The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-11-10
MORTON'S BUNCOMBE.

MORTON'S BUNCOMBE.
CONGRESSMAN M'KElGHAN DlssEcTs
THE SECRETARY'S SPEECH.
A Defense of the Alliance and Kindred
Agricultural Organizations and an Ar
gument In Support of Their Right to
Take a Hand In Political Agitation.
The recent address made by the secre- |
tary of agriculture, j. Sterling Morton,
before the congress of agriculture in
Chicago, has occasioned widespread
comment among the farmers.
Representative w. A. McKeighan,
who comes from the secretary's state
and is himself farmer, dissects the
speech very sharply. Ever since the
war Mr.. McKeighan has run farm in
the west, has been of late years prom
inent worker in the Alliance and was
elected to congress as Populist last fall
by the farmers vote in the Fifth Ne
braska district.
Speaking Of Secretary Morton's speech,
he said:
cit is true that panics are not so i'm
mediately apparent in their effects upon
the agricultural class, but they have been
the victims of gradual panic for the
last 20 years. And the farmers who
have sold their wheat at the lowest price
ever known in this country will be graf
fled to know that the secretary con-
graduated them on their good fortune
Does he not know that farm lands are
much lower in the older settled commu
mites, and that the proportion Of farm
tenants has greatly increased all over
the Union during the last 10 years? Is
Mr.. Morton ignorant of these facts, or
does he regard them as evidence of pros
perity? hardly know how to express
my opinion of the position taken by him
in regard to farmers organizations. It
is indeed refreshing to find one who has
gained his only national fame through
forestry societies condemning Farmers
Alliances and Grange organizations He
seems morbidly afraid to have the farm
ers express themselves on any subject
except that of blowing or sowing.
ut is wrong, in his opinion, for this
class, embracing one-half our popula-
ton and producing nearly all that this
country exports, to concern themselves
about railroads or banking systems.
While railroad magnates are watering
their stock, the farmer must be kept
busy watering his own stock. While
the bankers associations are manipulate
ing the currency of the country and
looking after the interests of the dear
farmers he would mercifully relieve the
farmers of the very important duty of
looking after their own interests that
are so closely connected with a proper
financial system.
els it not time for the farmers to look
after the banking interests? Is it fair to
make the bankers look after themselves,
too, after giving so much time and SYM
pathy for the benefit of the farmers9
Mr.. Eckels spoke before the Bankers as
ISOLATION at Chicago about the same time
that Mr.. Morton addressed the farmers
congress- Mr.. Eckels did not discourage
bankers associations. Does Mr.. Morton
approve of bankers associations or rail
way passenger associations or bar asso-
Citations or labor organizations? Itwould
be interesting for Mr.. Morton to inform
the public just what organizations the
department. of agriculture would recon.
mend and what organizations it would
put under the ban. If might place my
humble judgment against the opinion Of
so distinguished a representative of the
average farmer, I would say that the
Oranges and Alliances have been of in
calculable advantage to the farmers.
"In the state of Nebraska the Alliance
did more in three years to educate the
people up to tariff reform than Mr.. Nor
ton and the Democratic newspapers had
done in 30 years. And the Alliances
have so educated the farmers on the sub
ject of finance that the most densely
ignorant of them never make the mis-
take which Mr.. Morton does in assum
ing that to favor the free coinage of goli
and silver at the ratio of 16 to is ito es
tablish new system of coinage for tn
government The Alliance has Away
taught, and have always believed, tina
free coinage was old, not new. W.
desire the restoration of what was, no
an innovation.
"The secretary renews his pledges t.
the home. He wants permanent home
for all the people, and yet he has re
Gently advocated the entailment Of es
tates which would provide home TO
the eldest child and leave the rest of tn
family without home and unprovide'
for. Will Mr.. Morton dare to advocat
the return to entailment of estates il
the west as freely as he did in New Jer
sey? Mr.. Morton once, less than tire
years ago, spoke very affectionately Q
the Alliance in Nebraska, even raises
them to the level Of the Democrat
party, for he said in an open letter ia
voring fusion with them; 'Democrac
and the Alliance men denied the right Q
lawmakers to rob many to enrich few
Democracy and the Alliance should for1
a trust to conserve the rights for whic
they have fought
HAS Mr.. Morton changed, or has tn
Alliance changed? The Alliance teache
that the accumulation of wealth is til
first step in social improvement, an
that the next thing in Importance is il
proper distribution among the severs
members Of society. No amount of leg
islation can produce wealth, but legisls
ton does affect its distribution, and tn