The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-02-20

manhood and rugged individuality
won and pres rived our liberties and
made this great Republic, remain IN
dependent, or will the value OF the
products Of his lab r be still further re
duced and he sink to the level OF the
peasants o. E rope, or the poems or the
ORIENT Viii he be forced to compete
with the products Of the half breeds Of
the Antilles and the millions or Mon
Golian co llIes we have recently pur
chss d 10 the far E4sL9 But let US con
slider the evils from which we alre 4dy
suffer 1t is often fIppantly asserted
tina the key Of eGrIc Iltural prosperity
is 10 che diverslh ;ation Of crops. and
the raising of home supplies. This is
true: intelligent ~uusbandry, a mans
ability TO feed his family, his stock,
his farm, will assure hin independence
il he is tree from dsOt and had the pre-
vision to snticip Ate the great shrink
age of valu e that nave come upon ue {;
but even then there must be a margin
Of profit to educ ate his family q
secure for them sams of the comforts
of life. and when agriculture ceases TO
be suh Iently r~enunerstive for this,
ther4 Is something radically wrong
with the economic conditions prevau
ing. In the mid56 of the greatest vol
ume of trade and the highe,t CONNER
cial prosperity the world has eve
known, Why should the farmer and es Je
cially the tobacco farmer, be growing
poorer9 We are willing that capital
should draw Increase from labor's pro
auctions, but the laborer is worthy Of
his hire. and we r not re 1eiving ls5
compensation for our toll. The c1m
binsgion Of wealth properly curbed Isl
great blessing, but like any other pow
erful force uurestrained is dangerous
and destructive; and there are upholy
com Oinations of capital that, like YAM
pires are sucking the life blood Of the
Republic. While we would encourage
legitimare corporations we swear eter-
nal hostility to those mono oolies, those
pirates of commerce, VINO rob US Of the
profits of our labor and wiring the
bloody sweat of mental anguish and un.
remunerated toll from the brow Of the
farmer and laborinR man.
GIANT corporations unrestrained by
civil or morsf law r forming on
everv hand and are nov capitalized in
the Uuited States, it is said, at more
than toe value of all the gold and silver
OF all the world Producers and con
sumers must yield their tribute 10 pay
ing the interest on these enormous
trusts no. representing invested wealth
not developed worth. but imaginative
and fictitious values. and all individual
enter prise or opposition is starved or
ridden down by these financial jugger
nauts Conditions cannot remain as
now; there is great unrest in the minds
Of the people. A great popular move
meDt against trusts is On all over the
Union, the slumbsring spirit Of the
people is aroused and they have de
termIned that the dangerous powers Of
the trusts be curbed and restrained
This uprising OF the people ia not in a
spirit of e~grarianism, but q popular
demand for equall y Of opportunity for
all ciCIzsns of the Republic. COnserva
tive men today all ove the country
are embracing and advocating meas.
ures that a few years ago they them
selves character z ID as socialistic. The
remedy is IL the people; we have only
to learn from tE FRUITS the lesson Of
organic lti1n and close CO operation.
Our trust must be upon ourselves. 1t
will be difficult to secure the united &C
tion Of a scattered agricultural populs
tion of complex interests and varying
grades CT intelligence, but we regard 1t
as by NJ a hops less proposition,
self Of reservation demands such a
union and will one day force them to
combine and 1 believe that day is at
hand.
While the history of farmers organ
i~4ations has not been satisfactory, still
that the farmers can organize efectu
ally was demonstrated by the Alliance
which exerted a great and powerful in.
huence for good until the apple of dis
cord fell among them ard they we'll
nigh d. stroyed thems Ives by internal
discussions And il is not too much to
hope that that organizati in this
State under its present able and hon
ored President, Mel Graham, will be
restored 20 It's pristine purify and use
fulness.
In our Organization we cannot ex
pec5 too Immediate results, es 1t will
require time aud patience and much
WORE in our tflrts to solve the greet