V9. S^f-^-i^^Bi^ I^^ m< bu; '0\ ^C^^.'^KC^ %. fc l^r\\ ^^n\^f^^^fK^r^^ -4^4 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/farmersalliancehOOdunnrich THE FARMERS' ALLIANCE HISTORY I I AGRICULTURAL DIGEST. 1 ■ WRITTEN BY A BOARD OF EDITORS. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, N. A. DUNNING, Author of *' The Philosophy of Price," and " The History of the United States Dollar"; and Associate Editor of "The National Economist," THE National Organ of the Farmers' Alliance. " In the great household of Nature, the farmer stands at the door of the bread-roonn, and weighs to each his loaf." — Emerson. ILLUSTRATED. WASHWerOK, D.C. : THE ALLIANCE PUBLISHING COMPANY. i8qi. %^- Copyright, 1891, By lee C. HASCALL. All Rights Reserved; Sold only by Subscription. Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A. Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Boston, U.S.A. THE FIRST ALLIANCE BANNER. PREFACE. The organization known as the Farmers' Alliance has as- sumed such vast proportions, and attracted such widespread attention, that a detailed, authentic history of its origin, growth, aims, and purposes, has become a necessity. At the urgent solicitation of many of the brethren, and moved by a desire to serve the best interests of the order, I have undertaken the task of placing before the public, and within reach of all, a ^ork of this character. In doing so, I have enjoyed exceptional facilities for obtaining correct information and original documents and records, and have also had the hearty co-operation and aid of many of the best members of the order. The number and value of the contributions from this source, found in this book, will bear testimony ato these statements. I have thus been enabled to drink at the fountain-head of all Alliance information, regarding its conception, advancement, and its present status. All this I have tried to present faithfully and truthfully, for the con- sideration of my readers. The history which I have given proves the saying that "Truth is stranger than fiction," and that the hand of Provi- dence can be seen in the shaping of the conditions of men. This book is written to make men and women better; to teach them their duties as citizens ; to inculcate brotherly love and neighborly kindness ; to propagate truth and discard wrong ; to increase the power of education, and thereby decrease the disasters of ignorance ; to clearly show that the doctrine and iv PREFACE. teachings of the Alliance are in perfect harmony with such sentiments. I have had no foes to punish, or friends to unduly reward, but have given every one a fair hearing, and endeavored to be just to all. Believing that my position enabled me to perform the task as well if not better than many others, I have conscientiously tried to discharge my full duty, firmly believing that my brethren in the order, and my friends outside the order, would in the end appreciate my efforts. 'Realizing the difficulties which wait upon authorship, yet having an abiding faith in the ultimate triumph of truth, I consign this book to the care and consider- ation of my brethren and friends. Articles not written by me bear the names of their authors. N. A. DUNNING. Washington, D.C, May I, 1891. CONTENTS. DIVISION I. AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. CHAPTER PAGE I. Introductory History i Agriculture before Christ, during the Dark Ages, and in Modern Times ; The Burdens of the Farmer at the Present Time ; Unjust Laws. II. Unrecorded History of the Alliance lo Claims of the State of Kansas ; The Movement in New York ; The Alliance in Texas ; The Question of Land Titles. III. History of the Alliance in Texas 20 Original Records; First Meeting and First Officers; First Bond of a Treasurer ; The Meetings at Jasper Creek, Goshen, and Friendship ; Second Meeting at Peaster's Springs ; The First Charter ; The Secret Work; The Meetings at Decatur and Waco; Demands by the Alliance. IV. History of the National Alliance 56 Union with the State Farmers' Alliance of Texas ; Acts of Incorpora- tion; The Meeting at Shreveport, Louisiana; Demands upon Con- gress; The Meeting in Meridian, Mississippi. V. History of the National Alliance — continued 93 The National Economist; Union with the National Agricultural Wheel ; The Meeting at St. Louis ; The Sub-Treasury Plan. VI. History of the National Alliance — concluded 133 Offices opened in Washington, District of Columbia ; The Campaign in the West; The Ocala Meeting; Constitution and Declaration of Purposes ; Decrease of Circulation ; Increase of the National Debt. DIVISION II. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. I. Kindred Organizations 197 The Agricultural Wheel ; Its Original Constitution ; The Meeting at McKenzie, Tennessee, and its Demands ; Amended Constitution. II. Kindred Organizations — continued 216 The Brothers of Freedom ; Declaration of Principles and Constitution ; The Farmers' Union ; Constitution and By-Laws. III. Kindred Organizations — continued 225 The Northwestern Alliance ; Declaration of Principles ; The Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association; Origin of First Clubs; The Farmers' Political League. V VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE IV. Kindred Organizations — concluded 230 The Alliance in New York ; Mr. Root's Statement ; The Grange, or Order of the Patrons of Husbandry; Its Secret Work; The First Meeting ; The Georgetown Meeting. V. History of State Alliances 237 Official Directory of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union ; First Officers in Various States and Territories. VI. Sectionalism and the Alliance 249 By Colonel L. L. Polk, President National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, and Editor of Progressive Farmer, Raleigh, North Carolina. Sectionalism 253 By Hon. B. H. Clover, Vice-President National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, and Member of Congress from the Third District of Kansas. VII. The Purposes of the Farmers' Alliance 257 By Dr. C. W. Macune, Ex-President National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union, and Editor of National Economist. VIII. Government Control of Money 262 By Judge W. A. Peffer, United States Senator, and Editor of Kansas Farmer, Topeka, Kansas. IX. The Race Problem 272 By J. H. Turner, National Secretary-Treasurer of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. X. The Political Rebellion in Kansas 280 By Hon. Jerry Simpson, Member of Congress for the Seventh District of Kansas. XI. The Needs of the South 284 By Hon. L. F. Livingston, Member of Congress from Georgia, and President of the Georgia State Alliance. XII. History of the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Co-operative Union 288 By General R. M. Humphrey, Superintendent of the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Co-operative Union. XIII. The Growth of the Alliance 293 By Ben Terrell, Past National Lecturer, National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. XIV. The Farmers' Congress 298 By Colonel Robert Beverley, The Plains, Virginia. XV. The Situation in the Northwest 303 By Alonzo Wardall, Member of the National Executive Committee. XVI. The Influence of Women in the Alliance 308 By Mrs. Bettie Gay, Columbus, Texas. XVII. Religion in the Alliance 313 By Rev. Isom P. Langley, Ex-Lecturer of the Agricultural Wheel. XVIII. The Labor Movement 318 By Ralph Beaumont, Lecturer Knights of Labor, and Editor of National Citizens' Alliance. CONTENTS, vii CHAPTER PAGE XIX. Duty of the Membership 327 By Colonel R. J. Sledge, Kyle, Texas. XX. The Duty of a Reformer 331 By John M. Potter, Secretary Michigan State Alliance, and Editor of Alliance Sentinel, Lansing, Michigan. XXI. The Sub-Treasury Plan 336 By Hon. Harry Tracy, Lecturer National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, Editor of Southern Mercury, Dallas, Texas. XXII. Business Efforts of the Alliance 355 Trade Committees in Texas ; The Farmers' Alliance Exchange ; Plan and Mortgage Obligation ; Alliance and Rochdale Systems compared. DIVISION III. AGRICULTURE. I. History