Thursday, January 23, 1913.]
THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER
Page Nine
UNION FARMERS, ATTENTION!
Now is the Time for the Fanners of
North Carolina toi Exert Them
selves in Behalf of Progressive
Uegislation.
Matthews, N. C., Jan. 13, 1913.
Dear Brethren:—Our State Senate
is largely dominated by corporation
lawyers. They guard carefully the in
terests of the corporations that em
ploy them. This is natural. No man
can serve two masters. They can
not serve the corporations and at the
same time truly represent the inter
ests of the people.
The corporations seldom demand
positive legislation: they simply want
to be let alone. Their friends in our
legislative bodies serve them by quiet
ly ignoring the demands of the people
for progressive measures. All repre
sentatives note carefully the trend of
public sentiment. The corporations
are never indifferent to their interests
but in the past the masses of the peo
ple have given very little thought to
the work o four Legislatures. Hence,
we find that North Carolina has no
really progressive laws in behalf of
the people, or to relieve them from
the discrimination and oppression of
big business.
The present General Assembly is
not different from those of the past.
No progressive bill will become a law
unless demanded in no uncertain
tones by the masses of the people
There are progressive members in
both Houses who will take the in
itiative and lead the fight, but their
success will depend upon the support
given them by the men who cast the
ballots.
Now, then, the pertinent question
is: “Have you written to your Rep
resentative and Senator?” And again:
“Are you going to write every week
until our demands are heeded?” This
means “YOU,” not your neighbor. If
half the members of the Farmers’
Union will do this the people of North
Carolina will be liberated from the
rule of the corporate interests and the
domination of the political BOSS. The
people will rule.
The Torrens System of Registering
Land Titles.
This is a really progressive meas
ure that will benefit everybody and
hurt no class except the lawyer who
makes it a business to investigate
land titles. Many of the best lawyers
of the State advocate the measure.
The bill will probably pass the
House and Senate, but is likely to be
loaded down with heavy fees and oth
er features to make it unpopular, un
less the people rally to the support of
the measure. The fees for register
ing under the Torrens Act should be
as reasonable as possible. The appli
cation of the law should be left op
tional with the property owner as to
titles already existing; but should be
made obligatory on all new titles or
transfers after June 1, 1915, or some
definite future date.
Six Months’ Public School.
As strange as it may seem to think
ing men, this measure will meet with
opposition. Of course, the fight will
be made on the ground that the State
Is not able to make the necessary in
creased appropriations. All other in
stitutions will be provided for; offices
and salaries may be increased; the
rich will be permitted to escape with
light taxation; while the school of the
masses and the only means of an edu
cation within the reach of 95 per
cent of our children must drag along
at the “foot of the ladder” with only
one round below us (New Mexico).
Compulsory School Attendance.
This measure was indorsed by the
last Farmers’ Union Convention with
only one dissenting vote. Every man
who has studied the school problem
Which Man Are You?
Name
Storei
1? \
^ • 'S. Address
.
■Neighbor
^ The man who sends his voice to —
transact matters of business, to make social
^ calls, to summon help in emergencies?
For this man the telephone does these things
instantly and with no limit on time or distance.
That is the reason why thousands of farmers
find it profitable to use
>1, Booklet
''S, No.
\”
iDoctor,
Store
1 w
1 Neighbors
Mill
IVesTer^^fk^trk
Rural Telephones
Or, are you this man who must hitch up and drive,
lose time on the road, and miss the highest prices for your
crops because you are not in close touch with the market?
The man without a telephone has a big handicap. If you
are that man, get a Western Electric Telephone.
Mail coupon for free Uluetrated book on rural
telephones. Tells how to build a telephone line.
WESTERN ELECTRIC CCMPANY
Manufacturers of the 7 000,000 "Bell” Telephones
SOUTHERN HOUSES:
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V
Doctor^
3 fully convinced that a Compulsory
.ttendance Law is absolutely essen-
'.al to secure the education of all the
hildren. Ignorance is the greatest
'lurden that rests on our State to-day.
This curse will never be fully re
moved without a Compulsory School
Attendance Law.
amendment to the Farm Life School
Law.
The Farm Life School should be
out within the reach of alb the coun-
ies. This can be done by adopting a
uodified form of the Guilford County
law.
A Just and Equitable System of
Taxation.
Taxes, a necessary obligation,
should be imposed upon all men in
proportion to their ability to pay.
Taxes should not and would not be a
burden to any class if the above prin
ciple was always observed.
