The Progress., 1893-10-14
THE PlCAYUNE VS.. THE ALLIANCE.
ITO The Progress.


he glad to reply to sundry slanderons
attacks which the New Orleans Plea
yune is pleased to make against the
Farmers Alliance in Louisiana and
the adjoining States.
The Farmers Alliance is "A law
abiding ORGANIZATION, and its teach
ings are uniformly in favor of NOR
ality and good order. They DO not
in aDywiSe upnold or incite TO law
lessness. They do not favor or ipcite
to violence of my kind. They are
not gin burners, nor the friends of
gin burners. On the contrary they
have every possible reason for oppos-
ing such course Cf conduct, as well
as every other species of White Cap
ism and crime, and we defy the Pic
ayune or an! of its ilk to lay their
finger on a single instance where our
order or any of its sub-lodges have
sanctioned or condoned any kind of
violence.
But the Picayune has been most
industriousy endeavoring to bring us
and our order into unmerited re-
proach among our fellow-countrymen
and to make political capital against
rs, as an order, by RAISING a hue aud
cry about White Caps and gin burn
ers, who are reported to have burned
Numerous and sundry gin houses, and
terrorized men, women aud children
in large sections of Louisiana and
Mississippi.
Ii these malicious exsggera-
tions were true as to fact, it no more
follows that the Alliance or its teach
ings Is responsible for it than that
they are responsible for the hanging
of the Julien brothers-in the sub
urbs of New Orleans-recently, con-
cerniDg which the Picayune's CORES
pondents displayed such enterprise in
kno wing so much and telling so much
at the time, aud knows ~ondrous lit
| tie now.
No sir: Alliance men deplore the
untoward conditions that surround
them much more deeply than their
gainsaylng enemies could do; and
their perplexity is doubted, as they
WONDER what conspiracy they are fall
ing victims to now, as it is plain that
the hostile press is using these fake
threats so industriously against us, As
to suggest the probability that they
are themselves either the author. or
the instigators of the paralyzing, ter
rorizing threats which constitute
their entire stock in trade in their
frantic but vain endeavors to bring
to ruin us and our cause.
We have everything to lose and
they everything to gain by such
course, and it looks as though it is
likely to continue as long as they find
it profitable. We would like to defy
them to point to a single gin house ia
the State destroyed by these fakes
but instead We merely venture to
hope that they will STOP before carry
ing their accursed schemes to that ex-
tent.
No, hr. Picayune, that is not our
way of doing business. Our cause is
the PEOPLES CAUSE, and it is inst and
will prevail. We are able to WIN and
Will WIN by honorable and pacific
measures.
Why should we burn. or threaten
to burn the property of our own
bethren and neighbors!
Why should we terrorize their wo-
men and children?
The very thought of such thing
makes us sick No; were we base
enough for such fendishness, we are
not such babes in finance as to sup
pose we could false the price of cot
on in that way, and we know too, as
veil as it IS possible to know any ,
hing, that it does not lie 10 our
'ower to raise or control the price of
,oTroS. There are always too many &
ifs in the way.
We are not such babes either as to 1
'e in the least misled by the poor I
pettyfogging logic of the '
recent editorials about the |
'reat shrinkage in property values. l
which he admits has been going on c
Or the last twenty years-and with j