of Agriculture 371 Agriculture antedates All Other Industries ; Agriculture in Egypt, among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans; Writings of Pliny, Cato, Columella, Palladius, and Varro ; Agricultural Implements. II. History of Agriculture — continued 399 Agricultural Operations ; Watering and Drainage ; Trees, Fruits and Plants ; Roman Agriculture and Science and Art ; Decline among Romans. III. Agriculture during the Middle Ages 417 In Italy, France, Germany and Other Northern States, Britain ; Intro- duction of Potatoes into Europe ; Cromwell's Army in Scotland ; Works on Agriculture. IV. History of Agriculture in the United States 444 Agriculture of the Indians; Spanish Colonial Agriculture; Puritan English Colonists ; Cavalier English Colonists ; French Colonists ; Revolutionary Period ; Various Tables. V. The Farm and Farm Buildings 477 How to choose a Farm ; Fences ; Farm Buildings ; Farm Roads ; Underdraining. VI. Live-Stock 498 Number of Cattle per One Thousand of Population ; Value of Cattle, Beef Products, Hogs, and Sheep ; Our Export Trade. VII. Fruits 511 Planting; Cultivation; Apples in the Nursery Row; The Apple Orchard; Small Fruits. VIII. Fertilizers 526 By M. G. Ellzey, M.D. Scientific Fertilization; Fallow Crops; Organic Matter in the Soil ; Preservation of Manure ; Valueless Tests of Fertilizers; Commercial Manures. IX. History of Grasses, Grains, and Plants 550 Grasses Three Thousand Feet above Sea- Level; Grasses for General Culture; History of Grass Culture; Selection of Grasses; Time and Manner of Seeding ; Various Grasses. Vlii CONTENTS. X. How Plants grow 590 The Air, Water, Soil ; Where Plants get Food ; How Plants get Food from the Air and the Soil ; What is Manure ? Fertilizers and where found. XI. The Department of Agriculture 605 Office of Commissioner of Patents created; Agricultural Matters committed to him ; Department of Agriculture organized ; Commis- sioner made a Cabinet Officer. DIVISION IV. HOME AND HOUSEHOLD. By Mrs. Jennie E. Dunning, Washington, District of Columbia. I. The Home and Flower Garden , 617 The Flower G^den ; Hot-Beds ; House Plants ; Annuals, Climbers, Bulbs ; Preserving Flowers ; The Parlor ; The Living-Room ; Bedrooms. II. The Home — concluded 647 The Sick-Room ; The Culinary Department ; Kitchen and its Furnish- ings. III. Recipes for the Kitchen • 656 Drinks; Soups; Meats; Pies; Miscellaneous Dishes; Bread; Pud- dings. IV. Recipes for Horses, Cattle, Sheep, etc 676 Horses; Cattle; Sheep; Swine; Poultry; Miscellaneous Recipes. DIVISION V. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. I. Commercial Forms and Useful Tables 691 Law Points for Farmers; Articles of Agreement and Bills of Sale; Wills and Notes; Leases and Mortgages; Measurements of Grain, Hay, Corn, etc. ; Tables of Weights, Measures, etc. II. Postal, Internal Revenue, and Naturalization Laws 719 United States Postal Regulations; Copyright Laws; Naturalization Laws. III. Declaration of Independence, Presidents, and Senators 725 The Declaration and its Signers ; Names of All Presidents, and Votes by which elected; Demands of the Alliance as to United States Senators. IV. History of the Sub-Treasury Plan 734 Appendix 736 Ten Useful Rules of Parliamentary Usage. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The First Alliance Banner Frontispiece. FACING PAGE N. A. Dunning, Editor-in-Chief i The Capitol, Washington, District of Columbia 56 Members of the Ocala Meeting , 93 Arlington, the Home of General R. E. Lee 133 Entrance of Golden Gate, San Francisco, California 197 Grand Canon of Colorado River, Arizona. 225 Bunker Hill Monument 237 Colonel L. L. Polk 249 Hon. B. H. Clover 253 Dr. C. W. Macune 257 Hon. W. a. Peffer 262 J. H. Turner 272 Hon. Jerry Simpson 280 Hon. L. F. Livingston 284 General R. M. Humphrey 288 Colonel Ben Terrell 293 Colonel Robert Beverley 298 Alonzo Wardall 303 Mrs. Bettie Gay-. 308 Rev. Isom P. Langley 313 Ralph Beaumont 318 Colonel R. J. Sledge 327 John M. Potter 331 Colonel Harry Tracy 336 Washington Monument, Washington, Districi' of Columbia 355 Ancient Agricultural Implements 37 1 Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, California 399 One of California's " Big Trees " 417 The White House, Washington, District of Columbia 444 Harbor View, Galveston, Texas 477 Niagara Falls ; 511 Department of Agriculture, Washington, District of Columbia . . 605 A Scene in Yellowstone Park 617 Mt. Vernon, the Home of Washington 647 United States Cruiser Baltimore 691 OF THE ,. UNIVERSITY i OF DIVISION 1. AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. Recent investigations among the tombs and monuments of antiquity disclose the fact that, as far back as 700 B.C., trades- unions existed in great numbers. History also reveals the fact that these trades-unions have continued to exist until the present time. Their methods, purposes, and results have differed, and their seasons of prosperity and adversity have alternated ; yet, in some manner and in some form, the idea^ of trades-unionism have been preserved. Not so with organizations relating to agriculture. C. Osborne Ward,^ in his researches touching this subject, has found indisputable evidence that agricultural organ- izations existed in great numbers at this time, and actually con- federated with the trades-unions in matters of mutual benefit. The number of inscriptions found on the old tombs and tablets confirms the idea that these organizations among farmers were not only numerous but important. Of course nothing of detail can be found, but the fact of their existence at this early period, and their subsequent extinction, is an indication that the ancients were, after all, far in advance of the recent past in some respects. It is a fact worthy of notice that, from the beginning of the Christian era to th-e present century, no trace of agricultural organizations can be found. After the fall of Rome, and during the Dark Ages, nothing is known of special interest concerning agriculture, save what has been handed down through the records of the Church, and 1 " The Ancient Lowly," C. Osborne Ward. ■2: V .: ;: , ^yAGRJ cultural organizations, these contain no mention of such organizations. The feudal sys- tem seemed to mean a social organization based upon the owner- ship of land. It was in reality a condition in which public rela- tions were dependent upon private relations, and political rights upon landed rights, and the land was concentrated in the hands of a few persons. While this situation admitted of little or no chance of organization among those who tilled the soil, it is quite clear from the old records that at certain times, and in many countries, their protests have been heeded and their demands granted. These movements, however, were in no sense political. So far as agriculture is concerned, the condi- tions have always been unfavorable to combinations or organiza- tions, for any purpose whatever, among farmers in Europe. The system of government, social relations, and tenure of land, have conspired to keep the farmer out of politics, and relegated him to the task of feeding and clothing those who did make the laws, and, as a rule, compelled him to bear the burden of taxa- tion as well. Just in proportion as the people have been granted political rights and privileges, the agricultural portion of the community has made its influence felt in public affairs. It is a conspicuous fact, acknowledged by all, that agriculturists have uniformly manifested good judgment and a spirit of conservatism, in all their political efforts. In nearly every European country reforms have been demanded, at various times, by the rural population. Such demands have often been followed by bitter contentions, because they were usually of a special or class character, requir- ing the redress of special grievances, or the granting of special privileges. For centuries before the discovery of America, an undercurrent of unrest is traceable among the rural population, and, as the enlightenment which waited upon the progress of civilization became more and more diffused, this discontent increased. There is no doubt that the hard times which had fallen to the agriculturists of Europe hastened the settlement of the New World. Political and religious freedom seemed to be the object of nearly all immigration to this continent. Agri- culture being the basis upon which this structure of human liberty was to be built, the founders of the nation, as well as the Pilgrim Fathers before them, granted to the farmers equal INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. 