Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-19
WY FARMERS DO ORGANIZE
Great Issues at Stake That Cannot Be
Successfully Fought Unless All
Stand Together.

one, having covered only a narrow
strip of the Atlantic seaboard, these
people were beings Of simplicity.
Their motives were pure and their
ideals were high. They had no thought
of being mistreated byany oftheir num-
Der. Every man titled his little plat
of soil and reaped at harvest time the
fruits Of his own labor. 1t Is sure
that all the trades and industries were
in crude stage of development, bat
these primitive, liberty-loving home
seekers were as happy as people
could be.
But as the wave of immigration
moved westward it came in contact
with the enemy, the red man. It is
known by every student Of history
that this foe was terror to the peo-
pie. 1t was a strong foe to them. II
was several years before these honest
people learned to hold their own with
this enemy and not until thousands oil
them were slain, several villages de-
stroyed, before they learned the value
OF unity. But when they formed a
union the foe was overcome and they
had a few years of peace. About IL
years later another enemy began to
encroach upon the rights of the same
people. Year by year the heel Of tyr
amy pressed harder and harder; year
by year the rights of the people were
being taken from them until at last
the oppression became too great and
these colonists could not and would
not permit the mother country to i'm
pose upon them any longer.
This was a mighty enemy to face.
Our forces were but a drop in the
bucket, but we had been In a training
school u years before and had not
forgotten the value Of unity. Human.
ity, liberty and home were at stake.
We were In all cases outnumbered, ex.
cept in courage and loyal spirit Of
unity. It was this spirit that gave US
the victory at Trenton and Princeton;
1t was this spirit that helped our SOL
diers to endure the hardships at Val.
ley Forge, and 1t was this spirit that
gave US the victory at Yorktown. This
battle gave to our people indepen-
dence, the thing they had bound
themselves together for. Oh! for the
power of union. These people formed
a union with their Maker at the head,
and of course victory was theirs, re-
CARELESS Of the character of the foe.
Now, brothers, we have Joined the
union for the same purpose that our
forefathers Joined. We have just as
great issues at stake. Let US rise up
and show to our foe that we still pos
sesS some of the same courage.
The grafters have been sapping our
very life from us; they have been as
bold as lions and not less powerful;
they rob in broad daylight. The time
has come when the producer receives
a just reward for his labor. There
was a time when a man could easily
support his family without working
his wife and children, but, brothers,
we have passed that time. The old
system that man received the Just
reward for his labor has become as
extinct as the mammoth. Our pres
ent grating system gives the CRATER
eight dollars out of every $40 that
we produce. Is that not enough to
make US bind ourselves together in a
union and resist the Internal system
and its instigators?
The grafters feel our efforts and II
we will be on the alert in the next
seven years we can produce some
radical change. The issues are up to
US; are we going to meet them with
determination to win? One reason
we do not do more is we people dc
not read and study our condition
enough. There are so many things
that tend to our destruction that we
are ignorant OF.
Farmers, let us read more and dc
more brain work. Some of us have
let our brains lie dormant until they
have almost quit acting for US. Dom
let the other fellow do your thinking
for you; do it yourself and you viii
become a better union man. You viii
be better prepared to fight the enemy