It is known to all well informed
men that the rich escape the burden
of taxation, while the common people
must pay to the last farthing. There
will be no just and equitable reforms
for the relief of the people if the
friends of the corporate interests can
prevent it. But the voice of the peo
ple is all-powerful and will be effect
ive if our demands are made in no
uncertain tones.
A State Legalizel Primary Law for
All Parties.
This law has been indorsed by the
last two Farmers’ Union Conventions.
It is absolutely essential to the free
dom of the people. In no other way
can the people control their govern
ment. Under the present system the
money interests and political bosses
determine a sufficient number of the
nominations to office to enable them
to control our government. A prim
ary law for all parties and for all of
ficers from President down to Consta
ble will restore the government to the
people and give the poor man an
equal chance with the rich.
A Corrupt Practices’ Act.
This measure was indorsed by the
last Farmers’ Union Convention. It
means a stringent law rigidly en
forced against all manner of corrup
tion and bribery in office and elec
tions. Its purpose is to positively
prevent the use of money, patronage,
or anything else of financial value to
carry elections. Under present con
ditions the candidate with the heav
iest purse has much the advantage,
and a poor man can hardly afford to
seek an office. He is handicapped.
The Initiative, Referendum, and
Recall.
These measures have been indorsed
by two Farmers’ Union Conventions.
The initiative and referendum are a
part of the Farmers’ Union Constitu
tion. Our membership would rebel if
our Convention should adopt and at
tempt to enforce a new law or regula
tion without first submitting it to the
people on referendum vote. The peo
ple should have the legal right to
either initiate legislation or to re
quire an act of the Legislature to be
submitted on referendum, if a certain
per cent of the voting population de
mand it. The exercise of the Recall
would make our law-makers careful
to work for the interests of the peo
ple rather than the special interests.
* !■ *
All of the above measures will be
before the General Assembly. Sev
eral bills have already been intro
duced. They are all in the interest
of the masses of the people and will
eventually become the law of the
State. The people must be free to
govern themselves, and they can do
it only through these progressive
measures.
Individually you may not indorse
all of these measures. You will
when you come to understand them
fully, unless you have some special
interest that you think should take
precedence over the common good.
If you believe in the greatest good
to the greatest number, then you
should rally to the support of every
one of these progressive measures.
Fraternally,
H. Q. ALEXANDER.
Of nothing may we be more sure
than this: that, if we cannot sanctify
our present lot, we could sanctify no
other. Our heaven and our Almighty
Father are there or nowhere.—Mar-
tineau.
Many of our prayers are like let
ters which are insufficiently address
ed. They get lost in the Dead Letter
Office of Heaven. There is not suf
flcient direction about them.—Don
ald Sage Mackay. j
TENNESEE NOTES.
Dear Editor:—The Executive Com
mittee of the Tennessee State Union
met in Nashville February 14. Fa-
forable reports from State Secretary
C. W. Brooks, which showed our
treasury to be in good shape and the
work progressing nicely, was read
and much other business transacted
by the committee. Hon. J. H. Koff-
man, who was chairman of the Board
of Directors, but had been elected to
the Legislature, tendered his resigna
tion as a member of the State Exec
utive Committee, and it was with a
feeling of sincere regret that his re
signation was accepted. The state
and national officers of the Farmers’
Union are prohibited from holding a
politcal office by the national consti
tution and this occasioned Brother
Koffman’s resignation. He is one of
the strongest men in the organiza-
tian and I as president of the state
union, have a fine opportunity to
know and realize his sterling worth.
He is big-hearted, broad-minded,
honest, efficient, faithful, patriotic,
and his place will be hard to fill.
The advisory council elected in his
place Hon. Phil. S. Taylor. Brother
Taylor is Vice-President of the East
Tennessee Farmers’ Institute, Presi
dent of the Washington County
Union, a successful farmer, a fluent
speaker, and a young man of strong
force of character. He is one of the
strongest young men of East Tennes
see and is in every way qualified to
make a good official. Hon. E. H.
Dowdy, President of Benton Union,
and Vice-President of the West Ten
nessee Farmers’ Institute, and one
of the most progressive farmers and
leading young men of West Tennes
see, was elected Chairman of the
committee. Both will serve with
credit to themselves and honor to the
organization.
The officials of the state union are
in perfect harmony and are ready to
make a hard, long and strong pull
for the success of the Union In the
volunteer State, and pulling together
always counts for we are growing
and must continue to grow. Let’s
have no laggards fo rlife is too short
to sit and wait. Nothing will satisfy
me in Tennessee but a glorious vic
tory.
Faithfully and fraternally,
L. M. RHODES,
Huntingdon, Tenn., Jan 16, 1813.
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