3 rights with all other citizens. These rights have been recog- nized since the first settlement in America, and were plainly and solemnly consented to by the compact entered into on board the Mayflower. These rights should be maintained invio- lable, because, when once invaded, that portion of American citizenship is made to serve and not to share. It is nevertheless true, as has been charged, that a certain amount of aristocratic ideas found their way to the shores of the New World, and became a factor in its first settlement. This element has been permitted to thrive to a greater or less extent, and remains with us at the present time. As a rule, however, it has been confined to the Atlantic seaboard, where it first located, and has not as yet extended very far into the interior. It is rarely seen, in its full un-American sense, except in large cities, where business relations are in constant touch with the East. One of the relics of aristocracy that has been handed down to us is the United States Senate, a branch of our gov- ernment whose uselessness is only equalled by its aristocratic notions. In connection with this old-time, blue-blooded aris- tocracy, and supplemental to it, has sprung into existence, in almost every part of our country, another species of aristocracy, which follows the acquirement of large fortunes. It has come to be an accepted idea, that the accumulation of money will, in some manner, divorce its possessors from the taint of plebeian birth, obscure beginnings, or former social relations, and at once change the inner as well as the outer individual. Aristocratic ideas, backed up by intelligence and refinement, may serve a good purpose in toning down the untamed spirit, and broadening the nature of a native American ; but when this station in society is reached through the medium of a bank account, human nature revolts, and the average person becomes disgusted. This spirit of avarice, or desire to make money, has become the bane of our social relations, and threatens the per- petuity of the government itself. The desire for wealth is increased as the power and privileges which it brings become more clearly understood. When the brains of a Webster or a Calhoun must wait unnoticed in the anteroom, while the ple- thoric pocket-book of some conscienceless speculator, monopo- list, or trickster, brings to its owner the privileges of the parlor, 4 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. and the softest seat at the feast, intelligence and moral recti- tude will always be at a discount, while fraud and corruption will bring a premium. In order that such conditions may exist, some portions of the people must suffer. This becomes a self- evident truth to all who will give the matter even the least con- sideration. The possession of wealth may be assumed, as a rule, to bring about the differences that are seen in society, and, because of this, becomes the essential object for which a large portion of our people are contending. It is evident that all cannot be rich, and it is also true that none should be poor because of economic conditions. All economists agree that labor is the sole producer of wealth. If this proposition be true, it might be proper to ask : Why does not the producer of this wealth possess it, after production ? •What intervening cause steps in between the producer and this wealth, and prevents his owning and enjoying what his brain and brawn have created } No one seems to question the right or justice of each individual enjoying the fruits of his own labor. But the recognition of this right does not prevent the separation of production and possession, nor does it indicate a remedy for the evil. The idea of labor in production, at the present time, is associated with only a portion of our people. It represents, under the prevailing ideas of society, an undesirable condition, from which all, or nearly all, seek to be freed. The man or woman does not live who desires to labor every day in every year of their whole sojourn upon earth. Such a desire would be unnatural, a sin against the future, and a libel upon the past. Nine-tenths of the labor performed at the present time is done with the belief that this hard labor will bring about future ease and comfort. But when these efforts are honestly and earnestly continued for a series of years, and the anticipated reward does not come, and the plain fact is demonstrated that labor brings no reward, some give up in despair, while others determine to ascertain the cause, if possible. It was to satisfy the American farmer that his calling had either become obsolete, or his environment unnatural, that agricultural organizations, for political or economic purposes, were brought into existence. Up to i860 the economic privi- leges of the farmer ;were somewhat near a parity with other INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. 5 branches of productive industry. The systematic spoliation of the present was, to a large extent, practically unknown. Special laws and privileges, which operated directly against the national interests of agriculture, existed only in a mild degree. At that period immense fortunes were almost unknown, and aristocracy was confined to the better educated and more refined. Neither poverty nor crime existed in the same proportion as now, and the general trend of events was toward conservatism in all economic conditions. Moderate fortunes, moderate sized farms, and moderate business enterprises, were not only the rule of the times, but were maintained under the protecting care of society's consent. Of course there were exceptions, but not in the offensive and disturbing sense in which they now exist. All must admit that the parasitic age had not begun at this date, and that labor in production paid less tribute than at the present time. Emerson says : " The glory of the farmer is that, in the division of labors, it is his part to create. All trade rests at last on his primitive activity. He stands close to Nature ; he obtains from the earth the bread and the meat. The food which was not he causes to be." It is because of the truth contained in this statement that the farmer complains. It is because he simply creates for others, with but a feeble voice, if any, in determining the measure of his remuneration, that he has at last been compelled to enter an earnest protest. Willing as he is to create, and anxious to serve all other classes with the fruits of his industry and skill, yet the farmer has learned, by sad experience, that his toil has gone unrequited, and his anxiety has been construed into servility. The Ameri- can farmer, in his present condition, is a living example of the folly and disaster which inevitably follow, where one class of citizens permits another class to formulate and administer all economic legislation. In other words, he is the victim of mis- placed confidence, and has at last undertaken to regain his lost advantages and rights. The late Civil War gave an impetus to all productive labor. All efforts in that direction were profitable for a time, and the business of agriculture was looked upon with much favor. Vast sums of money were expended in the pur- chase and improvement of farming lands, and the success of that branch of industry seemed assured. The war ended in the 6 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. spring of 1865, and that year closed amid universal prosperity in the North, East, and West. The people were out of debt, all labor was employed, and all the conditions which wait upon a prosperous and industrious people were seen on every