The advocate., 1892-05-18
THE NATIONAL UNION COMPANY.

from this rotten concern. MIR. COT
feen was president of the National
Business Agents Association, COM
posed of the business agents OF the
several State Alliance Exchanges.
He is one of the original supporters
of the National Union scheme. He
was at Indianapolis and participated
in the perfection of the plan under
which the company began operations
Immediately after the Indianapolis
meeting. He was appointed "trade
commissioner" of the state of Illinois,
and has filed that position up to the
time of his withdrawal from the COM
pany. If anybody knows the whole
inside of the infamous scheme, from
it's inception down to the present
time, 1t is Mr.. Coffeen. While others
have enjoyed the same facilities for
gaining information, they still find it
to their interest to stay with it
The following special telegram to
Chicago Inter Ocean gives some OF
the reasons for Mr.. Coffeen's with
drswal from the company:
CHAMPAIGN, Ill, May S.-J. M. Thompson, Of
Joliet grand master, and j. H. Van ArSdale, OF
Orange Prairie, chairman Of the executive COM
mittee of the Illinois State Grange, have been
spending couple Of days In Champaign, making
an investigation Into recent charges circulated.
it Is alleged, with a view Of breaking down the
domestic hemp binding twine industry, and de-
moralIzIng the direct trade established by the
hemp twlne manufacturers with farmers organ
izati0nS In the west.
At the conclusion of their investigation they
drew up circular to the Patrons Of Husbandryi in
this state and issued 1t under the authority the
executive committee, denounciDg an article pub
lshed in April last In Chicago paper as being
"instigated by the National Union company,
now well known to be a creature Of the twlne
trust" They renew the recommendations Of
the State Grange, that It's members use domestic
hemp twine, as nOS only being cheaper and bet
ter than twlnes made from foreign fiber, but be-
cause the domestic twlne industry Is one Of the
most efficient means the farmers have Of COM
batting the encrOachments Of the COrdage Trust
They conclude by saying that II the hemp
tWine manufacture is crippled, "the farmers of
the country will be left entirely at the mercy of
one of the greatest monOpOlieS that ever Op-
pressed the people,"
Immediately after their arrival here Mr.
Thompson and Mr.. Van Arsdale telegraphed to
Chicago, inviting M. d. COffeeD lately the trade
commissioner OF the National Union company,
to come and meet them. They had an all-night
conference with him, at the conclusion Of which
he drew up personal address to the Grange
brotherhood, In which he states that he has sew
cred his connection with the National Union
company and assigns reasons therefor. Among
these he states the following:
The failure of the company to meet tho eXpec
tati0n OF those who assisted In forming the plan
and the hopes Of the members and officers can
not be attributed to lack OF effort on my part,
for have at all times and In every honorable
way tried to promote its success, looking to the
Deniit OF the farmers organizations, as have also
the other officers and representatives or the farm
ers' organizations; nor have the members failed
to proprely appreciate every honest effort OF the
company TO carry out the proposed plan. The
present almost universal distrust Of the company
and antagoDism Of great mass Of the members,
together with the opposition Of an increasing
majority OF the officers and leaders OF the ORDERS
Is occasl0ned by the inexcusable air OF mySlerl-
Gus secrecy about the capital and personnel OF
the corporation, the very peculiar methods Of
administering the affairs or the company, and
placing the National Union company In the con-
troll OF the officers OF the National COrdage CON-
pany, commonly known as the tWine trust.
He regards the efforts at reform In the quality,
prices and methods Of trade In farmers tWines
that was expected to come from the National
Union company to be failure, and he says that
in the matter Of binding tWine the hemp tWine
manufacturers are the only ones that have stood
faithfully by the farmers; that they deal directly