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TEE PROGRESSIVE FARIXCB : MARCH 2, 1897, 2 THE PilOGBYI rABMEH MRS. L. L. POLK, - Pkoprietor. J. L. EAKSEY, - Editor. an. Hcl.j!:. N. C. Mo'.cL? ... ..'J 5.1:.! nv? Subscribers. Ona it?-r... Vrl: One corr o3 yr f 1 " tt Tea. -dcn sy at money c nr r -.. n - To Correct?' J-'f Vrlt U roaaiaalcliou. av-Kr.eu fctloa. oii one eide ot the pjvper cr;y. r.e for pxl- We want IntIlUent ixic We v.it f.-v of v&la. ywenits The editor is not responsible for the ?jw3 of correspondents. RALEIGH. N. C, MARCH 2. 7 parr ti?r3 a itfond-e'o tr-aifer at PosC OiHce in fkl-cv?i, 2V. C. The Progressive Farmer it the Official Organ of the N. C. Farmer State Alliance Do you wa&t your paper change. I to mother office 1 State the one at which you havo been getting it. jef Oar friends in "writing to any of sur advertiser v?ill favor us by men tioning the fact that thoy saw tho advorSsemeus in Ths PscoBEnsiYB g7"The date on you? label tells yen when yon? timo is out ;t am standing new jtiet behind the curtain, and in full glow of Vie coming runset. Behind me are the shadows on the track, before me lies the dark valley unci the river. When I mingle with its dark waters I want to cast one linger ing look upon a country whose govern ment is of the people, for the people, and bii tin? peot,-. L. Polk, July Jffc, 1890. N. R. P. A, EDITORIAL NOTES. Swepson is not the only "boss" our North Carolina legislatures have had, New York has but one daily paper fit to be taken into a respectable home, and it ought to be fumigated before en tering. Dr. D. H. AbbDtt, of Perquimans -county, was nominated for Railroad Commissioners to succeed BedingiSeJd, by the Republican legislative caucus Friday night. Germany isjhowing a weakness for American apples by importing twenty times as many this winter aa ehe ever did before. Germany also bas a weak ness for American bonds. The sc lo measure that this legislature bas passed against railroad opposition if tho fellow servant act. This was a just measure, but it authorized more suits and the lawyers broke away from the railroads. The outgoing administration has been of, for and by the bond holders. The incoming administration will fatten up the manufacturers by increasing 'the tariff But, of coursa you can't legis late money into p30ple's pockets. W. W. Clark, cf New Berne, has heen appointed by the President to fill the vacancy made by the death of Judge Soymour. CUrk was a Palmer Bickner elector last fall. It i-3 said that the Senate will not conrm the appointment. - - - TheoruT'Oarolina Christian Advo cate opposes the law to tax old batch elors on the ground that there are al ready "too many married people in the Suate." Strange doctrine. We think the batchelors and old maids ought to be compelled to get married. There is talk of an extra cession of the legislature Pxease don't, Governor R issell. We can endure famine pesti lence, drouth, war, but don't inflict ny prolonged agony on the State, Bucn aa an extra session. If they don't do anything let 'em go home. The Southern Riilroad is to pay the 8rte only 7 per cent, (being about 4 pnr cent, cn the real value of the prop erty) but the people mu.t continue to pay tho railroads 20 per cent, on the value of their property by means of high rates. The lobby says this and too many legislators with their pockets full of free passes vote as the lobby di rects. California i3 another of the many States in whose legislature a bill is pending to reduce telegraph rates to ten cents for ten words. Tne Sin Francisco p- pers say that it will pass. The peo pie all over the country are waking up to the fact that the enhanced value of money and the fall in value of farm products demand a reduction in rail road, telegraph and telephone charges. Tne millionaire non resident owners of . these giant corporations will not as sent to reduce and the average railroad commission will not do it till such con sent i3 had. The only hope for just ro lief to the people is in legislative action. A DANGEROUS PROPOSITION. It ought to be plain to all reading, observinpeopleth U we are approach ing a dangerous financial precipice. The demonetization of silver and the perpetual contraction of the currency have been mere stepping stones up to the heights of grucd ani folly, over which we are buund to ko unions we retrace cur hlepa. Tiio Baukf-r's !i33oe.i&tion3 for several years havo advocated, as the next bet thiug to follow toe demoiK-tiz-itioa of silvt r, the retirement of the Treasury