hand. The people of the South had begun the task of repairing the ravages of war and rebuilding their shattered fortunes with a determination which admitted of no failure, and the whole coun- try echoed with the busy hum of industry. During the year which followed, these conditions continued, but in the latter part of 1867 a change was observed. It had been brought about quietly. No one seemed to know how, but the effects were none the less positive. Agriculture was the first to feel this changed condition, and undertook to counteract it by a closer economy and increased production. The first compelled the manufacturer to curtail his production or lessen its value. Either course reduced the remuneration of the laborer, and compelled him to purchase less or buy cheaper. This reacted upon the farmer. The second overstocked the market, and reduced the price of the whole product, and enabled those who could to dictate their own terms. This condition has obtained among the farmers to the present time. In the vain endeavor to extricate themselves from their surroundings, having faith in the prospect of better times, the farmers borrowed money on note or mortgage to tide them over, only to find that the future brought no relief. This dark cloud of debt and disappointment hung lower and lower each succeeding year, until the storm of 1873 swept over the country, leaving in its course the wrecks of many thousand financial disasters. In 1867 the first agricultural organization of promise appeared in the Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry. This organization sought to better the condition of the farmer by eliminating the so-called middleman, — the merchant or dealer. It assumed that the profit, which lodged somewhere between the producer and consumer, was the cause of nearly all the disaster that waited upon agricultural effort. This idea took hold of the peo- ple, and the result was an immense organization, with every promise of success. The experiment, aside from its educational results, was almost an entire failure. Since this time the causes which have depressed agriculture INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. 7 have been discovered, throughout the length and breadth of the land, by those who were interested, those who sympathized, to be the politician and the demagogue ; but the discovery pro- duced little or no effect. It remained for the farmer himself, after several ineffectual attempts, to solve the problem, and in so doing challenge the respect and admiration of the thinking world. The solution of this question, and the demand for its enactment into law, have no parallel in all history. It is an uprising of the conservative element of the people, the brain and brawn of the nation. It is a protest against present condi- tions ; a protest against the unequal distribution of the profits arising from labor in production ; a protest against those eco- nomic methods which give to labor a bare living, and make capital the beneficiary of all life's pleasures and comforts. It is a protest against continual toil on the one hand, and continual ease and comfort on the other. It is a protest against forced economy, debt, and privation to the producer, and peace, plenty, happiness, and prosperity to the non-producer. The farmers have learned the secret, that organization, unity of action, and continuity of purpose, on their part, will in the end unite all sections, enrich all communities, and make every citizen equal before just laws. Intelligence to organize, fellow- feeling enough to unite, and manhood sufficient to stand firm, are the necessary requirements to bring this about. Organiza- tion is now the order of the day. It is the motive power that rules and guides the world. Without it the best of causes will not succeed, while with it the worse cause may prosper for a time. In the great struggle of life, as society is now constituted, organized evil must be met with organized good ; organized greed with organized equity. In the combination of kindred forces lie the astonishing results of modern undertakings. Individual enterprises are at a discount in the commercial world for many reasons. The individual may die and the whole business pass necessarily into the hands of those less competent to direct ; or the individual may make a false move and thereby jeopardize the entire venture through an error in his single judgment ; or, again, he may fall under the influence of bad habits and wreck the business through neglect or fast living. All these contingencies are impossible with an organi- 8 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. zation properly constituted. Members of the organization may- die, but the organization continues. The aggregate business intelHgence of the whole membership is used, and not the single ideas of one. Organizations go on, live on ; gathering expe- rience which is stored up ; gathering special information which is safely put away ; increasing in wealth of which the outside world has no knowledge ; using their power when least expected, and for objects that require years of patient waiting and calcu- lation to perfect and mature. These considerations not only recommend a system of organization to all progressive minds, but make them absolutely necessary for success in modern busi- ness. One thing is certain, — organization as a factor of our modern civilization has come to stay. It cannot be eliminated, but may be, to a greater or less extent, confined in its operation within legitimate bounds. Its benefits will be sought under all conditions and by all classes of people, and those who ignore its power or underestimate its strength are sure to have cause for regret in the end. The difficulty of organization among farmers is not wholly confined to a want of information, but shows itself in neighbor- hood factions of numerous kinds, individual or local jealousies, family or political differences, and a multitude of other insig- nificant but annoying obstructions that have to be avoided, smoothed over, or settled. These are never met with among men who organize from a business standpoint. The farmers, as a class, have been betrayed in almost everything, with a regu- larity truly astonishing. They have struggled against all odds, and have submitted to the result with a fortitude absolutely wonderful, but the time has come when something must be done. Some united action is demanded in defence of their own rights, and the maintenance of agriculture. This fact is too plain and too imperative to be longer ignored. It is a question now between liberty and serfdom, and must be decided without delay. Some will ask : What shall we organize for } For the same reasons that our enemies do ; for individual benefits through combined effort. Organize to watch them, to consider their motives, and, if possible, checkmate their designs, when aimed at you or your business. This is a selfish world, and they who fail to realize this fact are quite sure to find it out INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. 9 when too late. Organize for better laws ; for through legisla- tion comes prosperity or adversity. During the past quarter of a century, the farmers of this country have labored, and others have made the laws. What has been the result .'