The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-11-01
Getting His Eyes Open.

James Houston III the Topeka Adj
vOcate says:
Believing there are others thinking
along the 9Al.lc lines is myself, ! come
now offering Il few crl:e thoughts,
expressed perhaps III cru ;cr pllraaeol-
Ogv, hoping 10 draw from abler pens
than mine better exposition Of the
views herein advanced.
] have always been Republican,
and am now 10 the extent OF lndors-
ing, as al rntirity, the principles OF
the party. bat have come t. believe
That the party is not progressive
enough for the times neither is the
Democratic party.
Lack OF sufficient progression In
these partic, have caused thousands
upon lhuu,anus oi these restless, dis
cOntcnte,i voters ANA the number Is
constantly and rapidly being aug
mentcd. Iuis state OF unrest ARISES
from "A ,iccp-srstttu and we'll founded
conviction that tlerc IS something
about orr Government either III It's
administration or fundamental priucl-
pies radically wrong.
What i, ;h. something? Is 1t to he
found in any one or more OF what We
are pleased to term the great political
issues of the day? Hat our revenue,
currency and other laws, which are
brought forth periodically, first one
ami then another, as ISSUES, been at
all AS nearly perfect as it were possible
for human ingenuity to devise, this
feeling OF ,iiscontentmcnt would not
have been stayed beyond the present
time, because the true cause OF this
feclin. does no, lie directly or lnIl-
rtctlv i'm any one or more of these ISSUES
wllicn are raised for the purpose of TO-
mcntin" party strife and creating sec
tionnl hatred to such IL 'lrSre, and to
the end that the minds of the masses
may he kept from questions the solr-
ing of which would drive ahlect pow
crty from the land and ut the same
time dispossess the classes of their I'M
just powers and i!l-%ottcn gains.
Men, through passion and preJu
dice, are often blind to their own i'll
trrcsts Leaders of political parties
are well aware of and rely on this fact
hence ISSUES
/, is not about time the masses
realized this and stopped to think for
themselves, and to discover that the
great and real evil of to-day and ve>ter-
day is to b. founu i'll our land laws?
ignoring paper titles ami recognizing
only those of occupancy and actual usc,
real poverty would be Il thing of the
past Are paper titles of divine origin?
Did the Creator place mankind upon
the earth. some with paper titles and
others without? No. Paper titles
were born ct greed and brute force and
continue to be born of the same parents,
even unto this day.
Every man has IL natural and inallen-
able right to Il portion of mother cart n
on which to dwell aud make Il living.
Laws Interfering with this right should
br set aside. and by force If necessary.
The contrary cannot be maintained
if We conccdr rs we must, the princi-
pie tha every man has the right of
self preservation.
Without PAPER ii les there would be
no tributes in the way of rents to
society leeches. Earnings and profits
would go back into business or else go
toward bull ing homes and providing
comforts ot life.
What Keeps the merchant. the farm
or. the mechanic and the laEorer poor?
DO they have more than Il scanty liv-
i'll" irft.after paving their rents:
The amount paid III rents Is appatl-
ing. and Is extcrttu from the actual
producers of wealth who should ht
and are edit led in natural Justice to
all they produce. How long woul! it
he before the MASSES would have homes
of their own could they use their mon
ev in buying material Tor same instead
OF paving rent: There can be only
one conclusion.