noied and 4 getting the government out of th banking business." Cleveland and Secretary Carlisle have boidiy endorsed the proposition and now conies S ecretary Gage, himself a bar;k er, clamoring for the retirement cf the Treasury notes and a scheme to get the government 4'out of the banking busi ncces," He began it in twenty-four hours after he was tendered tho posi tion by President M ;Kmley. Strange to say many people endorse the plan, as the vote last yar shows. We take it for granted that the voters did this igiiorantiy, blindly, for not one in ten thousand could ever hope to profit by such a Fcheme, but would be suffereis instead. Now wo will take it for granted that cur bankers are no worse and no bet ter than the average citizen in any other avocation, though it is natural that their hearts should grow culious while they are handling large sums of money daily, and that the desire for gain would mke everything else sec ondary. But grant that they are as good as other people. Would it be wise to aUow a few hundred mer chants, farmers, lawyers, doctors, manufacturers or editors to absolutely control the money, the life blood of business, in a big country liko this? Isn't it dangerous? That is exactly what they have started out to do. Their plans have been carefully, shrewdly made. Noth ing will or can prevent the cocsuma tion except a thorough awakening and then an aggressive stand and fight by all the people. Party lines are no bar rier to the plans of the bankers, for they can control the weak and corrupt in all parties. Tney fatten upon igno rance and prejudice, both of which are so prevalent. Under pretence of giv ing relief to the country they demone tiz?d silver. The same tactics, the same arguments will be employed to 'get the government out of the bank ing business." It is wrong, apparently, to. cry out against classes, but the people ought to kw that these so called "remedies tore establish pros perity" are simply shrewd schemes to enable the bankers to get entire con trol of the money and the issue of money. The man who advocates such a plan, unless he is a banker, acting from selfish motives, ought to employ a fox to guard his chicken coop, for exactly the same principle is involved. One means the destruction of the Re public, tho other means tho death of your chickens. Q r.cik and decisive measures should be adopted to avert the pending disas ter. Let the people regardless of party or avocation get together and resold e that the bankers shall no longer rule. It was rumored on the streets that Abell, of Johnston, voted against all amendments tflered by Senator Butler Friday, but after he found that the bill could bo pp.sed without his vote he changed and had his vote recorded the therway. Wo can't think Mr. Abell would do CJch, a thing. He can use these columns to explain or deny. THAT BRADLEY-MARTIN BALL. Tho rich say that you can't legislate money into peoplep, pockets; they must work for it. This is doubtless just as true as a great many other things the plutocrats tell us. But if there was no way to legislate money into people's pockets and out of peo ple's pockets too, for that matter, Mrs. Bradley Martin might never have owned a hyphenated name and cer tainly her ball would have been a tame affair. As it was, the ball cost $375, 000, a sum much larger than any per son can accumulate in an honest way in a lifetime. But we preeume that Mrs. Bradley Martin's husband could furnish tho cost for eeveral more "functions" ' of the kind and not bo "strapped." The ball was pulled off at the Hotel Waldorf and the guests wore jewelry eaid to to worth $40,000, 000. We conclude that most of the guests have, at sorxo timo or other, been victims of legislation. The streets around the hotel were closed up by the police, the hirelings of plutocracy, and even guests of the hotel could not get to the building Thousands of people in New York and all over the country are out of work, out of money, and the frail bits of dust, the "400" spend enough on one ball to make hundreds fairly well off -True worthy people were paid for pre paring the magnificent decorations, which would have dazzled tho eyes of a Solomon, and it U well that so much money wa3 put in circulation. But how long will it be until that money will be legislated bck into Mr. Mar-tinV-i pocket? Not long. When Rocke feller gavo two millions to a University he jast simply pat up the price of oil two cents on the gallon and has already ribbed the public of s .veral times as many millions