The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-08-16
AN OPEN LETTER TO MAJOR
BILKINS.
J. N O.

OWh AbSN1LLE, IN. ~.
DEAR SIR:-I do not know whether
you are an Allianceman or not, and it
Is not material either way. I suppose
on national reform you are c~onserva-
tive, and if so that will answer our
purpose on this occasion. I wish to
tell you something about politics down
here in the east-in old BERTHE. Will
say in the outset that the Farmers
Alliance folks Of BERTHE county held a
county meeting at Aulander, a station
on the Norfolk & Carolina Railroad,
on Thursday, the 14th inst. The gath
ering was quite large. Many gentle
men and ladies who are not members
of that Order e present and a more
sumptuous dinner I have rarely seen.
Capt. Coke, of your city, was there
Gnvited there by somebody, he said)
and made a speech. He told the peo-
pie in the outset of his speech he was a
strong Allianceman and Endorsed the
| Ocala platform and all that; so it made
we ]plutocrats begin to feel mighty
shakY, but when he got further on in
his speech he said there was some
things in that platform he did not in
dorse, that Sub Treasury scheme, for
instance; that it was unconstitutional,
impOlitic, impracticable, and there
were several things about it that was
all wrong. But he told his Alliance
folks he had gotten up a plan, a sub
stitute, that was better. Now his plan
was as follows: The General Govern
ment IS to issue paper money-green-
back, we call it-in sufficient quantity,
say $50 per capita, and lend it to the
States, and the several States to lend
it to the people at a low rate of interest;
that he Coke had submitted his plan
to Col. Polk, President of the National
Alliance, and Marion Butler, President
of the State Alliance, and they both
fully endorsed his plan; but the strange
part Of it, Major, was he could not fool
them Alliance fellows one particle.
They had been reading those calamity
bowling papers, The PROGRESSIVE FAR
MER and that stripe, and he had as well
been singing psalms to a dead horse as
to talk that chat to them. They said
if he had gotten such a good plan he
had better submit it to the National
Executive Committee and the legisla-
tive committee and let them take it
before Congress and try to get it into
a law rather than lock it in his iron
safe and keep it there.
Major, if the people continue to read
we are gone.
The Capt. said further he did not
favor the abolition of the national
banks; he had no idea Congress would
abolish them, and beside they would
die of themselves between the dates of
1900 and 1000, as the bonds on which
! they are banking will have become due
and be paid by the government before
that time. OF course the Capt. knew
that the government could re issue
them, but he kept dark to them fell
lows on that, and beside he said one of
our great national p%lutocratic parties,
the one at Chicago, propose to take the
tax off State banks and then any man
having lands could bank on them, say
at the rate of S. per acre, and that was
the strongest spoke he put in the wheel,
for there is thousands and tens of thou
sands of acres of Doggy lands in the
BERTHE section that is not worth the
taxes now the timber has been cut off,
so some few may have thought of start
ing them a bank.
The Capt. did not have much to say
about free coinage Of silver. You see
our old p%lutocratic parties -nameIy,
the Republican Senate, has passed it
and the Democratic House rejected it;
so he did not know how the thing
would turn up. | felt sorry for the
Capt. He was just like the Irishman
in his prayer: a part of the time he
prayed to the good Lord, and then to
the good devil, and when asked WHY
he did so, said he did not know whose
hands he might fall into, and wanted
to be on the right side a2y way, mat
tered not which turned up.
Finally the Capt. got to the national
conventions, and advised his brethren
to stand by the action Of the Chicago
convention and the man who will pro
tect the women. When he began to
warm up to his subject some man in
the back part of the crowd ''hollered"
out "Hurrah for Weaver !" and, strange
as it may appear, there was more ap-
| plause over that hurrah than all the
latter part Of the Capt. s speech. And
he would have ruined our State ticket
with the people, but as I understood
him, he told the people to compare all
the national platforms and vote for the
one that offered them the best terms
Several Of these Alliance fellows think
he did not say so, and they declare he
lost fifty votes by that days work.
Now [ am a friend to Capt. Coke and
had hoped to see him elected, so, Major
If you are acquainted with the Can't
go around and see him for me, and tell
him if he did not say compare the na-
tional platforms of the several parties
and vote for the one who offers the
best terms, write and tell the people SO
and it will save him that so votes. at
least, for the people q mean the Ali
ance people, are going to scra CHI the
ticket like fury any way you. can fix it,
Major, what you think! When that
fellow hollered "Hurrah for Weaver"
the Capt. broke right down in his
speech, and up hoped Mr.. Jas. Bond,
tee of the Peoples party, and ANNOUNCED
that the PeonIe's na~fv men ment hiro