The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-28

the kind of ''sleep that knits up the
raveled sleeve of care and brings
freshness with the coming dawn, but
thst which produces a tired feeling
and leaves one all unnerved. His good
wife observed there was something
weighing on his mind, and asked him
what troubled him. my dream. 1t
will haunt me till I die. 7 want to tell
Won about it. 1t was so vivid and 80
astonished me that when I awoke my
nervous system was exhausted by the
horrors impressed on my mind"
"You brighten me, Amos; tell me
what you dreamedl" said Mrs. Hin
kle.
IF you have time to spare from your
house work 1 will tell you; you know
we have been compelled to dismiss all
of our help only in crop season, but
let the work go undone, for I must tell
you"
The fire was replenished and Mrs.
Hinkle taking her sewing on her lap
signtfied her readiness to hear the pro-
phetic dream. He began in a tremb-
ling voice and with a detected counte-
nance:
II dreamed we were still living on
the same farm, but the calendar read:
1909 A. D. I saw the Goth century vas
securely fixed in the scale of time, and
found changesin everything, eKceptpeo-
pie had to eat and had to wear clothes as
heretofore. The farms that formerly
were dotted over the country and cul-
tiVated by the owner as each one
thought best for his interest, ceased to
exist as individual enterprises; they
were now owned and operated by syn
dictates. individuality was lost in cor
porations. All realty was vested in
large combines, and the masses were
individual slaves. Rents were eXces
/ sive, and taxes were increased until
the people groaned under the burden;
and this was not for good government
(as the public schools had ceased to
EXIST, but to pay large annuities to the
favored few. The people had tried to
remedy the evils through the ballot
box, but failed through the corrupting
influence of money. An appeal to
arms was considered to force the en-
actment of national laws that would
counteract the grinding effect of the
great combinations that were sapping
the life of the Republic by impover-
ishing the producers of wealth. But
we had waited too long; the opportu-
nifty was lost by continuing faith with
those who had destroyed silver as a
money metal. In fact, we blindly
forged the chains for our own enslave-
ment. Now the military power has
been swollen to European proportions,
and our condition is hopeless. Liberty
gone, and a,monied a~ristocracy has
supreme control of the country. The
tears of women and the cries of men
are alike unavailing of good for the
masses. The saying of Vanderbilt was
realized; the people were damned in
earnest, and the future held no beacon
of hope, only darkness was visible in
the future. Joy and gladness had dis
appeared; mirtb, song and the dance
were forgotten. The smile of for
mer days, and the buoyant spirit
and the elastic step of those who were
in pursuit of wealth and happiness,
had given place to the grim visage of
disappointment, and the measured
pace of gloom and dispair. Notwith.
standing tina earth yielded her increase,
millions were hungry and in rags.
Only those who had money could look
and feel cheerful, and they with dis
dain looked down upon what they were
pleased to call the common herd l
thought Of my ancestors, how they
followed Washington to Germantown,
Valley Forge, and on to Yorktown in
the cause of independence; of the blood
Of a heroic line of Anglo-Saxons flow
ing through my veins, yet I am now
only q slave to the robbers. I followed
the lead of Mcdowell, Mcclellan, Pope,
Burnsides, Hooker, Mead and Grant to
crush out the old chivilric a~ristocracy
of the South, believing we were waging
war to preserve the liberties of the
people. Oh, GodI what a mistake we
made. We freed the negro from
Southern masters and forged the chains
to epslave sixty millions of whites.
, Our doom is sealed, for all history de
clares that liberty once lost ia never
regained. In great perturbation of
mind 1 called for you, with whom I