The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-01-13
1.-THE LABOR lExCHANGE. y
A VERY INTERESTING AND I'M
PORTAL Mt MATTER.
men to Exchange Their Politics With q
Minimu4 Amount Of Money!

mainly are laboriPg to make money
very scarce andTtherefore overwhelm-
ingly valuable: Their efforts are now
supplemented ny panic, SO that the
circulating medium is retreating from
banks and business to safety vaults
and holes in the ground. The people
are driven to find out some means of
exchanging their commodities with
out the use of money. There is plenty
OF food and fuel. and clothes and i'm
pements, to maketevcrybody we'll fed
and we'll clad and successful. But the
damnable metallic superstition stands
between the workers, like an armed
foe. until the man who has grain and
meat enough to feed a hundred per-
sons cannot afford clothes and shoes 70 r
his family; and the worknen who
have thousands of days work in their
idle muscles cannot get enough to
eat. Hence the question arises on
every hand: els it possible to devise
some means by which the exchange of
the products of industry can be made
with the use of a minimum amount
ey?"
At the recent very important meet
ing of the State Farmers Alliance of
Minnesota delegation. came before
it representing an institution called
''The Labor Exchanges" and a COM
mittee was appointed to confer with
them, by the Alliance.
1t appears from their statements
that their organization is now spread
over several states, and has one hun
dred and fifty branches. The idea is
for the tailor to exchange his work
with the shoemaker: the carpenter
with the hat maker; the weaver with
the shirt-maker, ETC., etc. These ex-
changes can be made in a town or vii
lage directly. The goods can be de-
posted in central Store-room and
the medium Of exchange be labor
checks" So far no money is needed
except for the raw material; and even
there the same system can be applied
to some extent. II leather is needed
for the shoes tanner may be found
who will swap his product for clothes,
or shoes, or carpenter or blacksmith
work. Even the merchant may be
willing to accept labor checks If he
needs. in exchange for cotton or wool
en- goods. II now the farmer can
come into the combination and fur
nish food and take his pay in clothes,
boots, shoes, harness, irOn-ware, ETC.,
thecircle lis complete. Avery little
money would be needed to pay
freight; but one hundred dollars Of
trade could be. carried on with five or
ten dollars Of cash. Just as in the mer-
camille world one hundred dollars of
exchanges is accomplished with 500 OF
checks and S. of money.
An Alliance in the Red River Val
ley could send word to the central
headquarters:rt'We will need so
many dozens Of boots and shoes of
such and such sizes;-so many suits of
clothes;-so many otercoats-so many
harnesses. etc.J etc, Can you furnish
them? If-sot how many hundred
weight will ydur people need of oat-
meal, corn-meal, wheat flour. barley.
potatoes, pork, beef, mutton. .etc.?"
limo miller can be found to grind
their grain community could soon
build small grist mill of their own;
paying for a large part of the work
with the products they receive from
the town-laborers. Merchants will be
found who will be ready to sell their
goods and take their pay in ready
made clothing, boots, shoes, harness,
etc. Every increase in the member
ship will make, such a mbination
more powerful, until at last every
among the membership: and the sys-
tenn will expand from the Atlantic to
the Pacific.
With such society the people need
not care how much the currency is
contracted, nor how hard the times
are. The only surplus they will need
to sell for cash will be that nee essary
to pay their debts.
OF course all these functions ought
to tie accomplished by money; but the
scoundrels have got possession Of leg
islation; and the people have scarcely
one tenth the currency they need.
Therefore TREY are compelled to go to
the wall or resort to some such sys-
tenn of barter as we have pointed
out. With the unlimited resources of
the soil, and the unlimited capacity Of
labor among the workmen, the toilers
will become princes in the land. They
will escape from the grip Of the Shy
locks and they will eliminate the
middleman. Those who sought to de-
stroy us will destroy themselves.
They will be engaged in a cannibalis-
tic feast:-devouring each other.
They have chained us with their
chains of gold. We will burst the
chains and rise free men.
But can this be accomplished? Is it
practicable?
With the help Of the Farmers Alli-
ance and Industrial Union we think
it is.
Like necessities beget like rem
edies. We cliprelYisfrom one OF the
daily Chicago gapets:
Topeka, Kanr Ian. Mrs. Annie
L. Diggs, who has been at war with
Mrs. Lease sihce The Farmers ALI
ance was started in Kansas, is the
originator Of Agigantic cooperative
scheme, with headquarters and dis
tributing bureaus and de DotS in every