The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-08-24

who have the poWer-the corporations
of the country. That is whera the
power ia. Do you suppose that we are
such fools as not to know thls7 You
think you have numbers, but what
would numbers amount to unless you
have organization7
ADVANTAGES POSSESSED BY CORPORA
TIONS.
Here is a man in Raleigh who wants
to control the legislature for the cor
porations. What does he do7 He taps
a bell, speaks to a man in the remotest
corner of the State. Come here; the
conductor bringsyou Free" Up comes
the lobbyist, sent here on free passes
get their fees after they get here and
work up the legislature. Where is
your bell9 Where is your right Of
way9 Where is your railroad and en-
gines to pull you? If you want some
body to present your side to the legis-
lature, how are you doing to do it?
You are helpless; you have no lobby
and you cannot get one, and the only
place where you can be heard is ct the
ballotbox. One thing you can do,
When you send a man to discharge a
public trust, then you command him
that he shall discharge it or you will
make it too hot for him to stay at
home. (Appleuse)
Now there is nothing without organ
lzltion. You car accomplish nothing
without it. The Farmers Alliance has
accomplished much simply because it
is an organization, it has been felt all
over the country for this reason. Two
thousand organized men out On these
hills would have more power than Die
hundred thousand unOrganiz9d men.
You take q handful Of worthless sand
upon the shore and work it into a tele
scope and with it explore the starry
depths of the heavens. That's organi-
cation. Organization has power, and
if you men who pay the taxes and
plough the fields, if you are not organ
lied you amount to no more in force
and power than so many serfs and
peasants under foreign monarchs.
CAPITAL IS ORGANIZED
Organization is essential. Why, look
and see what has been done in your
State within the last few days. Your
Railroad Commissioners have passed
an order declaring that telegraph rates
shall be reduced from 25 cents to Is
cents for every ten words. There never
was anything more just than that. The
State has a right to say that their rates
shall be reasonable, according to them
q fair income on the amount they have
invested. They have been charging %
cents for every ten words, and 2 cents
for every additional word. They are
taxing the people of this country for
everything sent by telegraph. You
are gouged and plundered by that
crowd. They say to you, ''Stand and
deliver" every time you want to senda
message. You give them seventy five
cents or a dollar to send a telegram to
New York, when you can send one ell
over England, Scotland and Wales for
about fourteen cents.
Oae of your Senators, Marion Butler,
has introduced a bill to establish postal
telegraphs for this country and has it
before a committee and thinks he will
get it passed by the Senate, but when
the agents of the money power swarm
around the halls of the capitol you will
find that it will drop iLto the tomb.
The people of this country can't be
strong enoughto send Representatives
to establish a postal telegraph until
they are organized. There is no reason
for it except that it is decreed by the
money power that it shall not be done.
If you we're organized you might be in
q position to say that it should be done.
If the men who pay the taxes--if they
could get together and orgRnize-they
could stand up and say, I'VE have
been plundered enough by you" Here
the Railroad Commissioners have done
this, but why have they not cut rail
road rates7 1t cannot be explained.
A PIECE OF FURNITURE WHICH THE
WESTERN UNION NEEDS.
The Western Union Telegraph Com
pany appeals, gets it into the courts, and
in the meantime gets an Injunction
from a Federal Judge to prevent the
Commission from carrying it's order
into efect-all Of which amounts to
their walking up to a FEDERAL Judge
and saying: Stop this, " and he stops it.
Away they go to get their ipjunc-
tions and big lawyers, ex Governors,
and secretaries and ex judges and all
before these Federal courts to show