The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-06-20
FROM MARTIN COUNTY.
The Part that J. A. Stevens took in the
State Alliance Meeting.
DARDEN's, N. @.

DAnOhN 4Ns Ss
Mr.. EDITOR u see in the last issue
Of your valuable paper a few lines from
brother j. A. Stevens, of Wayne Co.
I call him brother because l can't say
that he has yet left the Alliance. I
think, nevertheless, from the tenor of
his discourse that he is about to leave,
and before he does so I want with
your permission, to talk to him.
J. A. Stevens, of Wayne county was
a delegate to the last meeting of the
State Alliance held at Greensboro. Did
he vote against the motion TO remit to
President Butler the 1856 that Bro.
Butler had borrowed from Bro. WOrth3
No. The motion was made, think,
by Bro. Wentz, of Washington county,
after certain remarks by Bro. New
borne, and was seconded by myself.
The motion passed without dissenting
vote. If Bro. Stevens was disposed to
act the gentleman, it seems to me he
would not try to discredlt what was
his plain duty to have objected TO.
Was it wrong, Bro. Stevens, to borrow
81, ,22O dollars from the Trustee of the
Business Agent, the same to be paid
from receipts aggregating in the hands
of the Secretary Treasurer and the
bonded Business Agent9 If it was
wrong why did you not vote against
the resolution? It was voted upon in
open Alliance. Why, repeat, was
not the vote of the delegate from
Wayne county recorded against it?
Because Bro. Stevens knew that the
money perhaps would be wanting to
pay him his mileage and per diem
while attending the State meeting.
Bro. Stevens, am persuaded, is like
the most of Us poor devils, we could
not afford to come away without money
enough to pay our way. Then shame,
shame on any man who would stOOp
so low as to say aught of that he helped
to do without protest. If he is a posted
Allianceman (and he seems to want
the public to believe that he is) he
knows that such action by the State
Alliance was not without precedent
established at time when nine out of
every ten Alliancemen were like what
he is pleased to style himself-good
Democrats. I allude to the Morehead
City meeting, where a similar resolu-
ton was introduced by myself calling
on the Business Agent to turn over to
41a CHaysa4 4oT nn0TIorh &0 HyoSoI,
paying expenses of the meeting.
Bro. Stevens was a good old Jeffer-
sonian Democrat at Greensboro and
voted right and left for the st. Louis
demands. Or, if he did not vote when
the vote was taken, he must have hid
himself, for it was an unanimous up
rising and no sitting down, not even by
Bro. Bell, when the vote was taken.
The only brother who left the hall was
brother Elias Carr, and he deserves
credit for not staying to vote then for
something he could not vote for in No,
vember. How about brother Stevens9
Perhaps he would have us believe he
did like he says he did in the last
legislature did not vote at all.
When one is sent and paid to vote Or
legislate in any organized capacity to
represent the people, their failure to
vote one way or another should be at
tributed to incompetency or lack of
mor4l courage. I am inclined to be-
lieve from what I learn from Alliance
sources from Wayne county that such
was not the case with brother Stevens.
Where men are not elected but counted
in by throwing out whole boxes, they
naturally feel independent Of the peo-
pie, but they cringe and bow the neck
in the caucus to the boss boodler; freed
from the restraint of the caucus they
hide and do not vote.
Bro. Stevens brings up the report of
ex-Lecturer Bell, and says he gathers
from it the fact that the Third party
was materially assisted in the sum of
$4,36418. But the Executive Commit
tee gets after him with a long stick
and says not one cent was used for
such purpose, and brother Stevens
exclaims after relterating the charge:
''Well, now, who has lied9" Well,
brother, you have had two Democrats
to the one Peoples party man to sit in
Judgment over you.
There was once an old preacher who
told his Sunday school class what and
where he would read the next Sunday.
Some boys glued the page opposite to
where he would commence to read to-
gether. He began: male and female
created He then;" and then he turned
over the page and continued to read,