as hn ever give to any worthy ogct. Tnat i-n't exactly legislating money into a man's pocket, but the lack cf proper Irgiftlatior- en ables such men to rob tho publi j, which is the same thing. But we are not sorry for tho?o .who are to blame those who veto to keep puch cattle in power by re electing men to congress and other cffi:es whoara known to be the tools of the trustd. On last Fri iuy ttie Senate paseed a tubctituto for tho House bill to refer the leaseuesiion to the courts in order to determine the legality of the lease by a vote of 26 to 24 The Senate bill reduces the time from 93 to 30 years; terms otherwiso to be the same. The objections to tho leaee were: The eecretvmanner in which it was made, the length of timo and ths rental, based upon the old value of the road, which is now worth two or three times as much as it was. Tne substitute bill removes but one objectionable feature. THE AMERICAN COTTON COM PANY. The Manufacturers' Record, of Feb. 19. h, contains a five full page account of the new method of baling cotton, with illustrations. This history is very interesting, and the plan looks very prftty on paper. The new bale will be round and the cotton will come from the gin in flat bats, say half an inch thick and rolled on a steel roller, it is claimed that the bales will require less space, lfsa danger from fire, and ba in better condition after handling and shipping. Ex.ensive shops havo been erected at Chicago and tho ma chinery is beir g turned out rapidly. We admit that if the Record has the points of the invct tion in due form, the round bale has advantages. In fact, we have never doubted the merits of the invention. We only found fault with the reported methods of the com pany embarking in the manufacture of tho machinery. We understand that The American Cotton Company is chartered in New Jersey. That in itself is suspicious, for New Jersey is the home of the trusts. As a matter of fact, no other State will harbor such combinations to the extent of granting charters. Isn't it quoer that a legiti mate manufacturing enterprise, estab liehed at Chicago, and composed mainly of Western men, should go as far East as New Jersey to get a charter ? We believe it is a trust, a powerful and a dangerous combination. Appearances are very much against it, to eay the least. PEOPLE WILL NOT SUBMITTO IT The proposed amendments to the election law are not light. Tne plan to place the appointment of poll hold ers in the hands of three "supervisors," who, in all probability will be a Popu list bolter, a goldbug Republican and gold bug Democrat, three of a kind, taking the whole machinery out of tho hands of the threo parties, is an out rageous proceeding. The Payno elec tion law and the construction of it by Democratic election tyrants was bad enough, but as compared to this new machine about to be thrust upon us, was a mild tffair. By this new method the voice of the people at the ballot box would simply be the wishes of the three "supervisors." The people of North Carolina are not ready fCr a yoke of that kind. The party, the combination of parties that attempts to laeso the people of North Carolina in such a manner will find that it has undertaken too much. The schemes to take the government of (owns and cities out of ths hands of the citizens of said municipalities are second only to "supervisor" plans. Tho Governor of North Carolina should not have the power to dictate the munici pal affairs of any town or city. That power should bo invested in the citi zins of said towns and cities. Neither should the Clerk of the Superior Court or any other State or county officer havo such power. It is contrary to the principles of a Republican form of gov ernment. FOR A FARMERS' TARIFF. The great majority cf the people of the United States are engaged in agri cultural pursuits The farming com munities are now lowest in the scale of hard times. Their woes are at the bottom of tho general depression, and a plan of rejuvenation that does not consider them first will be built on a foundation cf sand. They are not look ing for tariff treatment ; but if that is to be the only means of cure offered, can we not have a farmers' tariff? Any other sort is sure to be a failure, and to work injury to the farmer and every body else, except those who do not get their money by earning it. Cincinnati Enquirer. ALLIANCE GROWING IN THE NORTHWEST. The Minnesota State Alliance has j ist closed one cf its most interesting serious. Tha enthusiasm of the brother hood seems