The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-04-10
PLANS OF THE NEW FARMERS AL
LANCE REDUCED, TO A LO-
CAL APPLICATION
TO REOPEN TWO FACTORIES
Germ Which Is Going at Its Work
on Lines Apart From Its Former
Quasf-POliticaI Guise, With the
Desire to Benefit the Agriculture
list of the Northwest.

derStoOd organization is primarily or
ganization to defend and protect the in
terests of agriculture in every legitimate
and honorable manner within it's power.
He said:
There Is a great revival in the ALI
ance throughout the Northwest at this
time, and new Alliances are springing
up at every turn, and this Office is kept
busy sending out preliminary instructions
and information of how to organize.
great deal of the prejudice against the
old Farmers Alliance still remains in
some quarters>on account Of an errone-
Gus impression that the National Farm
ers' and Industrial Union is the same as
the old State Alliance which developed
into a political organization and went to
pieces some time ago. This is not the
case with the National Alliance. as It is
absolutely a non-political society and is
organized for business purposes only.
LAS fast as this feature of the National
Alliance becomes known the prejudice
disappears and we find our most enthu-
siastic members among those who short
time ago were the most prejudiced oppo-
nents.
What has brought this about? Why
the treatment Of the farmer the past
year in the matter of grades and dock
ages on grain at local and terminal points
where he found himself HELPLESS to de-
TEND his rights and had to submit to the
eXactions. Of the combine elevators, and
take what they. felt disposed to give
them. Also the matter Of binding Irvine,
which the farmers expected to pay six
or seven cents per pound at the prison,
found that the prison board had dispos-
ed OF the entire output to the jobbers
and merchants of the state and when
they were ready with their harvest they
found that the Irvine was all gone weeks
before and they are now compelled to
pay from 10 to 16 cents per pound, they
naturally objected and raised cry that
went all over the country and attracted
the attention Of all classes of citizens
to this condition. Then it was found by
the farmers that this National Alliance
was at work on these very lines to pro-
tect the farmers from the very condi-
ton that he complained about. They
round that among the remedies that it
had attempted to protect the farmers was
to secure a farmer on such boards as
the railroad and warehouse commission
and on the state prison board, as those
two boards had more to do with the in
terestS of the farmer than most others,
and 1T was found that there was not
practical farmer on these boards and
was composed Of lawyers and business
men they were not in sympathy with the
interests Of the farmer, and as a result,
the farmers throughout the state receiv-
ed little consideration from these boards.
1t was found that the Alliance had al
ready taken up the matter with the state
officials and received scant courtesy and
no recognition, and the incidents connect
ed with this matter were made the base
of all manner Of rfdicule and SANDER by
the politicians and officeseekers. 1t was
only when the Alliance held up the con-
dition which had existed for years that
the farmer was at last aroused,ssand as
a result the farmers of the state are to
great extent responsible for the defeat
of the last Republican nominee for gov
ernor. 1t Is expected that the newly
elected governor, will remedy many of
the evils that farmers complain about.
We are willing to walt and see If this
will be done.
What Is the business feature Of the
Alliance and where does the benefit to
your members come in? Why our men,
bership Is made up Of producers and
consumers, the farmer is the producer
and the workman is the consumer. We
aim to have our business done where our
members are benefited most.
For instance, it is the policy of the
Alliance to patronize home industries and
give preference to factories that employ
our Industrial Union brethren. We have,
for instance, under consideration a prop
osition with the Woods Harvester COM
pany that If they will manufacture har-
VeSterS this year and give our society q
cash reduction on large amount of ma
chimes of 1000 or more, we would adopt
the Woods harvester for our society and
purchase them instead Of machines that
are made In other states.
I'VE have just received a letter from the
Woods Harvester company stating that
they will not make any machines this
year at this plant, which means that
about 1,500 men will not be employed in
this one factory, which is one Of the most
complete and extensive plants of the kind
| in the country.
1T seems to me that some effort on the
part Of the business men Of this city
should be taken, and assist in putting
such an enterprise on it's feet We also
would like to have the business men con-
slider another proposition which would be
OF great benefit to the farmers and the
citizens OF st. Paul, and that Is the op-
Grafton of the cordage works on Front
street, which could manufacture Irvine.
and our society could take their entire
output. This would give employment to
about 600 hands.
Another matter which our society has
in view is the building Of a large terminal
elevator at Duluth and Minneapolis and
1t was suggested at the recent meeting
that large elevator would be built at ST
Paul.
"A big business could be done in the
flour trade, and If large flour mills
were erected on the West side it would
| not be long until St. Paul would be en-
| 1oyfng flour market like Minneapolis.
I'VE will be pleased to cooperate with
| the business men of the city and state
| and assist In any move that will save
our members money and build I'D the in
dustries Of the state. The farmers ssa
| now that they can control the markets
at their local stations by building farmers
| elevators and establishing genuine COM
| petition against the line elevators in the
| Northwest. This will save the farmers
millions Of dollars annually. Another
matter that our society would like to have
accomplished is to apply the profits in the
manufacture of binding Irvine in the pris-
| on to charging the binding Irvine plant
and put all the prisoners at work on this
article, instead of manufacturing shoes
which are now in competition with our
citizens
All these things can be done If our cit
liens take 1t up and push it along"
kEWN