The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-01-12
CIRCULAR FROM THE STATE
PRESIDENT.
To the Farmers Alliance of the State
of California, Greeting:

OF GT6eCtnQ
BRETHREN:-It seems to me that the
time has arrived when / should again
speak t o the members of this great
Brotherhood throughout this Pacific
Coast, and warn them against the
schemes of certain parties to attempt
to force Congress to guarantee the
bonds of the Nicaragua Canal scheme.
Some time ago there was organized in
San Francisco what is known as the
Traffic Association" 1t purpOrted to
have been organized for the purpose of
obtaining some relief from the robbery
practiced upon the producers of this
Coast by the grasping railroad mOAOp-
olies entering this State from the east.
and so far as it worked on this line. it
had our hearty support. But this aSSO-
citation had no more than fairly organ
lied, when it was switched off upon
the Nicaragua Canal scheme, and they
appointed a committee to inquire into
the matter, and said committee re
ported favorable to the bonds being
issued by the government, and their
report was adopted by the association.
thus changing the object and intent of
the association from one to give us
relief from n pirate railroad OrpOra-
tiOns, to an Institution to boom the
Nicaragua Canal, and they now threaten
to inf1rCt upon us a petition for that
purpose. Don't sign any such petition!
We have placed ourselves on high
ground upon this question, and we
mean to stand there until we get relief.
In the letter to the Chamber of Com
merce, | used this language: About
the end of President Arthur's term, he
entered into a treaty with Nicaragua
to guarantee the protection of the canal,
hIIt before tho trn9tU VUoS rotIHA N
Cleveland was inaugurated and he
promptly withdrew it. Warner Miller
and others then came before Congress
for a charter, pledging themselves that
the government would not be asked for
any assistance to build it. The charter
was granted upon these terms, which l
believe they had no more authority to
grant. without an agreement to defend
the territorial integrity of the States
where such interests lie, than they had
to grant a charter TO build a railroad
from Paris to Berlin. They are now
willing to take the government into
partnership upon the same old terms
that it should furnish the means, and
the corporation pocket the profits.
Congress also chartered a "COnstruc
ton Company" to build the canal
This I suppose, is a kind Of Credit
Mobilier" or Contract and Finance
Company which you have probably
heard about before, chartered for the
purpose of dividing the profits among
three or four of the principal stock
holders. But Miller and others
there IS no risk to run by the govern
ment. If this is so let them put up
their private means, of which they
have sufficient to build the canal with
out any aid from the government. But
---- AT0R 900 900 1rr1,,ll 80 1.~,
plete the work, then they would nc
doubt ask the government to take a
second lien, as in the Pacific Railroads,
and the money given them by the
government would be used to corrupt
the members OF Congress as in the
former case, and the courts would step
in and declare the corporation did not
owe the government anything until the
bonds were due. and in the end | fear
the United States would have to pay
the bonds and interest, as in the Pacific
Railroads. In my message to the Ali
ance I used this language, Il placed
the Alliance on the highest grounds IN
the Nicaragua Canal letter to the
Chamber of Commerce, viz: That the
people of this nation had voted their
last subsidy to great corporations for
the purpose of controlling commerce,
or Matching out a new brood of million
aires. That if the government desires
to invest 800, 900, 900 in this enterprise,
it must OlUn the canal and run it in the
interests of the people," In my letter
to the Bankers Magazine Sept. 10Th,
1891, [ used this language, 1.-The people
Of this great country have voted their
last subsidy to build up mOnOpOlies
who Cypress them with the very gifts
so generously bestowed. We believe
hereafter when the people furnish the
means for the construction of these
great public highways, they should
own and control them, and u them
in the interest of the people. We have
already built all the great public high
wayst to the Pacific Coast, and paid for
them by taxation, and they are now
used to Cypress the very people who
made the donation, and are pressing
lis to the wall with their thieving rates
of fares and freights, and while we
subsidize the steamships with thou
sands every year, they enter into
combinations to rob the producers.
The Pacific Mail after receiving SUB
sides from the government, receives
brides from Huntington q Co.. OF
500. 600 year to keep up the tre1ghtS
and fares by sea. This amount, in ad-
dition to the subsidies, we pay every
veal in the enhanced price of frelghts.
This canal would be a great benefit to
the Pacific if two things were done,
and only a curse without them. The
ownership Of the canal by the people
and the abolition of the tariff restric-
tons on the ports of the Pacific States.
If these things are not done it will
make Victoria the large seaport of the
Pacific Coast and enrich the British
Empire at our expense, and the great
merchants and manufactures of San
FraDciscO can have the privilege of