to be reviving and every thing point 8 to a rapid advance along the original lines. The following extract from the an- Dtial address of President L C. Long j will bo read with interest by AUiance m?n and should give them renewed zeal for the work: "The tim has arrived when the pro ducers of wealth &hould band them selves together in a great national fra ternal society, that will bring the till era cf the soil and the toilers of the city into one great brotherhood, to ward eff . tho encroachments upon their liberties, to prevent the absorption of their sub stance by greedy and rapacious trusts, and combines, to inaugurate reform, and place laws upon the statute books that will be for the interest of tho masses rather than the classes. What more ennobling sentiment can be preached than the succor of our dis tressed brother; to visit the sick, to bury tho dead, to care for the widow and orphan, to raise up and encourage a fallen brother; to pledge moral and temporal support to each other ; to offer a safe substantial and cheap man ner of life insurance to our members, by which the father will nave tne happy consciousness that his loved ones will be provided against any possibility of want or disaster by having $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 left to tho sorrowing family when the Great Ruler c:lls him to his la&t account. The fraternal plan upon which tho F. A fe I. U is built, appeals at once to lofty sentiments of mind and soul in thi? age of Christian civilization; its harmonious and elastic adaptation to all conditions, permits its members who may vary with each other in the moat irreconcilable manner on religious, political and social views, to blend into one harmonious fraternal family whose motto is "One for all; all for each." Our society is con sectarian and non political. It bars no color, race or creed. It is as extensive as the limits of our country, being in nearly every State in the Union. It is an old organ ization and in successful operation wherever it is located. It is an old organization with a membership equal to nearly all the other fraternal socie ties combined It effers at once great inducements to farmers on account of the insurance feature which enables them to j iin a society that was espe cially organized to include them in its membership. The farmer has not the facilities of selecting the insurance so cieties which his city brother has; therefore in these distressed times it would be almost a crime to let this op portunity pass cf joining that which will surely prevent want and disaster to the tillers of the soil. There are so many other ways by whieh this great organfz idon can be made a source of profit and saving to its members, by co-operation and kin dred enterprises along these lines, that we can safely say that the membership will save 25 to 50 per cent, on the goods they buy through the organization, and savo some of the profits on the products cf the farm which are now absorbed by middlemen, by selling direct to th9 consumer through a sys tem of exchange depots where the products of the farm and the manu factured products of the city can be kept on hand, and exchanged for the goods of each other without the aid of the middlemen. In the interest of God, religion, coun try, humanity, your families, and your citizenship, you are called upon set aside one day in this month, the day made sacred to Americans by the achievements of that great man sent by Providence to guide the destinies of this struggling nation in the dark days of its early history. George Washington drove from our country a foreign foe, who was seeking to enslave and impoverish this people. We are to day enslaved and shackled to the same hereditary foe which our fathers of revolutionary days fought against in the battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill, and suffered in Valley Forge the biting biast of cold and hun ger which many a poor creature is suf fering to-day in this land of promise and plenty. We witness to-day the sorrowful sight of our citzsns graduat ing into distinct classesthe tew very rich, the many very poor. We therefore aek every citizen to ob serve the 221 day of February, George Washington's birthday, in the same manner by assembling ia country districts at the district school house, and participate in some patriotic exer cises, talk the social conditions over, which you labor under without parti san or political malice, commune with each other, reason, outline a mode of action that you think