The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-02-02
A STRONG AND PROBABLY 4
TIMELY LETTER.
Secret Foes al Werk 10 Destroy
the Alliance.

OFFICE or Ii. l.. LoTCkS,
President National Farmers Alliance
and Industrial Union.
WASHINGTON ID. G.. Jan. -, 1898.
To the brotherhood i'm the Southern
States
DEAR BRgTHREs: | am reliably in
formed that an attempt will be made
III the near future TO divide the ALI
anee on sectional lines. The appeal
il 10 be- made to the South alone and
will be made on what Is called non
partisan issue. | am not posted on
the details, but know that that is the
general plan. Preparation for this
has been made and is being fostered
by trying to create the impression
that there are two factions IN the
Alliance on the question OF pon-par-
tisanship; that the dominant faction
are in favor of trying TO coerce the
Alliance into endorsing the Peoples
party. etc. This is not only un-
fair, but absolutely untrue | defy
any one To- point to the record and
show where any such attempt ever
was made at any session of our
Supreme Council by speech or reso-
luton or to any prominent Alliance
man who favors it. If there ever
has been one thing on which we were
more thoroughly united than anoth-
er, it is that Alliance should remain
"uon-pqrtisan." This is the senti-
ment. ] am sure. of every one of the
present officers. | know 1t is OF the
executive committee. The move
ment is being engineered by those
who are Democrats first. 1t is a
partisan move for the purpose of
destroying the power of the Ali
anee by dividing us once more on
sectional lines. / want you to seri-
ously consider the effect in case they
are successful to any great extent.
| know they cannot be wholly, for /
know there are host of true Ali
ance men in the South who will re-
sent the attempt. To those who are
inclined to be influenced by this par
tisan movement. | beg of you to
consider well the consequences that
would follow if successful. You
know how earnestly your represen-
tatives plead with US to bury the
bloody shirt; to fill up the ghastly
chasm that divided us; to obliterate
the sectional barriers that had kept
US apart for thirty years, leaving us
an easy prey to our common enemy,
the money power.
The grandest work, the browning
glory of Bro Folks life, was the
success of his mission in re-uniting
US. When he came North with your
fraternal greeting, with the MESA ge
from the brethren in the South, full
of brotherly love, inviting us to
unite with you, we accepted, uncon
ditionally, not as from the North,
bnt as of the Union. Will you con
sent that his grand work shall be
destroyed for partisan purposes9
Our opponents in the North claimed
and insisted that the object of the
Southern Alliance, as they called
f. A. and |. I. was to misled the
Northern Alliance men away from
their Republican mornings, that the
Democratic party might come into
power.
We know that in, our work we
pressed our principles regardless of
the effect on political parties, but
the result has been to the advantage
of the Democratic party, as predicted.
Should the present scheme of disrup-
ton succeed, it would confirm their
claim that that was your object.
Consider this well, as it affects your
selves. You need the aid of your CO.
laborers in the North and West in
your fight for freedom. You cannot
succeed without us. IF division is
permitted now for partisan purposes,
it will be much harder to unite again,
for confidence will have been de-
stroyed. Consider well how it will
affect your brethren in the North
and West. We have not only had
to meet the contention that we were
democratic aid society," but
that it was a Southern Alliance,
otficered and managed by Southern
men. We resented the insinuation,
knowing well that it had been
question of fitness for office, and not
of location. Now, when the hand of
death has removed him whom we
delighted to honor, and man from
the Northwest happens to be elected
your President, should division come,
1t will place us in doubly embar-
RAISING position. God knows and
your delegates at Memphis know
that L made no effort to secure the
place. | asked Brother Ellington.
of Georgia, who placed me in nomi-
nation, to withdraw my name. He
and other delegates from the South
insisted that | should not. In de-
ference to their wishes, I accepted.
Should the blighted ambition of one
man or thousand men shatter our
forces and stay our progress7 God
forbid. The men who are attempt
ing 1T are committing crime against
humanity. Close up the ranks; we
are in the fight to win. Men are
nothing; the cause we love. every.
thing. Yours, fraternally,