Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-08-28
AsTO AFARMER's TRUST,

A dispatch from Kansas tells or the
revival of the scheme of Walter L. AL
len to organize the farmers of the West
into a mighty trust, to be known as the
Farmers Federation of the Mississippi
Valley. This was attempted nine years
ago, but the coming of the Farmers
Alliance stopped it.
Mr.. Allen proposes to make every
farmer a member of the Federation by
the payment of 81, and then start the
scheme by the issuance of debenture
bonds instead of stock certificates. He
holds that the plan of issuing debenture
bonds solves the problem of double la
bility, which he says, would otherwise
be a drawback in starting the move
ment
The charter provides for the estab-
lishment of warehouses and elevators
in Kansas City, Omaha, Chicago, Gin
cinnati. Indianapolis and other cities,
and here the products will be collected
and stored. The selling will be done
bv agents of the trust, and the prices
will be absolutely controlled by the
amount of supplies placed on the mar
ket.
This reminds the Register of a cir
cular which came to it the other day
from one DeVany, whose identity IS
not fixed, although his address is given
as Swisshelm. Highland county, o.,
who aims to start a Farmers Wheat
Trust under ''gentleman's agree
ment," a sort of syndicate farming
arrangement by which it is proposed
that the trust shall not only market
the farmers wheat at 81 a bushel, but
supply the farmers with all necessary
goods, implements, ETC., taking in pay
ment wheat at 81. All that the mys-
terious DeVany asks is that the farm
ers hold their wheat and notify him,
and he will give them dollar bush
ell for it, paying them cash, or goods, or
title to accumulated dividends, or pro-
fits of the trust He adds as sort OF
afterthought that they should remem-
Der to vote for him for President in
1900 The capital stock of the pro-
posed trust would be pretty close to
$4,000, 100000
Whether Mr. DeVany has escaped
from some asylum or not we are not
posted. The fact remains that his cir
culars are very much in evidence.
If it were possible for farmers to
form trust of their own it might
even up matters bit, for they now
stand the bulk of the trust burden. If
farming were syndicated or in the
hands of few capitalists or stockhold-
ers as is the case in other industries, a
farmers trust might be feasible. AS
it is, with The farming industry in the
hands of millions Of individuals all
over the country, the outlook is not
good for the formation of a farmers
trust.
lC Hlti Dt IlQ VI TIE Dui
den of the trusts which take from him
practically all the mighty wealth he
produces, leaving him a bare living
and often in debt up to his eyes, but
there is only one feasible plan for re-
lief and that is for the farmer, not to
attempt the i1npIa ticable experiment
of initiating the trusts, buI to vote out
of power the politicians whose policy
created and is responsible for the ex-
istence of most Of those Illegal COM
bines which are powerful enough to
dictate governmental policies, and
vote into power the party of the
plain American people, which is pledg-
ed to fight the trusts by every means
in the power OF government and to
continue fight to the end.