The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-06-07
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
TALoUsE CITY, Wash.

= Nm ED1TOR.-One hour ago I first
con- vo11r d sent to my son, c.. E.
AI1piT. Secretary of u Alliance. L
q have read the first four columns on
first page and am so pleased WIN IL
that I Law it down and take my pen 10
a send it to me till next November.
At Falls. of Kings Mountain, says;
WOI1r Alliance has As members and all
read from One to three reform papers
Could sIlch interest become universal
how o the people would gain their
RIGHTS and reyOlutiOnIZe our govern
ment w. r. Lindsay's article on
State banks has the right kind OF a
rinp With men of su;h callbre the
contest would be swift ant sure on the
side OF right. Aged as l am in years
~(seventy eight the fires of more youth
full days pul5ate my veins. urging me
on in this work. My sympathies have
ever been with the unfortunate n
labOring classes. At times L feel IN
clined tt give utterance to radical
ideas. Here is q sample: Give no nan
an office who aspires for it. Let our
lawmakers be men who take the re
spOnsibiiity from q sense of duty and
philanthTopically working for the
good Of all. Demand the reduction of
salaries to that extent that none will
seek office for financial gain. Have
all laws drafted by legislative bodies
submitted to a vote of the people at a
general election before they take eff
feet. Le5 the people W ard the true
statesman who has faithfully carried
out their wishes by voting them a pen
sion OF its equivalent The masses
must take the matter of government
into their hands, be educated for the
work, constantly watching the tricks
and schemes of designing politicians,
for eternal vigilance is the price of
liberty.
What a scene do we behold, a people
~plundered of their wealth by the very
men they promoted to office to do their
bidding, beguiled by love of gold, lured
to the crime of completely with the
robber gangs that infested Congress
and State legislatures, thus joining
hands with the land sharks and gold
: kings to sap the life-blOOd of our nation
in the hour of her greatest peril; while
a fratricidal war was on one hand and
the crowned heads of Europe on the
other doing their best to overthrow our
government, while lamentations of
woe resOunded throughout the land
from broken families whose fathers.
husbands, brothers and sons lay bleed
ing on the battle fields or grooming in
hospitals. At such a time and in such
ar hour our Congress joined hands with
the money power and begun a scheme
to rob the people, Notwithstanding the
earnest protestatiOns of the Green
back party and all true lovers Of lib
C9rty, insulting us with the arrogant
taunt"what are you going to do about
it?n We will show them III due time.
And what has been done with these
legislative robbers? Do they go I'M
punished? The highwayman who
takes our purse by violence is com
PEELED to deliver up his plumber and is
marched to prison to atone for the
crime. But these official robbers are
shielded by laws of their own making,
from just punishment, and still kept
in Office. Which class are the worst
and most dangerous? Surely the lat
ter. These men ele ted by our votes.
fOstered by liberal salaries, protected !
by the strong arm of the law, have be
trayed us by joining a band of money
sharks whose sole object is to gObble up
the wealth Of the nation and run the
government for pampered ~aristOCraCy
and foreign lords to feast upon, while |
tOiling millions become their mental
servants and slaves. Away with such
villiany. language IS inadequate to
express our Indignation for such base
betrayal OF our rights.
Our ancestors looking down from
their star-lit homes weep tears of blood
to see the d~egeneracy Of their apostate
sons. A land whose soil was watered
by their blood to found a government
where the crowned head Of despotism
could not tread, thus to see their be
loved land trCdden down through the |
baSenesS of her officials, is enough to
bring them to our aid, helping regain
our lost liberties. Let their spirit in
spire us with undying effort to gam
Our rights. Let us work in hope that
next November will peak with a voice
that will shake the knees of this mod
ern Belshazzar, and the handwriting
on the wall be phOtog -aphed through
out the land, Thou art weighed in the
balance and found wanting-thy king
dom is taken from thee and given to
another people.
HARRISON AUGIR.