Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-05-18
"E1pense Of the Alliance. "..No. 8.

ED. INDEX. Replying to Item 8" or
"S's" alliance expense account, re-
Gently published in the Cresset, will
say that 1t is unfair, unreasonable and
savors very much of malice, to charge
the alliance with what the farmers have
lost by holding their wheat.
The authors Of the Hold your Wheat"
circular were not the only prominent
persons who believed last fall that
wheat would surely be higher in the
spring. Many republican and demo-
cratic newspapers In Kansas, as we'll as
the INDEX, urged the farmers to hold
their wheat because they honestly be-
lieved 1t would be higher. The specu-
lators did not urge them to hold 1t be-
cause they wished it All thrown upon
the market at once, 80 that they might
be enabled to buy it cheaply and hold it
for a rise. And such papers as were
influenced by the spectators, to do
their bidding, did not advise the hold
ing of it, but on the contrary, urged the
farmer to sell.
ally believed that wheat would be high
er by spring is abundantly proven from
the fact that many men Of all parties
shipped their wheat to Wichita or Kan
sas City, to be stored till spring, or stof-
ed it up at home. l know republicans
in this county who take no stock what
ever in the alliance or peoples party,
but they held their wheat, and if $50
should ask them if they did it because
the alliance people advised them to do
it, they would promptly assure him that
they never allow themselves to receive
pointers from set Of calamity howl
ers, but held their wheat On their own
Judgment, because they believed, from
what they knew, that it would be high
or by spring.
Why did they believe it would be
higher? Chiefly because they under
stood that the crop in Europe was
short. Was the crop in Europe short
Yes, many million bushels. Why did
not this scarcity have its natural effect
of raising the price to the producer
Because the spectators and transpor-
tation companies stand between the
producer and the consumer and pre-
vent 1.-THE consumer pays big price
but the producer gets but small price
Why not then, as a matter of justice to
the producer, have these spectators
and transportation companies regulat.
edp Echo answers, why notp Have
either of the old parties ever passed
laws to regulate these matters? Yes
of sort. Have these laws benefited
the farmerp Not to any appreciable
extent. Will either Of the old parties
pass laws that will regulate this matter
property 1t is not likely they evel
will, because they Especially the repub
licans) have long had the power to pas
such laws, and have been urged by TIT
farmers to do so, but they have no
passed them, because the law-maker
have allowed themselves to be infu
enced more by the speculator, the rail
road king and the capitalist than by tn
farmer, who hadn't the money to influ
ence legislation, or who did not wish I,
use it for such purpose. Where theI
shall the farmers look for relief iron
these abusesY We see no place for hin
to look except to the farmers allanc
and the peoples party. The orRaniza
ti0n and consolidation of farmers is tn
, first step toward relief. A plan wa
proposed by the Geary county (Kans
alliance last year which only needs tn
cooperation Of the farmers Of the coun
try to insure its success in securing t
| them q fair and reasonable price fo
J their products. But Will not this wor
t hardship to laboring men, tradesmer
mechanics, etc., who are consumers q
the farmers products? By no mean:
The consumer will pay no more than h
, pays now, but the farmer will get more
In fact the consumer will, in genera
pay less, for when the various middle
men are regulated. prices to the eel
. sumner Will be fair, reasonable and uni
form, at least to greater degree tina
now. Under present conditions the cor
sumner is often at the mercy of th
, greedy Spectator.
But in demanding reduction i
) freight rates on farm products, is 90
) the alliance working against the inter
ests of train men, section hands and a