St. Paul daily globe., 1892-01-07
SUBTREASURY SCHEME
Will Be Fought Hard IF Reported
to the Convention.


to the Convention.
There will be fight in the Alliance
convention today when the committee
on resolutions makes report. 1t is ex-
pec;ed that the committee will report a
resolution indorsing the subtreasury
scheme of the Southern Alliance. If
such Il resolution appears among those
reported by the committee it will be hit.
and hit hard. A good campaigner and
a hard fighter will lead the attack-Gen.
j. II. Baker. He will find good-sized
following too. There was a sort OF a
little caucus in the Office of S. NJ. Owen
yesterday. after the adjournment of the
Alliance for the afternoon. Among the
leaders who were there were Gen.
Baker, Capt. Nelson. Warren and Barr.
After they had been there for some
time closeted in Mr.. Owens private Of
fee. while that gentleman talked Alli-
ance with another gentleman. Gen.
Baker came out, stuck his hands in his
trousers pockets. switched the tail of
his OvercOat and said:
well, we have decided to make fight on
that subtreasury scheme when it comes up.'
''Have you," was Owens quick eXclama-
ton. THAT is just the best thing you can
do. 1t is the only hope of the Alliance. The
adoption OF that idea will be suicidal If the
Alliance adopt that scheme it will remove
the only hope of ever winning on q party
ticket. The Endorsement of the subtreasury
scheme will sweep away from the Alliance
all the elements upon which it must depend
for success. 1t will ALLEVIATE the labor vote
and it will divorce all the legitimate business
interests from the Alliance. And we must
have those people or we cannot win. How
foolish 1t would be now, after the meeting of
the Alliance in this city, after being enter
tanned here by the trades and labor assembly
hnInU n
for the Alliance to throw away the good feel
ing of all these people, and undo all that has
been done by adopting that subtreasury
plan, that is a de!usion anyhow. The mere
Endorsement of that idea is q confession Of
weakness on the part of the Alliance. 1t
would be an admission that the farmers al
ways expect 10 be borrowers of money. Let
the farmers take up their legitimate work
and abolish the evils that do exist, and th ey
may become the money loaners instead of
continual borrowers Ii the farmers adopt
the subtreasury scheme they will find. when
they arrive at the realizing sense of the real
evils, that they are in worse condition for
making fight than they are now. This Is a
Southern idea. Those people down there
are all borrowers, and always have been.
They may think il is a good thing for them,
but 1t would be bad thing for u.s.
Politics being under consideration. a
GLOBE man asked Nh. Owen his idea Of
the fusion agitation.
''Iknow nothing about it." he answered.
Il have paid no attention to the question at
all. l know nothing about the feeling on
that matter further Than what / have seen in
the newspapers, and you know that
''Mr. Owen.'' pursued the reporter, 1.-The re
has been some comment OH the fact that you
Were absent from the first session of the Ali
ance, and that you have attended none of the
sessions
There shouldn't be. There is no reason
why | should attend the convention or the
Farmers Alliance. L am not a Farmers AL
lance man. do notibelong 10 the organiza-
tlon and could have no business in its con-
vention."
Mr.. Owen occupies peculiar position
just now. According to his own state
ment, he has nothing in common with
the Alliance-nO business with it what
ever. He is not interested enough in
what it is doing to attend one of its seS-
si0ns. yet he is taking lively interest
in coaching some of its leaders OH what
they should do with certain resolutions
that may come up.