Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-07-28

spe' .si Correspondence OF Gazette and Journal
MILFORD, July 2l.--The annual basket
picnic of the Kent County Farmers In
stitute was held at Spring Branch camp
meeting grounds, yesterday, and was
largely attended. The members of the
institute, with their families and their
friends, began to arrive about 10 O'Clock in
the morning and continued to do so
throughout the day. The forenoon was
pleasantly spent in social intercourse and
strolling around through the beautiful
woods until noon, when all took lunch.
AT 2 o'clock President Thomas B.
Conrsey called the meeting to order, i'm
mediately after which a sacred song was
sung by those present, Miss Estella killen
presiding at the organ, which had been
brought out for the occasion.
The first speaker of the day. Represen-
tative John NJ. Eisenbrey. was then called
to the platform and made his address. He
said in part. ut is needless for me to
. apologize for my being here to-day. The
most of you know am not accustomed to
4 making public speeches and it was only
after considering tf invitation extended
+ me to address you that accepted. / came
to the conclusion everybody had duty to
perform and erhaps this is part Of
mine. If there is a word that should be
properly interpreted and its meaning fully
understood it is this word duty. 1t con-
fronts us when we arrive at the age of
accountability and follows us through life
demandingat every point our attention.
To know ones duty and to do it is most
important thing. Upon our loyalty to its
demands may depend our future pros
perity and happiness, or our utter ruin
and misery. Opportunities for doing good
are not lacking, as many wrongs are being
lperpetrated by legal authority upon the
laboring people of this country, and am
here to point ont to you some of these
wrongs, believing duty will dictate what
we shall do Ia relation to them.
THE principal wrong that now con-
fronts us is that of unjust taxation. What
mean by unjust taxation is making the
farmers pay three-fourths of the taxes
while the holders of mortgages, stocks.
bonds, &C., go scott free. IL is conceded
fact that the farmers do not possess more
than onc-fourth Of the wealth of this
country, while they pay three-fourths of
the taxes. Now is this right2 When our
present tax laws were passed it is true that
the bulk of the wealth was owned by the
farmers and was not in real estate and
i.personal property, then it was Just and
proper to make the farmers pay the bur-
den of taxation, but now things are differ
ent. The wealth of the country has
gradually but steadily passed into the
hands of capitalists, who now have il in
vested in stocks, bonds, &c, and it is these
same men who keep the burden of the tax
given rise to so much complaint of late
flor it is only recently that it has been be-
fore the people.l
I'VE, as class are in certain degree
responsible for this state of affairs. If we
would attend the primary meetings when
men are chosen to select men who make
our laws and see that men of our choice
and who will fight for our interest are
chosen, there would be different state of
affairs. But, no; we plead business on
primary day, but after the nominations
have been made on election day we walk
up to the polls and vote for one of the two
tickets prepared for us, and even go so far
as to spend day at the polls lighting for
the one of our political faith and con-
tribute our money for their election when
they are the very men who Cypress u.s.
Such should not be the case. Attend the
primaries and see that men are chosen to
go to Dover TO make out ticket of our
choice, and break the slate made in the
lawyers office. This is, i'll reality, where
nearly all the nominations are made. A
slate is made out and the delegates come
up to Dover, cast their ballot and return
home, satisfied with their days work
What other class of citizens are there
that would submit to the gross injustice
that the farmer does if there were such
numbers as there are of us2 There is not
another class OIL the face of this green
earth that would stand by and allow such
laws to be enacted as We see every year,
and cannot sec for the life of me why the
farmers do it. There seems be peculiar
indifference among our people when these
matters confront them. Why is itp is it
because we have not the leaders to infuse
into us the spirit sufficient to arouse us for
action; or is it because we are afraid to of
fend one or more of the political bosses by
opposing them in their nomination before
we could hope to eradicate this shameful
evil. In this have struck the key note to
the whole situation. This loss of indepen-
dence and moral courage can be distinctly
traced to the machine system of politics,
which to-day rules ami governs this coun-
try; Education begets independence,
which in turn will overthrow this dicta-
ton. Therefore we should do all we can
to build up farmers organizations as they
are doing more to promote education than
any other class. The institute, the Grange
and the Farmers Alliance are all doing a
noble work along this line SO let us en-
courage them by giving them our support.
'Whe high tariff, which of course is an
indirect tax, is another deplorable thing.
OF course the government must be main
tanned and it takes money to do it no
matter which party is in power and il is
not for me to say which can do il the
cheaper. But do say it can be done more
economically. The appropriations are
annually increasing. Indeed they are even
bordering on recklessness. The matter,
however, scarcely receives passing notice
from us. This state OF affairs has been
brought about in part by sending million
aires to legislate for US.
Another wrong we are compelled to sub.
init to is the gambling in farm products at
the various grain exchanges throughout
the country; then We have the law restricts
ing the coinage OF silver, metal that
served us well, until n certain English cap
italist succeeded in convincing our smart
menin Congress that of this
metal was what the world needed, and WAS
all it lacked to make it a veritable para,
disc These with many other wrongs
should arouse us to our duty"
: Thomas b. Coursey then took up his
Ypaper on The Cause and Cure of Peach
Yellows." He opened by saving he did
not wish TO be understood as having found
the cause or a cure but rather discussing
the cause and seeking a remedy. Scientists
do not tell us how the disease spreads,
whether through the roots from insects in
the bark or through an atmospheric influ-
ence. II this problem can be solved it is
nore.than probable cure can be found.
Thisjs what we want the scientists to find
out. die then compared the yellows to
malignant dlsaases among human beings
and said that they would prove fatal un.
less remedy was applied and why not SC
in the vegetable kingdom. Let the
scientists tell us the cause and we will en-.
deayor to find remedy.
The president then went into an ex-
plantation of some OF his experience with
this dreaded disease, which he says he be-
heyes will prove effective. This year has
not been Q fair test, as he was i'll just al
the time the most time should have been
devoted to the test, and then came n Sc
we're hail storm, which cut off what few
peaches he had left. Taken as whole
however. he believed and stated that the