The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-02-13
ALL PARTIES GO TO THE BAD.
4he Leaders Become Corrupt---The
Masses Are Too Confding ALI
ance Platform of Princi-
pies Good neugh.


pies Good Enough.
EXCELSIOR, N. @.
MR.. EDITOR:-I beg leave through
your columns to say few words about
political parties. The history of po-
lltlcal parties has at least demonstrated
one material fact, namely, that how
ever friendly and conducive to the
peace, prosperity and happiness of the
masses, the platform of principles upon
which they start out purports to be,
Chey have invariably passed into the
hands of a leadership who have AFRO
gaVed to themselves the unquestionable
right Of injurious Interpretation Of
those fundamental principles, and by
virtue ofsuch interpretation have prac-
tlcally destroyed every guarantee of
protection to the wealth producing
masses, and have conformed to the
Will of organized monopoly for the sole
purpose of agrandiziDg their own per
sonaI interests at the expense of op
pressing the poor with a system of
fraud so ingeniously constructed as to
eIude comprehension of the too confid
ing masses. Here on the shores of
America, where life, liberty and the
pursuit Of happiness is guaranteed to
every individual without regard to
personal wealth or station has this
been exceptionally true. The unsus-
p citing masses, with implicit conf
dence in the pledges of their respective
parties, have with blind eyes toiled on
awaiting the triumph of their own
party to emancipate them from the
conditions which they had been taught
to believe was the result of icious leg
lslation perpetrated by the opposite
party. This has been the kind of tao
tics resorted to by the leaders of all
political parties, and the masses have
listened to their appeals and believed
their statements while those unscru
pulOus demagogues are gloating in the
opportunity thus afforded them to op-
press those who had been induced to
misplace their confidence. But for
b9arance, we are told, ceases to be a
virtue, and within the past decade
American history has furnished us
demonstratable evidence of this fact.
The unrest caused by the conditions
confronting the people has caused a
mighty uprising among them, where
upon investigation has been instituted
disclosing the facts briefly summarized
in the opening paragraph of this article.
The facts disclosed by such investiga-
tion give inspiration to the idea Of the
formation of what is known as the
Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union
of America. Organization was com
menced and pushed forward with
zeal and indomitable courage which
has known no equal in the history of
organizations. The principles of the
organization is broad enough to include
any measure which the people may
from time to time demand for their
protection and ell-being, whereupon
the Alliance instituted what is known
as the Ocala platform, the elements of
which is too well known to need le-
hearsal, and asked Congress to enact it
into laws, which was as is we'll known,
shamefully ignored. However the AL
lance with characteristic perseverance,,
did not cease to press their demands
and quietly succumb to the gross injus
tice which they had received from that
august body, but with implicit conf
dence in the justice of their demands,
and an abiding faith in the ultimate
triumph of truth over wrong, cOntin
ued the work of educating the people
to this mighty truth that the only safe
guarantee of good government was to
fully comprehend the situation and
organize themselves upon the broad
principles of equal rights to all and
special privileges to none"
Following the organization Of the AL
lance a new political party has ap-
peared upon the theater of American
politics, espousing the principles of the
Farmers Alliance. This fact has caused
many to suppose that the Alliance had
fulfilled it's mission and that circum-
stances no longer demanded its exls-
tence. That it had practically given
birth to a political party which had
taken up the demands, and ameliora
tion of present wrongs and all subse-
quent evils which might occur de-
pended upon the maintaining in power
of the Peoples party.
Now a graver mistake it is difficult
to imagine. But the platform Of prin-
ciples upon which the Alliance stands
is broad enough and deep enough to