The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-10-22
THE ALLIANCE TAX.
What the Farmers Pay for Political Instruc-
tion and Driving Away the Darkness
Do the Returns Justify tho
Outlay.
GGreenville News. !

own as he likes, but we are moved to
wonder by the great sums Of money
paid by alliance members in the way OF
dues and fees. The initiation fee is
fifty cents and the dues are a dollar q
year. This is not much. The dues are
equal to mill tax on a thousand dol
lars worth of property. Yet many OF
those who pay it cheerfully would pro-
test vigorously against an increase of
their taxes by the same amount. Fur
thermore, the members of the Alliance
are usually men who COMPLAIN much
of the army of office holders drawing
salaries, fees and expenses from the
people. Yet the first practical effect of
the alliance is to create multitude of
new officials with salaries and fees. In
this State the State president receives
5000 a year, the secretary $500, the treas
urer 5000. The State lecturer is paid So
day while on duty. The members Of
the executive and Judiciary committees
receive the same. All of these are like
wise paid their necessary travelling ex-
penses and the cost of postage and sta
tionery for official correspondence. OFF,
GERS and delegates of the State Alliance
are paid $3.50 a day while going to and
returning from the State Alliance and
in attendance at its meetings, and mile
age.
Men who complain of the cost of State
government and the numbers Of office
holders, who jealously watch the use of
every dollar of public money, create a
new State government of their own, a
new brigade Of office holders and new
tax. In this State We suppose the AL
lance men pay from s35,OOO to $4,000
year to support the order. What do
they get? What has the order done for
them?
AS we understand, the State and
county exchanges are separate from the
State Alliance and supported by sepa-
EdUS IUuOS. w z S2u SCS LIZ" ivy SSAA
be of practical use to the farmer by saw
ing him money in the handling of his
goods. We can not see how or where
the regular machinery Of the order
helps the members. Nor do we know
where all the money paid in goes to.
No doubt it is honestly passed from
hand to hand, from sub-Alliance to
county Alliance and so on to the State
and general organizations. It looks as
if there should by this time be large
sum accumulated somewhere for some
purpose. Taking the Offices, fees, sala-
ries and allowances as provided for by
the State constitution of the order, we
can not figure the expenses of the State
Alliance at more than $4,000 or Sl2,-
900 year. If there are 5000 paying
members, which is, we suppose, a very
low estimate, the income ought to be
$4,000 a year at the least.
Now we would really be glad for such
information as the obligations Of MEM
bers allow them to give the public. We
would like membees who feel that they
have received the value of their money
and time in practical results from the
order during the last year-aslde rom
the operation of the exchanges-to tell
US how they received it.
There is an army of lecturers abroad
being paid salaries and expenses to
teach farmers and others politics. Some
of them are men who no farmer would
pay twenty-five cents to for advice on
any subject. Some of them, no doubt,
have been failures as farmers, business
men and otherwise. Very few of them
have bad the experience or study or are
equipped with the natural ability to
make them leaders Of men or masters
of thought or teachers Of political econ
omy yet theirteachings, lectures and
speeches are all an outsider can see that
the Alliance rank and file get for their
money.
Nor can we see where anything more
practical is offered. Alliance men pay
their tax and are instructed to work
and vote fo7 the sub-treasury and other
Ocala demands. In the first place, a
good many Of them who pay do not
favor all those demands. In the second,
when we come to facts and figures
the success of those demands is long
way off. If the Alliance could select
the president and the house of repre-
sentatives next year-which its most
enthusiastic members do not promise
a long process Of changing senators and
the supreme court would be only be-
gun. Meanwhile the only persons re-
ceiving any practical good from the
Alliance are those who get the fees and
salaries and are elected to office by AL
lance voters.
In the old days when the democratic
party organization was good enough for
everybody the members used to grum-
bic when they were assessed twenty
five or fifty cents once in two years and
those who expected to get the Offices
were looked to for the bulk of the ex-
penses. Now that We have a govern
ment within the government and
party within the party farmers cheer
fully and continually pay a special
tax for the privilege of electing some
body.
AS we said at the beginning it is no
business of ours. The condition is
curious one, however. FIVE were asked
for advice on the subject by Alliance
men We would give them something
like this ",ist that the order shall 90
to work and give you the value of your