The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-09-25
MORE ABOUT O

We have shown in former articles
some things that opened our own eyes,
and doubtless you wondered at them
yourself. For instance, you didn't
know the price of leather, the weight
of shoes, the cost of labor on shoes, the
extent of the shoe industry, etc. But
we trust you have saved the figures we
have given you, and that a review of
them will interest and keep you inter
ested. We told you that the per capita
output of the 2,O82 shoe factories in the
country was So sgt cents, and that the
shoes for North Cardinals population,
if she got her share, was S., zoo, 1876 per
year. This we proved from census re-
ports. Then we showed you that there
is not enough circulating medium in
the State to pay cash, in a single lot,
for that quantity of shoes. Only 81
006, GAO listed in 1892, in hand and in
bank. We lost in nine years one third
of our money. We showed you that
your property was continually depre-
ciating in value, and that your debts
we're growing larger and harder to pay.
That the notes held by the 26 national
banks in the State called for S., 6OO,-
$50 70 in July, which is oneand one half
times the actual amount of cash listed.
These r real conditions; no theory in
it. They are facts, stubborn facts. We
cannot but feel and realize it when we
take cotton to market and get So cents
per pound for it; when we ship our
wheat, corn, oats, or other products of
the farm, to purchase cash with which
to pay taxes, which are not reduced, to
pay the doctors account, which is not
reduced, to pay the interest on our
heavy and growing debt, which is not
being reduced. Yes. we sell all we
make, and have nothing left, after pay
ing these accounts, with which to de-
Gently clothe and shoe our children,
Why is this, brother? Who is to blame
for this condition we are in; this hid
ous nightmare of oppression that loads
us down; that haunts us in our dreams9
Much of this you may truthfully lay at
the doors of your lawmakers, but not
all; you help to make the lawmakers.
You have shut your eyes to a and
common sense, and put on the yoke
Of your party, and your party shut it's
eyes to all decency, honor, justice,
truth and righteousness, fused with
satan and his debased, debauching
methods until ruin, rascality and rob
berry were at q premium, and virtue,
honor, truth were at q discount, all
manhood debauched and reason de-
throned. Then the devil dovetalled in
his dirty doings, Your party was at
the bottom of it all, and you were at
the bottom of your party. While you
were asleep under the mesmeric spell,
or h~ypnotized by the machine methods
used, you yielded and have been de-
eeived, despoiled, robbed, ruined.
While all this has been going on,
some other people have not been such
FOOLS. They have not been slaves to
their party, but they have used the
party as their slave; whatever party
has been in power has always been
their slave, not their master. Those
who have made themselves masters of
all parties in politics, have ground
party slaves down aud bound. them
hand and foot, and kicked and cuffed
them as menials without their decent
respect. Why, one of our own Con-
gressmen voted to give each Congress
mar a clerk at 800 per month, and