The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-03-06
ADDRESS
OF President H. L. LOucks to the Ma
tional Farmers Alliance and In
dustrial Union at Topeka,
Kansas, Feb. 6, 1894.
Continued from last Week.

When we protest that u republican
form of government is in peril we are
laughed to scorn; but the student OF
the times must be blind indeed who
does not see the danger, especially IN
the great money centres.
At the grand banquet given by the
New York Chamber of Commerce to
celebrate the surrender of our financial
legislation to foreign domination there
was one speech omitted by all the great
dailies. I found it in one Of the smaller
ones, the speaker was Rev. Francis
Patton, D. D., of Princeton College,
who talked on Enlightened Opinion,
the Indispensable Safeguard of Govern
rnent by the People. He struck an un-
responsive chord by describing patriot
ism as opposed to things that are En-
glish and asked the audience to bear
with him, even though they did not
sympathize with his remarks. The
audience was pro English, you know.
1t was assembled to celebrate the only
great victory England has ever
&CA4CNC0 ONCA w. A@NAOO0SA
Patton made the mistake of supposiDg
they wanted an honest American re
Spouse to the toast Of government by
the people," He believed in America
frst He was in the wrong crowd and
had to beg of them to bear with him.
He struck not only an unresponsive
chord but an intol9rant English senti-
ment that would not permit American
patriotism to interfere with English re
joicing. It is needless to say that Sec
rotary Carlisle's address struck a re-
sponsive chord. 1t was all that pro
English audience desired. American
loyalty and patriotism were at a heavy
discount. Think of it ye 0 of revo-
dictionary sires who fought, bled, and
nayhap died that you might be free.
The men in whose power you have
placed the industry and commerce of
this nation by adopting the English
financial system do not hesitate to
publicly rebuke, sc9f and sneer at the
patriotic American sentiment that pa
triotism is loyalty to America first, and
one of the most eminent scholars and
polished orators of the nation has to
beg of them to bear with him while he
utters it.
THE CONTEST OF THH AGES.
The question of CO, operation to secure
higher prices for the product of our
labor or even of legislation to better
our financial condition must sink into
insignificanee in comparison with this
more momentous question. Shall we
as a people be free to legislate for our
selves as we deem best, or are we to
sink to the position of a tributary
province Of Great Britain, the money
centre of the worldi If our present
financial system is continued there can
be no escape from that degradation.
We are now paying an annual tribute
of about 800, 600. 900 and 1t is rapidly
increasing. Il is only a question of
time when they will f~oreclose, and that
time has been materially FASTENED by
recent legislation and usurpation. I
know the contest is not to be looked
upon lightly. The best thought, the
Wisest minds, the bravest hearts must |
come together in council. The greatest
danger in the near future is from the
starving thousands now eagerly clamor-
ing for bread. They will not continue
starving in the midst of plenty. An
outbreak in any of the large cities will
give plutocracy an opportunity to
strengthen it's position by an increase
of the standing army, the bulwark of
their prototypes in Europe.
Another threatening danger, and one
I regret exceedingly, is the sectarian
animosity being cultivated especially
in the West. I had hoped that the en-
lightened Chr istianity Of the nineteenth
century, when all the known religious
sects Of the world could meet in Chris
tian fellowship at the Worlds Parlia-
ment of Religions would have brought
with it o peaceful rest from ~sectarIan
intolerance and bigotry. In all the
worlds history sectarian bigotry and
strife have been most cruel and san
culinary. Can it be possible that this
is another trick of Shylock to distract
the popular attention since the bloody
shirt has gone into innOHiOuS desue-
tUde, and the Democrats lave gone Re-
publican on the tariff When l hear
two people quarreling over their re-
ligion the first thought that occurs to
me is that they both need conversion
right away. The alleged danger seems
TO be the fear that the Roman Catholics
are planning to invade or supplant our