for your welfare, organize an Alliance or Union, elect your officers, send in word to the State Secretary, who will inform you how to prccaed. This is tho plan we wish to have followed by all districts which have not an organization of the Farm ers' Alliance in existence. We also cali upon each of the 1,431 Alliances now upon the roil of cur books in this Stato to have its cfHcers end members meet together at their U6ual meeting place in the past and discuss the question of joining the F. A. &I. U. National organization, re-crgan-izo your Alliance, elect your officers, and send in the action of your Alliance on this matter to thi3 cfli20 &t once, and arrangements will be made to have our organizers go into every locality and initiate the member into our great society. AN ERROR CORRECTED. Railroad Commissioner S. O. Wilson informs us that; an injustice was dene him in the minority report on the bill (HaueerV) to reduce fare and freight rates, etc., published in this paper last week and referred to editorially. Commissioner S. O Witeou states that he and Commissioner J. W. Wil son did go before the committee that had charge of the bill (oy rf quest) and: gave their views, but claims that they took opposite sides on the question. S. O. Wiison favored nearly all of the bill he say s, but did not favor the re duction of passenger fares to 2 and 1 cents per mile as he believed the reduc tion too great, and that it was unfair to make fares the samft on trunk lines and branch roads. He favored a re duction of rates, but wanted a differ ence made in favor of the weak lines. I CREAM OF THE PRESS Hard Hits, Bold Sayings and Patriotic Paragraphs From Reform Papers. There are hosts of people in New England who would be glad to trade off their confidence for something more tangible. American Enterprise. The wave of prosperity, brought about by a Democratic administration, will end March 4, but the country has b9en promised another wave by the Republicans. Missouri World. One thing can be said in favor of Judge Lynch: He doesn't make long speeches and get drunk at banquets and insult defenseless women like some other j idges. Albany Herald. "The will of the people" may be the highest law," but is of little conse quence since the corporation owned courts usually declare it "unconstitu tional.,' Tulare Volley Citizsn. It ehould not be forgotten that cer tain prominent fusion Populists were just as anxious to fuse with the Demo cracy in the palmy days of Grover Cleveland as they are now. Missouri World. As an evidence of the political revo lution that is in progress forty five new faces have been elected to the United States Senate eince March 4, 1893. This is something before unknown. Brock ton Diamond. That jingle of scund money that McKinley'e election was going to bring don't jingle worth a cent in these parts vv not uttB uwuiut, ui it, vv ur urt-u of waiting; wish you would hurry it up. Cleburne Herald. The Figaro, of Paris, France, says that a man in that city has managed for the past four months to live on four cents a day. If tho financial conditions do not change soon in this country, that limit will be common here South ern Mercury. W. A. Pmkerton, head of the Pink erton detective agency, declared in St. Louis the other day that the great in crease of crime "is by men made des perate by their wants, by the lack of labor to supply the ordinary necessi ties of life!" Progressive Home. Nearly every man who voted for Mc Kinley has said he would like to have an office. There is one exception, a Kentuckian who lost his voice yelling for him during the campaign, but he has made signs to indicate his willing ness to take one. Pomeroy, Ohio, Democrat. It is said that in Machias, Maine, a dozen eggs can be exchanged for a bar rel of apples, while in Dallas, Texas, the exchange value is half a dozen ap ples for a dozn of eggs. The profits in making the exchange go into the pockets of railway corporations. Chicago Express. It is reported that the Prince of Wales has spent $50,000,000 in 33 years and has nothing to show for it. Mark Hanna can beat that all hollow. He was only five months spending $16, 000,000, but he has a president and congress to show for his money. American Enterprise. Th3 Advocate does not know what would happen to seventeen Populist members of the Legislature of Kansas if they had by their votes elected a gold standard Republican to the Sen ate, as that number of Populists un necessarily did in North Carolina, but we incline to tne opinion that they would have been impressed with the idea that a change of residence on their part would bo desirable. Topeka Ad vocate. -eTJIB EILKIKS. 