The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-04-09
JEREMIAH SIMPSON AND THE FAR
LdER'S ALLIANCE.
To the Editer Of the EAGLE

|
Jeremiah Simpson was elected mem
Der of congress from the Big Seventh, O
Kansas. one of the largest congressional
districts in the United States, by tn,
. Farmers Alliance. As he was the chic.
J organizer of the Alliance. in the numer
; Gus counties in that district, he became
the most prominent as we'll as feasibl.
candidate for congressional honors. The
Big Seventh district occupies large
number of counties in the southwestern
portion of the state, where for two Oh
three years the hot winds and dry
weather nearly ruined the crops. Added
to this, the country had been cursed with
four years Of destruction Of confidence
low prices, and hard times, due to Cleve-
lands tariff reform administration, and
the demoralzing effects upon our man
ufacturing industries of the Morrison
and Mills tariff bills. Between
tariff reform, its low prices,
and failure of crops. the farmers Of that
region found 1t very difficult to support
their families, to say nothing Of paying
10 per cent interest on mortgages on
chatteI mortgages upon their stock and
farming implements The first year of
Harrison's administration, 1889, brought
the farmers a bountiful crop, but this
great increase Of farm products only
served to lower the prices already ruin
Gus, and hence brought but little relief
to farmers. Such being the condition Of
the great mass Of the farmers at the be-
| oil of tho cocnuH voor ~ Horricon'a
administration, an active combined
effort, on the part Of tho Democrats,
mugwump Republican tariff reformers,
and free traders. had an easy task to
make the farmers believe the hard times
| tariff, which was gotten up for the
and monied monopolists, to enable
them to rob ths farmer; and the Repub-
lican party was at the bottom OF it all.
The result Of this movement In Kansas
was the election of Jerry Simpson to
both of whom are free traders, free coin
ers Of silver, advocates of fiat paper
money. and government issue of money
to farmers at 2 per cent interest per an
mum. They are also making strenuous
effort to antagonize the west against the
east and to form an alliance between the
west and south-movementst that would
be the utter ruination of the west if
brought about. 1t is the eastern states
that buy nine-tenths of the surplus pro-
ducts of the western farmer, not the
south. The money that has built the
5000 miles of railroads in Kansas and Is
loaned to farmers and business men of
the west comes from the east. not from
the south. What, then, has the west to
gain by breaking up its prosperous bust
ness relations with the east and going
into partnership with the south, with
whom it has little or no business rela-
tons?
jeremiah Simpson is at the time Of our
writing hob-nobing with Henry George,
that great economic free trade sophist,
who has made many unthinking people
believe that to put all taxes on the land,
and let stocks, bonds, money, merchants
and personal property 60 untaxed would
bring about an economical millennium.
For the last three or four years Mr..
Henry George has been simply politi-
Cal trlckster in the hands of the Demo-
cratic party to wheedle the working
men into it's ranks. That Jeremiah
Simpson and this whole Farmers AL
lance movement is being manipulated
in the interest of the Democratic party
and free traders is evident to every care
full observer. In fact some of the ablest
organs in the Democratic ranks admit
the truth of these statements. As an
evidence of the truth read the following
editorial from the Kansas City Times of
April 9th, one of the ablest Democratic
organs in the country, under the head
ing:
THE ALLIANCE RECRUITING GROUND.
Senator Plumb has been talking some to
newspaper man, and as usual what he
had to say possessed both force and
interest. Among other things, the Kansas
senator said that while he believed the
farmers movement had attained its maxi |
mum strength in Kansas its development |
elsewhere remained to be seen-which was
merely another way Of stating that in his |
opinion it would spread east and north. |
or the senator went on to say:
he only effective strength it can have |
in 1892 is to hurt the Repu blican party in |
the northern states. 1t will not hurt the |
democratic party in the south at least. |
On the contrary, it is likely to strengthen /
that organization there. The |
next president of the United States will |
The clear headed kansan appears to |
have profted much by his study Of the |
Times. 1t is very true that the potential.
ity of the lliance as POLITICAL o-oanIza.
ton Is likely to extend greatly into new
territory before the coming of the next
general ELECTION, and 1t is rs true that its
principal recruiting ground will be among
inc Republican farmers. The Democracy
VIII not be seriously injured for the plain
eHson that the greatest evils of which the
Alliance complains have been presistently
and consistently fought by the Democratic
party.
The Alliance makes to the Democratic
farmer no such appeal as it does to his Re
publican neighbor.
1t would reform the tariff which con-
sumes the producer; but so would the
Democracy
1t would have free silver coinage and in
crease the volume of circulating medium;
but so would the Democracy.
These are the vital issues upon which !
the campaign of '92 will be fought
The Democrat who is farmer belongs
to an organization which not only de-
mands and pledges itself TO bring about
The relief he Graves, but is powerful
enough 10 inspire high hopes of success.
For him to desert this veteran and conf
dent army for the ranks of an uptried
militia whose aims sre in great part iden-
'ical, would be supreme foolishness. And
he Democratic farmer can and does see
his just as plainly as any other man.
In his assertion that the next president
will be either Republican or Democrat,
Mr.. Plumb IS unqusstionabiy accurate,
but every day makes fainter the possibility
hat he will be Republican. The Dem
1cracy is gaining ground and 30 Is the
armers' movement. Should the latter
eighteen months from now possess sulfi-
fa1r xsr ak ~
he people, Democratic president will De
,hosen by the house OF representatives