnight-when
| three of the members were in bedroom
| the promise that the question should not
come up, he allowd it to be brought up.
| and on tie vote the chairman cast the de-
| Gliding vote by casting the vote of the dele
gate from Young county. who had gone
hcms three days before
This shameful fraud was perpetrsted
| for the sole purpose of making it defend
| their nefarious past and future, since the
time named the Mercury has so defended
| them. Their leaders and their organ has
lime and again been challenged to answer
grave charges of falsehood, fraud and
trickery against farmers, as committed by
the leaders. and endorsed by the Mercury
They have all avoided meeting any OF
these issues squarely and honestly, and
| hence, in the eyes of the world. mus,
| stand convicted. The action of these
leaders steering legislative committee
| (Which one of the executive committee
says never was appointed except by the
| president). now at the capitol is enough tC
| disgrace any order and condemn them in
the eyes of all honest man ia Tevas. They
are being led by men and fighting for
measures that at the polls last November
the people buried; closeted with parties
who have not the interest of the people at
heart. They have tried to defeat the peo-
| pie of Texas in securing just and equits
| BILE railway commission bill. Appearing
before tine committees and making speeches
for a measure that the people have spoken
in laundering tones against. Such actions
| are not only condemned by all Alliance
| men in this legislature, but all others
| here. Volumes more could be urged, but
in heavens name this is enough.
Our purpose in this is 10 appeal to ever,
| Alliance man to assist in purifying cur
| noble order of these men who have dis
| graced US; robbed us; and who do not de-
serve any mans confidence and sympathy.
| These men who have never touched the
| order at any point, without leaving a
| poisonous and ksnkerous sore upon it, and
profred by our calamity. Bretheren, in
the name of our grand order-our honor
for the sake of your wives and children,
we appeal to yon to put the brand of your
| disapproval upon them in such manner
as to force them to ply their outrageous
| practice elsewhere. or at the worst, enable
US at the next State Alliance to stamp
them from place and power and put in
their stead men of honor. patriotism and
real love of our great order and cause.
Let US labor for the education of the
agricultural classes, in the science of eco
| nomical government, in strictly nom
partisan spirit" Equal rights to all and
special privileges to none, should be our
motto.
Therefore, we should stand for govern