The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-08-11
A LETTER FROM ALEXANDER
COUNTY.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.

very nature will attract the attention
of the world2 In a word, why not
hoist the flag of co operations
Il is strange to me that people have
been at war with each other so long,
commercially, when a little time spent
in thought would have shown
them that CO operation means justice,
liberty and equality.
l have no use for any for n form
of State socialism, nor for any scheme
whatever of compulsory co operation;
and any plan which requires the indi-
vidual tosinvest all he has in the com
mon home, thus rendering it impossible
for him to withdraw from the same, l
call compulsory. l cannot stop here to
argue these points. But I earnestly
invite all who value liberty above
riches to study the following PROPOSE
ton.
Each community should as far as
is practicable produce all the articles
which are consumed by that com
munity. People who ship wool 600
miles to get it manufactured and then
buy it back again in ready made cloth
ing, and those who ship the hides and
then buy them back again in ready
made boots and shoes, allowing the
foreign manufacturer and dealer to fix
the prices both ways, is on the direct
road to poverty and want. It matters
not how much or how little money
there may be in circulation, those who
follow this suicidal policy will
have enough of it to buy half the ar
ticles needed for a comfortable living.
This mode of doing business suits the
wealthy manufacturer. 1t suits the
railway companies and it suits the local
merchant, for all these share in the
plumber, but the poor producer has no
recourse. He is the lamb to be shorn.
l have always alluded to the iuiquity
of profit. II the merchant h~abitually
takes more than he gives in exchange,
he will in time absorb all the wealth Of
the community. Also the producer
habitually gives more than he receives
he tolls without recompense, sinks IN
the social scale and rears his children
to lives of vice and crime. And these
results will follow, whether he trades
at home or abroad, whether money be
plenty or scarce, whether the tariff be
high or low, or whether the money be
silver or gold or paper, and whether
the government treasury be full or
empty.
These two are the prime causes of
poverty and hard times. The times
are hard except for the lRborer
and the farmer, and for the benefit of
these I write. Being one of these mum
Der, I think l know of what l speak.
The remedy which I propose is that
we stop paying q profit on that which
we create; that we combine to produce
the things which we consume, instead
OF competing with each other; that the
fellow who produces nothing may be
benefited by competition; that instead
of buying them abroad at rates fixed
by others, let a colony be formed of
those who are willing to exchangelabor
or its product for equal labor, or the
product Of equal labor. Let those who
are willing to give as good as they re-
ceive come together in a single locality
so as to make mutual exchange pos
sible. Let these be artisans, skilled in
various industries.
Let all products be deposited in a
general warehouse in every county in
the State, so it will be convenient for
the people to make these exchanges.
Let the price of each article be meas.
ured by its costs in labor instead of by
the ignorance and the need of the pur-
chaser. Let each producer receive a
check Or certificate for the amount and
price of his product, and let these
checks or certificates be receivable for
all commodities that may be in the
store house.
Such would be what 1 would consider
sound money, honest money, always
good for the same amount of product,
Of whatever kind
The Farmers Alliance manufactur-
ing exchange or co operation exchange
is founded on these lines at Hillsboro,
N. c., and it remains to be seen whether
enough people will put their shoulders
to this enterprise to make it one of the
largest and strongest manufacturing
plants in the South. think they will,
If y'u favor cooperation take hold
now and help push the work. They