* The non-producer has thrived while the producer has grown poor. Not only have the non-producers organized against the farmers, but almost all other producers. There is hardly a manufactured product, or even a raw material, that is not subject to the guidance of an organization or com- bination of the whole, excepting the products of the farm. This means the spoliation of all who cannot meet this force with similar power. That being true, the farmer becomes the easy prey of all, and receives the treatment his own neglect brings upon him. All non-producers are the avowed enemies of pro- ducers, and should be so considered in all propositions of eco- nomics. When they organize, it is for the purpose of increasing their strength, which in turn makes them a correspondingly more dangerous enemy, and increases the necessity of stronger defence. In the vast amount of national legislation of the past twenty-five years, there is not one single act which was passed in the interest of the farmer. Search through the whole mass, and not one will be found that was introduced, passed, and put upon the statute books, for the sole benefit of agriculture. Until this is changed, and labor in production is made to bring a reward, industry is useless and economy is folly. Because of these facts and conditions, some action on the part of the farmers toward legislative reform became necessary. The National Farmers' Congress, which was organized in 1875, seems to have been the first to formulate ideas in conformity with such a proposition. At each annual session, the necessity for some change in agricultural legislation became more and more apparent. This congress, which may be considered the pioneer, gave way to the Farmers' Alliance, of which we shall now undertake to give a history. CHAPTER II. UNRECORDED HISTORY OF THE ALLIANCE. The origin of the Farmers' Alliance is not so clearly defined as to leave no room for conjecture. Nearly every other reform movement can date back to some particular time when the first efforts were made that resulted in forming the organization. The Knights of Labor, the Grange, the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, the Wheel, the Farmers' Union, all have the satis- faction of giving the details of their initial meeting. Not so with the Alliance. Until recently, it has been an accepted theory that it started in the States of New York and Texas at about the same time, in 1874 or 1875. It was believed that the Alliance, originating in New York, found its way to the west, and that it is now represented by what is designated as the Northwestern Alli- ance ; while the one which originated in Texas was taken east and north, and is now known as the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. This coincidence of origin has always appeared unnatural, and considerable speculation has been indulged in the attempt to clear up the seeming mystery. But nothing tangible has been reached until recently. Whether this is a true solution or not remains to be more clearly proven. It seems quite plausible at least, and the reader can take it for what it is worth. Mr. G. Campbell, of Kansas, claims that the AUiance originated in that State, and makes the following statement to substantiate its correctness : — ** It will be remembered that, early in the sixties, Congress granted the M., K. & T. and the L., L. & G. railway companies a tract of land in and through the State of Kansas, to aid in the construction of their roads. At the time this grant was made, there was a tract of land lying in the southeastern part of the State, known as the Osage ceded lands, which was reserved from the operation of the grant, inasmuch as it was not a part of the public lands of the State. When the roads were built, however, these lands had been treated for and were a part of the public domain, and were patented to the respective railway companies. 10 UNRECORDED HISTORY. II " The settlers in the meantime settled upon these lands in '64, '68, '69, and '70, in good faith, thinking that they were government lands, and were so informed by the Interior Department at Washington, D.C. Many of the settlers made valuable improvements on what proved to be lands covered by the patents from the government to the railway companies, either as lands included in the original grant, or indemnity lands, and the railway companies required the settlers to pay the value of their own improvements, besides a high price for the lands. This the settlers refused to do, and prepared to resist the railway companies in the courts, and with physical force if need be. The legal point involved, briefly stated, was this: The railway companies claimed that their grants took effect when their roads were built ' in and through the State of Kansas,' and that when these roads were constructed, the Osage ceded lands were a part of the public lands of the State, and subject to their grants. The settlers, on the other hand, claimed that these lands were open to pre-emption settlement, by the proclamation of the President of the United States ; that in pursuance of such proclamation they had entered upon these lands as innocent parties in good faith, and had erected lasting and valuable improvements thereon, and that the grants of land to the railway companies did not extend beyond the limits of what was the public lands of the State of Kansas at the time the grants were made by act of Congress. This is the case briefly stated: The settlers organized openly at first to resist the encroachments of the railway companies upon their rights ; but the companies were posted as to all the settlers' movements and defeated them. The closed organization was then adopted, early in '72, which was called *The Settlers' Protective Association,' but which was generally known as the Settlers' League, or Alliance. They took upon themselves political action ; they instructed and pledged their congressmen, and through the members of the Legislature their senators. The result was that an act was passed by Congress, early in the seventies, known as the ' Enabling Act,' which authorized the settlers to bring an action in the name of the United States to set aside the patents issued by the government to these railway corporations, so far as they related to the Osage ceded lands, and the United States District Attorney was instructed, in company with the settlers' attorneys, to prepare the case for the United States court. "About this time, George R. Peck, who was a railway lawyer, was ap- pointed United States District Attorney, which greatly incensed the settlers, and under the pretence of consulting the Hon. George R. Peck, the ' Grand Council' got him to come to Parsons, and the settlers * pledged him.' I shall not say how it was done ; he can tell if he desires ; but I will say that he was true to his pledges, and to the interests of the settlers, and is entitled to a greater reward than that he has received at their hands. I sent our plan of organization to New York, my native State, where they attempted to organize, but with little success, as they were soon swallowed up by the Grange ; but they preserved their identity, and after the Grange movement had subsided it began a growth as a trade organization. The agent who transacted the Alliance business in New York State, I believe, bore the name of Johnson, 12 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. and resided in New York City. Several families who were members of this league, or alliance, went from this section during our controversy, and set- tled in Texas, and a man by the name of Tanner, who lived west of this city, is said to have organized the first Alliance in Texas, as a trade organization, which was one of the features of this movement ; and hence we hear it said that the Alliance originated in Texas and New York at the same time, while the facts remain that it originated in Kansas. " This Alliance never did take up the questions of mongy, transportation^ and land, and confined itself to purchasing its supplies at wholesale, and was an open organization, both north and south, consisting of discontented local alliances which sprang into existence in different parts of the country, east, west, north, and south ; but there was no central organization ; in other words, it was without a head, and that is the case yet in some localities. " In the spring of 1875 we got our decision from the Supreme Court of the United States, setting aside the patents granted to the railway companies to the Osage ceded lands, and opening them to pre-emption settlement. Many of us were very poor at this time, having spent what little we brouglit with us in the fight for these lands, and the price of all property was greatly depressed in consequence of the panic of "''j},, brought on by the contraction of the currency. As a sample of the prices prevailing for property at that time, I remember of husking