Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-02-24
SOUND ADVICE.

The President of the Indiana r. A. and L
U. Gives His Views Concerning the Con-
ference.
To the Ofncers and Members of the F. A 81
u of Indiana:
believe that the year 1892 will be
the crucial test that will try the fdel-
ltv of our members, and answer the
oft repeated question as to where we
shall stand, with the principles of our
order or the dictations of the Wall
street politicians No year in the his
tory of our order has ever presented
questions of so grave Importance as at
the present time What steps should
our order take at the st. Louis confer
ence is asked by all, and our action is
as closely watched by one political
party as another. Heretofore we have
placed non-partisan banner at the
head of our columns and have drawn
into our ranks members of all
political complexion, and we
have held our political but not partisan
schools in every school district through
out the nation, educating the people on
the questions of political economy. The
people are now largely educated, and
are demanding that these questions of
such vital Importance to the perpetuity
OF this government shall be enacted
into law. Now we have travelled thus
far under non-partisan banner; but
as law can only be had by legislation,
and it takes political parties to elect
legislatures the question that we, as
an order, must meet is this: Shall we,
as an order, break over all our past
and oft-repeated assertions of non-
rar r.tiS
a political party? 1 think every true
friend to the order will say NJ. Shall
we, on the otler hand, allow the plea
that the order as such is non-partisan
be used to bind us hand and foot, as
individuals, and make us all the more
the slaves of party bosses? Because
our order has re ,eived us all alike and
instructed us in p Olitical economy until
we know what ought to be done, must
we as men be silent because our party
has not spoken? l say no, and every
true allianceman will say no. We do
not want to make the alliance a polit-
lcal party, but, as men, we want to
carry the things we have learned into
practical use in the way they will do
US the most good. | want to be honest
with you all and be consistent with our
record when l advise you what to do.
1 know that you will not let bubbles
and technicalities stand in the way of
doing the right thing when you are
satisfied what that right thing is.
Then what shall we do? That is the
all important question and this is the
supreme moment when we must decide
>to act and that at once My humble
opinion is this. we should attend the
conferenee, just as many as posi-
BILE as delegates and friends of re-
form, and that our delegates should
use all their influence to perfect frater-
nal relations with all other labor or
CARNATIONS, with the substance of the
Ocala and Indianapolis demands as a
platform, and that committee be ap-
pointed at that conference to place
these demands before the republican,
democratic and peoples party commit
tees and use every effort possible to in
duce them to adopt them. And if either
party sees fit to adopt said principles in
full, that we, each and all, place our
shoulders to the political wheel and Sc
cure the success of that party. This
far can we go as a non-partisan order
and not do violence to our pledges
THOMAS w. FORCE.
Shoals, Ind. Jan. %, 1892.