Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-08-06
A PLEA FOR HARMONY.
Railroad Commissioner Hickman Is.
sues an Address to the Far.
mers' and LabOrers' Tn.
ion Of Missouri.

| OF Missouri, handed the editor OF
the LEDGER, when in Jefferson City
this week, the following address,
which he had just prepared
"f'or fear that there will be trouble
and division in the State Union when
it meets at Pertle Springs in August,
l am prompted to write this article,
in full hope that if I do no good l
will at lest do no harm.
1t is said, and justly so, that soft
words turneth away wrath and, as
| l fully believe that the adoption of
the principles first promulgated at
Mckenzie, Tennessee, by the Nation
al Agricultural Wheel, and then
adopted at the consideration of the
State Alliance and State Wheel at
Springfield, Missouri, in August,
1889, and adopted by the National
Union which met in st. Louis in
December, 1889, is the only saliva
ton for this country against the
power OF money to oppress. 1t is
not money that we complain of, but
the power Of money to oppress. As
to money, we want more.
/ believe, so far as the first de-
mands are concerned, the SPRING
field demands, there is perfect har-
mony-practically no division in
the order in Missouri. We agree
that the National Bank is a curse to
the country, and that Congress
should pass a law repeating the act
creating the same, and that none
other should be chartered. To this
we all, or nearly all, agree. We
agree that the law creating the
National Bank is class legislation !;
we agree that the government
should give away no more land to
corporations, and believe that Con-
gress has ceased to do this. The
agitation Of the people has brought
a check to this extravaganza. We
alse- unanimously agree that the
government could coin silver as free
as gold. We have no division with
but few exceptions) to this demand.
We believe that the national govern
ment and State legislatures should
pass such laws as will force the rail-
roads to haul the product of the farm
at such price as would be just to
producer as we'll as to carrier.
There are several other demands to
which we all agree also, we all
agree, virtually, that the tariff is
wrong and should be repealed, and
that it is class legislation in the
interest of manufacturers, and that
it is wrong. All class legislation is
wrong in this government and
should not be tolerated by the peo-
pie.
Now, if the law creating National
Banks and the tariff law was repeal
ed, taking from the banks the pow
er to contract or expand the curren-
cy at will, and the government is
sues $50 per capita to circulate
among the people, uncontrolled by
the National Banks, is it not rea-
sonable that times would change
and that the money would again
flow to the farmer to get his wheat,
corn, pork and beef as it did in days
of yore and that the farmers would
again be men Of money.
Before the present money system
was inaugurated the producers had
the money. If man wanted to
borrow money he went to the far
mer to get it. He did not have to
go to the money shark for it, but
could find it with the farmer.
We want to return to the old
path. How can we do this ? By
creating other class legislation ?
think not. But by repeating all
class legislation and creating no
more.
But there is one question in Mis-
souri, on which the order is divided
and | can see bitter feeling be-
tween the two forces-one for, the
other against. 1t is what is known
as the sub-treasury plan. Is this
fright !? Should we suffer ourselves
to be divided and torn asunder by a
division on one plan ? Is this the
way for business men to act !? Il
it not better to let this one ides
pass for the present than to see oul
noble order damaged by division
I, for one, say let the matter res
until the plan can be tried on ;
small scale, and if it works we'll
adopt it, and if bad, reject it, keep
ling harmony in our order.
| l make this plea for harmony an,
for right. In this | make no wa
on either side, on those who suppor
nor those who fight the plan, bu
alone for peace and harmony ant
for the right. y
Hon. N. j. WoLLARD, of Dad
, county, member Of the executiv
board of the Farmers andLaborers
Union of Missouri, is PROMINENT,