my corn and hauling it sixteen miles to Parsons with my team of oxen, and then could not sell it for ten cents per bushel in cash, and had to get it stored until such time as it would sell, or haul it back. I preferred the former. In this dilemma we began to say that the government ought to give us this land, or make some arrangements by which it would loan us money to pre-empt with. Finally the government came to our aid, and allowed us to pay $50 on the quarter section, and gave us one, two, and three years on the deferred payments, by paying $50 a year and 5 per cent interest. This was virtually a loan of $150 on each quarter section at 5 per cent interest, and this was the first 5 per cent money the people of Kansas ever borrowed, and this is the first instance that I now call to mind where the government has ever loaned its money to the people. But it demon- strated the practicability of such a system, and in 1876 I issued a circular, and set forth the system that New York had adopted in loaning its school fund to the farmers, upon real estate security, and demonstrated the practica- bility of such a system for the United States. " I selected one post-office in each county of the United States, and sent a few of these circulars, to be handed out by the postmaster, and I had the satisfaction of seeing farmers' clubs springing up in all parts of the country. This circular is the first, so far as I am informed, ever written and circulated since the Constitution of the United States was adopted, advocating govern- ment loans to the people, upon real estate security." This statement bears the marks of candor and directness, that will no doubt convince many of its truthfulness. Be that as it may, it discloses an attempt to correct economic evils in that I UNRECORDED HISTORY. 13 State, at an early date. The movement thus inaugurated con- tinued to increase in strength, and finally culminated in the campaign of 1890. There is not a single one of the many great States organized into this grand agricultural demand for " Equal rights to all and special privileges to none," that would take from Kansas an iota of the credit she may justly claim. If this Alliance Movement originated in Kansas, well and good ; she has proved herself worthy of that honor. The history of the movement in New York has been given in another chapter, and will doubtless be read with interest in con- nection with the above. It is to the Alliance in Texas that the attention of the reader is invited. To the brethren in Texas belongs the credit and everlasting honor of placing the Far- mers' Alliance before the country and the world. To them the toilers of the earth can bow in gratitude, for originating, through distress, organizing under great difficulties, and perfecting with consummate wisdom, the most powerful reform organization that has ever been known in the history of the race. All hail to the grand State of Texas, the mother and protector of the Alliance ! The wave of civilization and development swept the world, from east to west ; and when it reached the western border, it was reflected back as a great reform movement. It is the reflex wave of a higher civilization which promises to improve all exist- ing countries, as the present civilization improved upon barbar- ism ; the difference being that the march of civilization apprised the world of the use of power, and this great reform movement is to teach the world the power of justice. The credit due to those who participated in the first struggles of the Farmers' Alliance is not as great as the present size and ^ importance of the order would indicate. It was started as a local organization, for local purposes, and has developed by the work it has been called upon to perform. The earliest concep- tion of its object seems to have been to organize landowners to resist the efforts of land-sharks, who set up fraudulent titles to their lands, and brought suit to either dispossess the owner or secure from him a payment for a compromise. A great amount of land litigation of this kind was rife in Texas, on account of grants claimed to have been issued by the Mexican government, prior to the independence of Texas. 14 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. The next purpose of this order seems to have been to organize cattle and horse rescuers, so as to enable them to detect and catch thieves, and to find estrays. At that time one of the declara- tions of purposes was, "To assist the civil officers in maintain- ing law and order." This was very important to the whole people of Texas. At that time gangs of horse-thieves were stealing horses and running them through the country. It was necessary that the sheriff should know whom to trust. The Alliance had in its secret work a formula for catching a horse- thief. It is not now in use. Sheriffs knew that Alliance men could be depended upon to help them. If a horse-thief stopped for the night with an Alliance man, he always entertained him, and if the sheriff was on his track, he did not have to confer with the Alliance man to secure his co-operation. They had signals and hailing signs for that purpose. For the purpose of finding estrayed cattle, the State Alliance of Texas adopted a brand which all members placed on the necks of their cattle, in addition to their regular brand. If a stray came into a neighborhood, with the Alliance brand upon it, it would be reported at the next meeting of the Alliance, and the secretary would sen4 a list of such strays to the State Secre- tary, who, by referring to his record of brands, was enabled to notify the owners where to go to get their cattle. As the Alliance spread into districts more devoted to farm- ing, its members were not so much exercised about their lands or their stock, but felt most oppressed by the excessive prices" which they were compelled to pay for the commodities they bought, and the low prices they received for the produce they had for sale. The great discrepancy between the mar- kets of the world and their home markets led them to believe that organization and co-operation on their part would enable them to buy cheaper and sell dearer. The universal establishment of the credit system had abolished all compe- tition in merchandizing, and had given the merchant who possessed the necessary means, or the credit, a practical mo- nopoly in both buying and selling. Like all other monopolists, such merchants found themselves constantly deciding, on the one hand, between their greed and avarice, and, on the other, how much oppression the people would bear. This naturally UNRECORDED HISTORY. 1 5 but surely developed conditions destructive to the perpetuation of such a system. The conditions under which the people were living were so unequal and distressing that the idea of relief from some source became the general theme of conversation. It was discovered at all times and under nearly all circumstances, and resulted in an effort to bring about the reforms that were unmistaka- bly needed. The Alliance of Texas originated in Lampasas County, about fifteen miles north of the present village of Lam- pasas. The date of the first organization is given as some time in 1874 or 1875. There is considerable vagueness about the date of its formation, which doubtless is unknown at the present time. It was probably the result, as an old member states, of an attempt to formulate a plan for purchasing supplies, that was made directly after the panic of 1873. This attempt led to a partial organization of a sort of farmers' club, which enabled those early settlers to consult together in matters of mutual interest. The financial disasters of that period drove many northern people to the West and South, and quite a number settled in this portion of Texas. The feeling engendered by the war had not fully died out, and there was a certain restraint between the newcomers from the North and the old settlers, which was quite plainly seen at certain times. Soon, however, a common danger threatened all alike. What is known as the land-shark made his appearance, and with him came litigation over