The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-08-13


ing the men together TO talk, to con-
fer, to realize the identity of their
interests, are good things. Man is a
social animal. Intercourse is the
great educator. Men cannot thrive
if they have no intercourse With
their fellows.
But when men crept into these
meetings and taught farmers to sus
poet their fellowmen in the towns /;
when they made farmers feel that
all other men were their enemies,
they sowed seeds that brought forth
ruin. All men are brothers. From
s~uspecting a merchant to ~suspecting
his fellow-farmer is not a long step,
and the first taken the second is
sure. From regarding n class of
citizens as enemies to regarding all
others is no great leap. Merchants
are not your enemies. They make a
profit on what they sell, So do you.
There is nothing wrong in that. The
whole world is by Gods will bound
together in common interest. Mer-
chants, farmers, lawyers, physicians
and preachers are members of one
body and one cannot stand off and
war with the other.
THE COMMERCIAL MISSION.
co The Alliance UaS a business
-,o,,-,o-F 80, s,J,yaT,sVT aa,03.o447oaof
You stood for cooperation in bust
ness. You organized stores and de
positories. You sought to buy
cheaper and sell higher. That is all
right. The principle of the hour is
the principle of oO-Operation-not
only in business, but in all things;
not only with each other, but with
all classes. But a grand mistake
was made when you sought to get
the government to do for you what
you would not for anything have it
do for others. The government can
not supply you with capital. That
would be ruin. 1t is a pity that the
energies of the Alliance were wasted
in this direction. Had they been
directed to preserving the principle
of co, operation, you would be more
able to cope with the conditions that
confront you. Behold how others
have profited by the principle with
out aid of government!
You must yet come to the adoption
of this principle of cooperation.
Look at the great combinations in
other fields. Behold the trusts, how
they grow! That is cooperation.
And I do not know but one way to
meet it: You must also cooperate.
You cannot get all the farmers to
work together. But may be youcan
get n in ten. If so, you can meas
ure arms with the trusts. In war
he who has most soldiers and most
supplies wins out. You have the
men and the supplies. You have
the only base of supplies in the
world-all the world is in six months
of starvation. Your supplies post.
pone the event from time to time.
Now let one-tenth of the farmers
combine. Let them agree to hold
their cotton, or to reduce their acre.
age, or to shorten their output of to-
bacco. You will see prices rise.
And you will see the number of
farmers that work together increase,
and by and by you will hear the
biggest howl against trusts that ever
was in this world. Mind you, 1 do
not advocate trusts. denounce op-
preston, by farmers or others. lido
plead for the adoption of this prin
ciple of cooperation. Men were
made not to slaughter one anather,
but to work together.
POLITICAL MISSION.
The Alliance had and has q DO-
HttcGL mission. I would not be
afraid to say so, if I were you. 1
don't know what was in the Ocala
platform. As I said, platforms are
not much. The Alliance stood for
something deeper-liberty and indie
pendence. 1t stood for liberty to
think. 1t actually set farmers to
thinking for themselves. 1t actually
got them so they would not take
their opinions second hand. 1t
actually got them so they were in
different to the lash of the party boss.
The farmers met and talked about
financial systems, tariffs, govern
ment ownership, sub-treasury, etc.
Their ideas may all have been wrong