5, I f iii mill 1 "sn 3 te'.i ? i r i h S I. . r -v. . I Y i J-:. i ( -T !L 5. " T l IJore "Farternalism" Zeke Waat3 The State to Gwn Its Own Legislature He Wntes Some Spring Poetry B. "Hello I Mr. Editor." R "Hello 1 Major. Did you succeed n lobbying through your charter for The Raleigh Tribune Railway B No, I haint got it ter my ncshua yit exackly. They wanted ter muke it fer ninety nme years, an' I aint g( in' ter favor that, fer it wen't be doia' business that long. I'm wurkin' ca another skeme now that will beat the band. I'm a paternalist frum awey back. I'm in favor ov the State ownm' an' epperatin' its own legislature here after. Looks sorter like purty nigh naif ov this legislature iz owned an' operated by the corporashuns. I be lieve that iz unconstitushunal an' con trary ter law an' order. I'm tired cv eich business. My opinion iz that the legislature kin be run cheaper an' do better service if it is owned by the State, in other wurds, the people oy the State. The folks hev ter obey the law or take the consequences. I wan'.er see the corporashuns an' the trust put on the same footin'. We've bin try in' fer a gude while ter git rid ov the89 fellers whut go eround an' sweat blood fer the downtrodden people an' shed tears az big az wtlnuts Curia' campaines an' cum ter Rileigh an' go the other way. But it seem3 that we've struck a whole litter ov 'em this time. It must be stopped if Judge Lynch ha3 ter be called on ter hold a session or two ov court. I'm not much ov a poat, but this iz how it looks ter me: Th" legislator blooms once ia two years, Flowtrs bloom eve y spring; In camDanes he sheds many tears At ttalelgh heEerves the corporashun king. The moment the ter diem Rtrps He straightway home doth go: Though he ianghs he Pklps an' he hops. He is not as pure as the beautiful fciiow. . Yours fer a change. Gudebye. GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP. The following practical illustration of the advantages of public ownership is taken from the Roanoke, Va , Times, reproduced by the Richmond State : "The gas works in Richmond aro owned and operated by the city. The city furnishes gas to its citizens at one dollar per thdusand feet and from the proceeds thus derived turns into the eitv trfi&surv fiftv thnns inrl dollars nn- Hnually a(ter lightlng all of tbe public buildiDgg of Rlcnmond and manv of the streets and outlying districts. The people of Richmond did not know what a good thing they had until a syndicate recently proposed to lease tne works from the city and pay an annual rental of $40,000. When all the facts as to the value of the gas plant as a revenue producer became known the syndicate's proposition was aejected. It a private corporation owned the Richmond gaa plant the people of that city would be paying near two dollars per thousand feet for gas, and in addition to the loss of the fifty thousand dollars of profit would be footing a bill of about fifty thousand dollars annually for public lights. Yet there are philanthropists (?) who tell 'us it is not good for a city to own its own gas and water supply ." This being true, would it not be well for every city and town to own its own lighting and water plants? Tnen, againwhy not let the national govern ment own and operate the railroad and telegraph lines? It is all coming. No stopping it. ONLY 7 PER CENT. TO THE STATE AND 20 PER CENT. TO THE "SOUTHERN." The net receipts of the "Southern" Railroad in North Carolina, as returned he rhem f r lnat. rao. nr.no 1 O 4 C A ( one million three hundred and forty f five thousand dollars. This turn is 20 j per cent on the actual value of their j property over and above the enormoua salaries they pay their "general" tffi cers. The Ssnate has refused to maW them pay more than 7 per cent for tba lease of the North Carolina Riilroai Cannot the legislature now have som mercy on the people and cut down pas senger and freight rates so that the peo ple shall pay tho railroads lees than 20 per cent a year (besides their $50,000 salaries) to be carried out of the State to Rothschilds and Pierpont Morgan!" Open the factories and the mints will open, said the gold bug orator las. fall. Now: both are closed. The Dawft i
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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March 2, 1897, edition 1
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