land- titles. Expensive law-suits followed, which the impoverished settler could not stand. Settlements were made with one set of these people, only to be repeated by others of similar charac- ter, until forbearance ceased to be a virtue, and a determination to unite upon some plan of defence began to obtain among them. Nothing was more natural than recourse to those trade clubs, which had fallen into disuse to a large extent. After dis- cussing the situation thoroughly, it was decided to use peaceful means, if possible, but to defend their homes at all hazards. Here were men from the North and South banding together for mutual protection, under the name Land League, which soon took the more proper designation of Farmers' Alliance. The old members of these organizations point with pride to the fact 1 6 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. that this was the first formal burial of the '* bloody shirt," and the first acknowledged alhance between the sections. The land-sharks were told in plain terms that further difficulties would be settled with Winchesters and revolvers. These or- ganizations soon made use of the safeguard of secrecy, and formulated certain signs, grips, and passwords. These were improved upon as time passed, until a ritual with three degrees was adopted, together with a declaration of principles, constitu- tions, and by-laws. The question of land-titles was not the only one that con- fronted these pioneers. Cattle and horse thieves infested the country and committed depredations continually, to the great loss and annoyance of the people. A united action against these outlaws was instituted through these organizations, and pushed with vigor. One of the degrees of the Alliance, at that time, consisted of a minute description of the methods of capturing a horse-thief. It described the duties of the officer in pursuit, and the farmer at whose house the thief might be stopping ; just what the wife must do, how she must hold the candle so as to guide the officer to the room of the thief, and at the same time shield him from view ; the signals that could be given at certain times, and the firing of a gun or revolver, or blowing a horn at others, in order to caution and give information. Many a horse and cattle thief has known to his sorrow how completely and successfully the lesson of this degree has been acted upon. Of course it required some time to perfect the organization, crude as it was. The first three clubs, as they were called, were organized in Lampasas County ; the fourth club was organ- ized in Hamilton County, joining Lampasas on the north, at some point on Partridge Creek. This club took the name of Partridge Creek Alliance, and is believed by many to have been the first to adopt that name. It must be remembered that it was purely an organization of farmers, and they being few in numbers, and much scattered, its growth was necessarily slow. Its effects were felt at once by the lawless, adventurous portion of the community, being the first moral and material support that the officers of the law could depend ujDon in that border county. Captain L. S. Chavose seems to have been a prominent organ- I UNRECORDED HISTORY. 1 7 izer in this movement. He did much in bringing about the development of the order in Lampasas, Hamilton, and Coryell counties. Having originated in Lampasas County, its great- est increase was in that county. In fact, this first attempt at organization never extended beyond the three counties named above. The first meeting of the Grand County Alliance was held at Pleasant Valley, Lampasas County, February 22, 1878. Captain L. S. Chavose, President ; W. C. Gober, A. A. Carter, D. T. W. Nance, W. B. Weir, John R. Allen, W. T. Baggett, and William Thompson were also members of this County Alliance. These gentlemen were officers in the County Alliance ; also a committee to form a Grand State Alliance. Their respective offices I am unable to give. One old member puts the number of alliances in this county at nineteen, and another at thirteen. Doubtless neither is absolutely -correct. Captain L. S. Chavose turned over the work in Hamilton County to J. H. Myers, who succeeded in perfecting an organization on Little Cow- house Creek, and another on Neel's Creek. After these were organized, the first County Alliance was held with the Par- tridge Creek Alliance. This was in the spring of 1878. The officers were, Yancey Pierce, President ; H. Carter, Vice-Presi- dent ; T. E. Glover, Secretary ; J. H. Myers, Lecturer and Or- ganizer. Some time after this a co-operative meeting was held with the Lampasas County Alliance, on School Creek, at which meeting considerable' business of importance was transacted, and an organizer sent into Coryell County, who succeeded in organizing a few alliances there. I have been unable to find the names of the County Alliance officers, and it is said that there never was a county organization perfected in that county. Evan Brooks, D. White, W. White, W. T. Baggett, and H. Lankford were members of the order in that county. As said before, the order was confined to these three counties. The Grand State Alliance was organized at Pleasant Valley, Lampasas County, May 4, 1878, with the following officers: L. S. Chavose, President ; J. W. Reeves, Secretary ; W. W. Say- lor. Treasurer ; W. T. Baggett, Doorkeeper ; W. Rodgers and H. Dobbins, Delegates. The constitution called for two other officers called ''Grand Smokeys." These were kept secret from 1 8 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. all save the president. Their peculiar functions have been for- gotten. This Grand State Alliance held another meeting, in 1879, which proved to be the last. This body adopted a declaration of principles, which forms the basis of those upon which the Alliance stands to-day. It adopted a constitution which con- formed to the times, and the three degrees of the order. Had it not been for an unwillingness on the part of the members to wait the results of education, it might have prospered instead of being a failure. Politics was permitted to creep in, and the usual disaster followed. The Greenback campaign of 1876 started a movement in Texas which culminated in 1878. Our pioneer brethren mistook the dangers of agitation for the real fruits of education, and some of them cast their lot with that reform movement. This made bitter dissensions in the order, and led to its immediate destruction. These brethren were actuated by right motives, but their methods were unfortunate. As soon as their determination to enter politics was known, the domi- nant party took effective measures to crush the life out of the movement. This disaster has served a good purpose, as a warn- ing to the present organization. There are many incidents that might be given, in relation to this initial movement, that would no doubt be interesting, but^ space will not permit their relation. Suffice it to say, that these pioneer brethren were honest, earnest, and brave ; that they laid the foundation upon which the present grand superstructure has been built. This first effort was necessary, and no doubt its failure was a blessing in disguise. When the final triumph of ultimate truth shall be proclaimed throughout the land, no one will refuse to render to these brethren the full meed of praise to which they are so justly entitled. In the spring of 1879, W. T. Baggett, a member of one of the first alliances in Coryell County, moved into Parker County, taking with him some of the printed matter connected with these organizations. He began teaching school at Poolville, and also to discuss matters relating to the Alliance in the section from which he came. The failure in Lampasas County, and the political tendency of the order, made it very difficult to do anything in the way of organization. Finally, in connection UNRECORDJED HISTORY. 