The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-26

reform shall come to an understand
ing of the terms and conditions on
which they can co operate. This de
mands q clear headed, dispassionate
survey of the whole field in a liberal
spirit of compromise and mutual for
bearance. In such a crisis the con
sentative and j%udicious zeal of the
great farmers organization will be
badly missed. It remains now for the
Alliance to convince other sincere ad
vocates of reform, that, if progress is
to be made conservative counsels must
prevail. The great rural masses are
by nature and from the inspiration of
their environments cautious and
conservative. They will not support
a public policy until they are convinced
that it is first of all just and right, and,
furthermore, that iT is essential to the
good of the whole community. If, in
deed, q measure be demonstrated to be
essential to the best interests of the
whole community, they believe with
john Milton that it is for that very
reason lawful and right. They do not
condemn a thing because it is de-
nounced as socialism, neither do thew
accept anything advanced by tho So
who style themselves socialists. They
believe there r certain things in
which the agency of the community
should suppLant Individual effort, as,
for example, the carrying of the mails
and the management OF pOstoffices.
The public school system every body
approves. On the other hand, they be-
lleve that the collective ownership of
all means of production" imprac5iCable,
seeirg that human labOr-labor of op
Grafton and labor of direction-is the
largest factor in all production and the
collective OWL ership Of the labor of
a oar means collective ownership of
the man himself. They believe that
the question whether the community
ought to supplant individual IF )rt in
any particular field is a question of ex
pediency, separate from any other
question, and that every such question
should be tirss extensively studied
and discussed and then decided by the
suffrage Of the majority. Beyond this
they are not willing to go.
In it's authoritative presentation of the
classes it repre- sents and its judicial
fairness towards every proposition de-
signed to better the condition of all the
people the Alliance is in a position to
do more good and prevent mor mis-
chief than any other organization in
America. This p~otentiality for good
entails a grave responsibility, of which
the Alliance cannot divtst itself by the
abdication of it's functions, the charter
and the disbandment of it's member
ship. The alliance vas the first to
propose the political alliance Of the
West and South to enforce a just solu
ton of the financial question. The
Alliance has never confined itself to u
s~Ingle-plank platform proposing free
coinage of silver at 16 to /. IL has
always demanded, does now demand,
free coinage at the old ratio; out it re
CARDS this as a means to an end greatly
more important. namely, the complete
and final adjustment Of banks of
Issue.
The graduated income tax is also q
living demand of the Alliance, as one
feature Of a System of State policy
teLding to the prevention of danger
ously excessive accumUlations IN the
hands of private individuals. 1t is the
personal opinion of the writer that a
graduated land tax would be endorsed
by the Alliance and the classes it rep
resents. 1t is certain that no one
plank platform can command any
body's support, and it is eqally Ger
tain that no such platform IL, or ever
was, in contemplation by any party or
by any respectable number of indi-
viduals
Il feel very strongly that it will be a
mistake for the Alliance to relax it's
energies at the most critical stage of
the great questions of reform it has
raised. l beg most earnestly and rl-
spectfully to suggest to the officers of
the order, national and State, to appeal
strongly to the membership, as l do
here and now, to rally promptly to
their standard and stand prepared to
exert their whole ipfueEce in behalf of
conservative principles and vigorous
and determined action; for whereas
the advocates of the gold standard ap
pear to have received in the recent
past a u C. sgion of decisive checks, it