Omaha daily bee., 1894-01-03
POPULISTS IN CONVENTION
Thirteenth Annual Session of the Nebraska
Farmers Alliance.
ABOUT ONE HUNDRED MEMBERS PRESENT
Routine Business Transacted in Secret
and an Open Session neid-Roport
of the state Lecturer on
His Years Work.

AAh1AlN'Hs AhF - l'lNNAeA
The BEE. This morning when President j.
II. Powers of Red Willow county called the
Nebraska Farmers Alliance and Industrial
ur ion to order for it's thirteenth annual ses'
sion, he faced an audience which might have
and probably did disappoint him. All the
officers of the association have been led to
expect \ much larger attendance. Less thar
100 were present at the opening of the SEES
sion, where they had been confidently ex.
pecting TO see fully double the number. The
unusually small number is generally
ascribed to the hard times and the unseason'
able time at which tine meeting is called,
But as it is the managers cannot help ex.
pressing their dissatisfaction at the very
small attendance, even considering these
facts.
So far the meeting of the alliance has been
harmonious in the extreme ard the more
prominent members are congratulating
themselves that the old scores which have
been the delight of the euemies of the or
ganization have been entirely wiped out.
But to an outsider it looks as though the
congratulations were premature. SO far
nothing but preliminary work has been
undertaken ard there Is no reason why the
alliance so far should be other than ex.
tremely harmonious.
May BE Different Later.
Tomorrow there is a fair prospect that the
Wanted harmony may disappear, for then
the delegates will get down TO business
proper and consider ways and means and
appoint leaders for the coming congressional
campaigns. The convention was called to
order by President Powers, Miss Elsie
Buchanan acting as secretary pro tenn, at 10
o'clock in Button hall-meeting, OF course,
in secret session. Less than a hundred
were present at this time. Many of the
most prominent members and-those who
naturally would be expected to be present
were absent. The first thing done was to
ascertain the persons entitled TO seats
as delegates and as a credential COM
mittee Messrs. FELTON, of Nuckolls county,
Leonard of Lancaster and Borders of
Buffalo county were named BY President
Powers. The committee reported, showing
about eighty entitled to seats, representing
thirty-nine counties, about sixty being en-
tirely without delegates. Many others
dropped in during the day and so the actual
attendance will be about l25. The balance
of the morning was taken up by tue inside
ritualistic work. the delegates doing a
prodigiouS amount of discussing without ac-
complaining very much business.
Numerous Committees Appointed.
Az n committee on Jurisprudence, to con-
slider matters relating to the constitution
and bylaws of the alliance, President
Powers appointed l.. McReynolds of Clay
county, L. w. Young of Furnas, j. A. Smith
of Bnone, A. F. Johnson of Polk and Warner
of Phelps. The ommitte on resolutions
consists of Porter and T.. II. Polhemus of
/ Merrick, Senator Darner of Dawson, j. +.
Kelly OF Kearney and j. Kirk OF Hamilton.
These two committees will report tomorrow.
This completed the morning program and all
of the delegates in perfect unanlmlty took
dinner.
In the afternoon the attendance was
slightly larger than in the morning. Presi-
dent Powers at some length addressed the
alliance in his annual address, reviewing
the work done in the past and outlining
plans and giving ADVICE as TO the future plans
of the alliance.
Miss'Buckman, the secretary and treas
urer, read her annual address. giving n mass
of statistics as to the work she had done in
| the year past and as TO the finances of the
organization.
The state executive committee, composed
of Captain Barry of Greedy county, Root of
Douglas, Allen of Cass and McGaw of
Adams, then reported as to the work as
signed and performed by it during the year.
The executive committee is by the rule of the
organization given n great variety of power,
and ali questions arising during the cam
paign are referred to this committee for set
Element, and by this committee the finances
of the organization are cared for. The re-
port of the committee was adopted.
Report of the State Lecturer.
State Lecturer c. Fairchild of Odell pre-
scented the account of his stewardship, show
ing the distance he had Travelled, the lee
lures he had delivered, his receipts ana eX-
pendltures and the condition in which he
found the country at large. IT was his opin-
Ion that the great mass of the people were
with the reform movement at heart, and
soon will be with the party which repre-
scented such principles.
/ The guardian of the aid degree, w. +.
Wright, presented his report, showing the
progress made by the new life insurance
branch of the alliance. This concluded the
afternoon program.
Min n InNF rhn npp ~ COT
tomorrow night 10 discuss the question of
insurance. Possibly it may have to go over
until Thursday morning in the event that
the alliance members participate in the
labor conference called for tomorrow
evening.
During the day haad bills were circulated
announcing that in the evening an open ses-
sion of the alliance would be held at the
court house, and at half past : the district
court was comfortably filed BY the
members of the alliance and citizens of
Hastings. Tn audience was typicAlly in
dependent, and in its numbers could be
nOtiCsd w. III. Dech, Prof. w. A. Jones, j.
y. NJ. Swieart. Jay Burrows, McGaw, Cap
tain Barry, Senator Darner, j. a. Edgcrion
and other prominent members of the party.
EN-StaLe Senator Coulter, now totally
blind, was led into the room by a couple of
his friends ana seated within the bar.
Mayor c.. @. Ritteuhouse was called on by
President Powers TO welcome the orgnniza-
tion 10 the city, ana this he did in a brief
manner, ailudlng 10 the fact that many of
tine audience had been raised on farms, and
without reference TO political belief, sympa-
thizeu with the present movement.
President Powers, in responding, denied
that the alliance was in any way seeking TO
array the farming class against the urbane
population.
Poynter on the Situation.
Ex-Governor Pro TEN Poynter was called
on for a speech and claimed that the farm
ing class was as n rule a patriotic set of peo-
pie, not anarchists, nor sympathiZers with
anarchists of high or low degree. The
alliance he declared was an educational
institution, teaching American citizens to
value their birthrlght.
with the present conditions of thou
SANDS ofmen rolling in wealth, millions in
the lowest depths Of poverty he observed,
lis il not time for the farmers 70 bind to-
gether 10 study the economic conditions
OF our country in order that This class may
place the country where IL belongs. We be-
lieyc i'm the fathcrhood of GOD and the
brotherhood of man, and this is why W. are
banding together in the farmers alliance
Allen Root Of Omaha was next announced
and spoke at great length on "lhe Past and
Future OF the Alliance and the Duties They
1--WE TO Themselves and TO Society," What
MIR. Roof would have said on the subjecI is
not Known, nor will I ever be known 10 the
public, for after warming up on his subject