The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-08-20

ninety-nine growing poor. Some men
tell you it is because you are too lazy to
work. | have heard men salk that way
that never earned cent in their lives,
and yet stand here before this audi
ence and declare that there is no class
of men who work so hard and 1.-Two so
hard and receive so little reward as the
agriculturists. Other mon tell us it's
extravagance-men who spend moro
money in thirty days at the springs with
their families than the average farmer
spends on his in twenty years.
Tho press say our poor success is
due to production and the doctors
say it is laziness. God has given the
farmer rich lands and yet in this country
there are over 100000 tramps and
100000 persons in a state of semi
starvation.
Il have somo consolation for you
Virginia farmers" Colonel Polk con-
tinued. "The people have been around
telling you that you can buy moro with
a dollar than ever before. This ro-
minds me of the story of the tramp who
came up to gentleman and asked him
where he could get good meal. The
gentleman told him of q splendid place
just around tho corner where he could
get nice meal for quarter.
The tramp started on q rapid pace,
soon to return and ask his informant if
he would not complete his kindness by
telling him whore he could get quarter.
The question with you is, where can |
got the dollar? viii buy more of what?
Don't it cost three, four or five times as
much to get gold dollar? Buy more
of what? LuXuries? The day has been
when in the houses OF Old Virginia
farmers there was the highest type of
nj fn 1,r. Il
same old homesteads tonight the fam
lilies arc called around the altar to thank
God for necessities. Buy more of the
products of labor? That is what 3,OOO,-
600 of farmers are kicking about, and
will continue to kick until it is settled.
"Will dollar pay more taxes? Will
it Pay moro interest, moro debts, moro
lawyers or doctors fees, or educate
moro of our children? 1t is the debt
paying, not the purchasing, quality Of
our dollar in which we are concerned
How do you propose to remedy these
things? they say to us. 1t is not our
fault; it is not Of our making, farmers
OF Virginia Here is whero it is, in the
wicked financial administration OF this
country.
I'VE Anglo Saxons of tho South don't
intend to be frigh tened any moro by the
cry of negro supremacy. We men Of the
South who fought during the war and
surrendered twenty-five years ago don't
intend to keep the strife up. Neither
do VIC intend to let Grover Cleveland
make US believe that there is a simple
difference of per cent. between the
Democratic and Republican parties.
Three million OF US have found this out,
and don't propose to move until it is
rlghted. We do not propose to drag
our manhood around the country and beg
for our rights, but we propose to have
them.
They tell us they cannot legislate
money into mans pocket, but they
can legislate it out. Financial reform
IS needed, and we arc going to have it.
The tariff is iniquitously tricked, but it
is OF secondary Importance to taking
the money out of the hands of the
Shylocks and putting it with tho peo-
pie. Tho Farmers Alliance is placing
itself on tho platform of Washington
and jefferson, and is trying to sec if the
country can't be run for the people.
with population of G3, 600, 600 this
country has 4 wealth of $50, 900, 600, 600,
over one half of which belongs to 81 900
OF them. So long as Rome took caro-
OF her agricultural interests she flour
lshcd. When the money power came
in it crushed the life out. Eighteen
hundred Roman citizens owned all the
wealth when the empire went down.
This Government is vast machine for
the manufacture of paupcrs and million
aires. Net our so called friends come
to us and say: What, going into poll
tics? that's awful. You'll ruin the
party; youHl ruin tho country"
-FOUR AND "A HALF PER CENT. BONDS