The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-02-08

selves. and 70 many Of our brother workers
a. will heed the call, from the shack1es Of
slavery without majoritiss or laws or gold
to back our efforts. We have undertaken
to free from their cruel superstition the
worshipers Of the money idol. Shall We
succeed? Perhaps not always. What truly
worthy undertaking in all the world has
ever succeeded without its farmers-its
hour OF doubt. its agony Of fear? But few
pioneer branches. our little
OUTPOSTS OF ENLIGHTENMENT
amidst the wilderness Of financial ignorance
are struggling right bravely to keep their
campfires burning against the day Of indus
trial deliyerance. What misconceptions
what fatal Indifference at times, what soul
trying obstacles always, these apostles OF
equity and Justice and collaboration meet
with and contend against. no records, save
the inscrutable records of life, will ever
show. The true worth OF their trials and
joys. their hopes blighted or fulfilled, their
opportunities lost or gained, their failures
or successes, Will be written fully only in
the results Of the future
sometimes they have undertaken more
than they can accomplish, and then they are
constrained TO lay their burden down;
tempted. 1t may be, to stray off down some
oy-path into the labyrinth of competition
again. and SO deserving their work before
II is even begun; often and often, however,
only resting by the wayside until renewed
strength bids return to the higher duty
OF the journey. Failure. indeed. sometimes.
IN the eye Of an unprophetic world. looking
only at the weary distance between them
and their eventual goal. but of such fall
ures has the golden cloth of success been
woven through all time.
AS we'll judge the Revolution by its Val
ley Forge. the creation by it's Eden lost, the
gospel OF eternal love by it's Calvary on
earth, as to judge our hope of Industrial
freedom by Its standings on its way Let
US not be OF the pessimists who, looking
upon battered hfeboat, judge the whole
ship lost Let US take our lessons from
the glorious failures Of the past. and so at
tain our goal.
What are the farmers?
On, they answer, they are fellows who
i've out yonder somewhere, and raiBe corn,
potatoes. wheat. beef, pork and poultry
they are kind Of a necessary evil-they
are the uncivilized part of society. but no
more mt for self-government than the ne
groes OF the South" Through the delusion
or the founders Of this nation we are con-
strained to let them go through the form Of
holding elections and selecting men to make
their laws. But our great men, our million
a1res Will see to 1t that when the repre-
sentatiVes assemble at the capitol we will
either humbug them or buy them up out
right. and have things our own way.
In the South they keep men away from
the ballot box with shotguns. We can't
Iuhc w tIltit, l1e farmers might SnOOt back.
But we corrupt their representatives. 1T is
a great deal easier and makes less noise
IT Is a clean, sweet, nice transaction-so
many dollars for SO many votes. This Is a
commercial age and capital must rule The
South cries out to us, This is white mans
country and we echo back, This is a rich
mans country. And between US both we
have things just about right And II any
man objects he Is demagogue COM
munlst. an anarchist, nihilist, the devil
himself"
The members Of the Alliance should le-
member that, as rule, they cannot ex-
pect any different treatment in the legisla-
ture from money lenders: they will natur-
ally work Tor the interest Of their class.
Neither should we very much blame them
for so doing. The blame rests with the fools
VINO elect representatives of the creditor
class to make laws for communities. line
tenths of the voters of which are In debt
They might just as we'll put their sheep
In charge Of the wolves and then be as
tonshed to find dead sheep and fat wolves.
WHAT FARMERS SHOULD DO.
do not say that no bankers or lawyers
should be elected to the legislature: the
cities will attend to that, anyhow What
l urge ds that wherever there is a farm
Ing community it should elect one Of its
own class to represent it.
If they are not elected in the agricultural
region, most assuredly they never will be
elected anywhere else.
AS to the horrible cruelties that have been
practiced upon the people Of the state I'M
der the guise Of usury no pen can adequate
ly describe them. and no Imagination sum
them up. The state has been a battlefield,
scene of slaughter. Homes DESTROYED,
hearts crushed lives darkened by the ex-
cessive greed of man for The substance Of
his neighbors
City aldermen and councimen, state leg
islators and congressman, tax the people;
the money is sFent wastefully prof1igatelv,
Tor the enrichment of the creatures of the
political machines. and the people are rob-
bed. But this robbery, great as 1t IS, is
small compared to the robbery of The peo-
pie by corporations to which municipal and
state legislators are induced to vote special
privileges special grants and confer valu
able rights, to the prejudice of the many
denied the right to the enjoyment, the use
OF such rights. save upon payment Of such
tribute as the corpora tons may choose to
exact.
And again, this robbery OF the people by
the corporations is as far exceeded by the
robbery Of the people by the speculative
clique as does the robbery by the corpora
lions exceed the robbery by the political
machines. Thus the speculative clique and
largely through the tnstrumentality Of the
corporations rob the people, not only OF
their earnings, but of their savings and
what Is the greatest robbery of all, the
chance to earn q living for the man robbed
OF this right becomes a slave.
And this the speculative clique does they
carry out the most stupendous Of robberies;
and this robbery is tolerated by our lesis-
Ators, for in our legislative halls the spec
ulat1ve cliques exert the terrible and far
reaching influence of corruption, an influence
that can only be rendered nugatory by the
knowledge that people is watchful of their
representative faithless to his trust And
this check our people are not axertiny.
They E11In,inar rI-hi 10 f1,a,y
And On top Of this robbery there is a
loss to our people greater than all the
robbery. 1t Is the loss Of Labor OF produc-
tive power, coming from the PARALYSIS of
industry, Of enterprise caused by the rob-
berry Of the people by the speculative
cliques. The robbery Of one dollar NAV
often lead to the stoppage of Industry that
Will cause the loss Of ten. And the loss of
this Kind is the most grievous under which
our people now suffer repeat the robbery
py the political machines, great in itself
not 1nfrequently exposed, readily seen and
much spoken of. is small in comparison 20
the robbery OF the people by the corpora
lions; corporations granted valuable tran-
chlses by the people, and which charge the
people for the use Of their own franchises
and this robbery by corporations is small
oesioes the robbery by the speculative
cliques. who
WRECK THE ENTERPRISES
OF the people wreck corpora tions. railroads
as 1t serves them, yet this great robbery
tnat has built up the majority of the colos-
sal fortunes OF today Is as nothing to the
loss that 1t has occasiOned our people,
In brief, our people have lost from tho
robbery much more than has been robbed
from them. Their greatest loss is from the
fact that the robbery has preo+1,, hona;