Norwich bulletin., 1910-04-30


 kwrftten Specially for The Bulletin.) )
 Out in the southwest tne "Farnners' = union'' seems to be & pretty popular organization It is to Hold a conven- ton next week at St Louis, beginning May 2d. and the preliminary publica- tions regarding this gathering have brought out the fact that 1t has 10000 local organisations. Assuming an av- erage membership of one hundred to each lodge. this gives a total Of 3,000,- 900 in the dozen or fifteen states in which the union" is dourishinE. Quite a ntt1s ''passel O peopfe,s youN admit. They expect more than q hundred thousand to take advantage of the Low raifruad rates made, and visit the con- vention during the week.
 The speakers from states in which the organization is strong include rep- resenfatives from South Carolina to South Dakota, and from Montana to Texas. Among these speakers are sen- atorB of the United States, congress- men. judges. professors in colleges, ex- perts like Clifford Pinchot and E. J. Watson, etc Altogether. it is going to be what our friends, the reporters, call s'a notable occasion.p While can't say that I, personally, should like to be therefor hate a crowd-Tm nev- ertheless glad so many who do not hate a crowd are going. The result is demonstration of the influence and the real wants of a whole lot of farm er-folks in a number of states where they are powerful and prosperous.
 Among other things, fancy they'll take up and make a few remarks upon the parcels post. l. judge so from a recent circular letter which President Barrett of the union" has recently sent out to all the subordinate unions. The tone of the letter indicates that CMr. Barrett is in earnest and that he zs mighty anxious to have his big or warding this simple bit of honest legfs1ation- After pointing out that the express companies now have a monOp- oily in carrying small packages; that they are getting an average or sixteen the amply sufficient cause of the whole postal dencit; that last year one of them declared a dividend of 300 per cent, and that the adoption of reasonable parcels post by the govern rnent would mean saving to the farmer of just about 76 cents on every dollar he now has to pay for having sett touches upon the curious snfve1 of certain short sighted rural store keepers in this direct and forcible way:
 Don't let your country merchant fool you into believing that a parcels post will cut off his revenues by di- vertinz trade to the big mail order stsnc Tor E pecass it sid t is Ssse a t ss
  millions of farmers save money than that hundreds of small merchants make money. But, as a matter of fact a parcels post will add to the profits dng him cheap access to his customers cut in the country
 And then he appeais to his three nniIiien members in the following vig- orour style:
 ~Year after year we have been striv- ing to secure this legislation from congress. False promises from pOli- exprogs companies, and, to an extent, cur own apathy have operated to keep us out of this huge benefit
 The time has come to cease dilly- dalyfng. Go after your representative and senator with club, bury him un- der an avalanche of letters, telling him you want a parcels post and that you are not going to let him or yourself rest until you get it.
 There is not one single valid argu- ment against parcels post There is every valid argument for it.
 If the government wants to keep others back to the hand, let the gov errnsnt even up advantages as be- post 6 one of them.
 'sBut I want to remind you that you won't get the parcels post or anything elsa, you don't keep in behind that representative and senator all of the time and not part of the time.
 Write htn a letter todayi
 Wfite him as regularly as the first 1 of the month comes roundl" ThAtss talking. It's westsrn in its | snsruy and "sit- tharn tons. Tts com- mon sense, too. don't care how hon. l est and patriotic your conxressman Jnay be, he's exposed to influences at Was1lin eton which tend to obscure his vision of che peoples real needs. He's apt to be home only election times l Then he comes in contact chiefly with ehe managing politicians. Now, of all - sorts of peop1e in this n1any-sort- 1d Ind, there tant one which more | comp1fely nisunderstands and misrep- 1 resanks the real people than the pro fess1onal politicians. The candidate 1 who is or thinks himself conpelled to submit to their steering very seldom | gets any clear idea of what his real l constituents really want. When he gets back to Washington. after being elect es1( he is promptly submerged in l mob of open or disguised agents and employees of the various interests. They | all pretend to speak for the people, | and fhe poor congressman, who is a | very human sort of a chap. is apt, l nearing their sham patriotism so con stant1y and loudly. to lind himself un- l