1 9 with J. N. Montgomery, J. W. Sullivan, J. T. Reeves, Jefferson Womack, George W. McKibbens, and a few others, the prelim- inary meeting was held at Poolville, Parker County, July 29, 1879. The old Lampasas declaration of principles was amended so as to eUminate the political features, and the Alliance started out as a non-partisan organization. Parker and adjoining counties were largely settled by enter- prising farmers from the North and East. These men watched earnestly the progress of the organization, until they were con- vinced that it must do good, and intended good to their fellow- man, and that it had already accomplished much good, and could accomplish more if they would join in the well-begun work, which they did, and thus was the Alliance formed, and from that day to the present it has retained the name Farmers' Alli- ance. A second Alliance was soon formed at Central, Parker County, and a third in Jack County. From this the order grew in numbers, until it was thought best to perfect a State organi- zation. It will be noticed that there were no county organizations. It was at that time thought best to conduct it with a machinery similar to that of the Knights of Labor. This idea was aban- doned, probably on account of the establishment of county trade agencies. There were a number of meetings held during the summer of 1879, previous to the State meeting, but they are hardly worth the space for details, as the meetings of the State Alliance, which convened monthly, disclose all their methods and purposes. The men who founded the last Alliance profited by the disasters which overtook the first, and thereby rendered a service to the present organization, for which they deserve the thanks of all those who labor, wherever found. CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. Happily for those who may desire an authentic history of the early days of the Alliance, I have been so fortunate as to obtain possession of the original record books of the State Sec- retary, dating from December 27, 1879, ^^ February 5, 1884, containing full and complete data concerning those early times. It is a matter of pleasure as well as of curiosity to note the incipient efforts made, seemingly with but little forethought, that have finally culminated in the grand movement for agri- cultural reform, that is to-day the wonder of the age, and the admiration of all who labor in production. Shakespeare says : -:— *• There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will." In contemplating the inception, the first failure, the second attempt, the trials, repulses, dismal prospects, and final triumphs of the Alliance, all must admit that the hand of Omnipotence can be clearly discerned. No cause unaided by God could have withstood the mistakes, bad management, vicious foes, and trai- torous friends, and come out purified, stronger, and better for the ordeal, as has the Alliance. Whatever its future may be, what- ever may be the results of its teachings, those of the present, as well as those who are to come after us, are and will be inter- ested in its early history and methods. The record that lies before me states that '' The Grand State Alliance met at Central, December 27, 1879. President J. N. Montgomery called the house to order, and declared the body ready for business." No further minutes of this meeting are recorded. Immediately follows the statement that the Grand State AHiance met at Poolville, January 10, 1880; at New Hope Church, January 24; at Central, February 21 ; at Shiloah, March 13;^ at Shiloah, April 10. The next meeting was at Jasper 20 THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 21 Creek, of which there is a complete record. It should be remembered that only twelve Sub-Alliances had been organized during the entire year, or, from the date of the first meeting, July 29, 1879, to June 12, 1880. To be sure, the meetings had been frequent, but the results had not been satisfactory, in regard to the increase in numbers. An old member writes that party prejudice, and the failure in Lampasas County, made organizing almost impossible ; that the meetings were poorly attended, and a sort of general distrust prevailed against the order. Under these conditions, the growth of the order was of neces- sity slow. Brother S. O. Daws, a member of Alliance No. 13, in his excellent "History of the Origin of the Alliance," says that the first State meeting of the Alliance was held at Central, Parker County, late in 1879. That meeting is doubtless the one referred to as being held December 27, of that year. The minutes of these meetings are said to be in existence, although the fact is disputed upon good authority, and the charge made that all such data have been manufactured since the order has assumed considerable proportions. Be this as it may, it is a matter of but little importance. The first officers of the Grand State Alliance, from January i, 1880, to July of the same year, were as follows : W. T. Baggett, President ; J. N. Montgomery, Vice-President ; J. H. Dover, Secretary ; George McKibben, As- sistant Secretary; G. B. Patton, Lecturer; John W. Sullivan, Treasurer ; William Shadle, Doorkeeper ; A. E. Robertson, As- sistant Doorkeeper ; J. F. Hood, Chaplain ; C. C. Pope, Assist- ant Chaplain. Below is the full text of the first bond given by an officer of the Alliance, and it will doubtless be read with interest. Its amount — $250 — seems rather small when com- pared with the last bond given by the National Treasurer. Its date places it within the first seven months of the existence of the order. It is doubtless the oldest authentic document relat- ing to the business of the Farmers' Alliance. " State of Texas "Parker County *' Know all men by these presents That I John W Sullivan as Principal and A E Robertson and J S Reeves his assurities are held and firmly bound unto the Grand State Alliance in the sum of $250 Dollars to the payment of which 22 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. well and truly to be made we bind ourselves our heirs and legal Representa- tives Jointly and severaly & firmly by these presents In Witness where of we have hereunto subscribed our Names and affixed scrolls for seals this the 21st day of February A D 1880 •' The conditions of the above obligation are as follows to Wit where as the above bounden principal John W Sullivan shall and truly well pay over all money belonging to the grand State Alliance and make Reports of all money that may be paid into his hands to the Secretary of the Grand State Alliance this bond shall be null & void otherwise to Remain in full force & effect "J. W. Sullivan "John S. Reeves '♦A. E. Robertson "The above bond examined and approved this February the 21st A D 1880 •*W. T. Baggett, Pres. ♦* J. H. Dover, Secretary:' It must be remembered that the Grand State Alliance con- sisted more in its title than in its membership or importance, since it sometimes held its meetings at a country school-house, with perhaps five or ten delegates from adjacent Alliances. Business was completed usually in one day, and the outside world took but little interest in its affairs. It gradually grew in members and developed a plan of campaign, as well as a code of principles that began to attract the attention of the best class of farmers in that part of the State. Organization among the agricultural portion of the people was such a prime necessity that no effort in that direction, of very long continuance, could remain unsuccessful. Our early brethren acted upon this belief, and seemed to be more anxious to start right, with proper rules, regulations, and sound doctrine, than to gain members. They fully realized, no doubt, that correct methods and just principles would bring a sufficient membership, and ultimately lead to suc- cess ; while a large following, guided by an ill-advised system and a false doctrine, must sooner or later end in disaster. That these brethren acted wisely, the present status of the order is ample proof. It must also be remembered that these brethren were farmers, compelled to do their thinking amid the daily efforts of hard labor ; that they were not trained in the school of political economy, and were, therefore, unacquainted with the fine-spun / OF THF. \ I uisiivERsn TBE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. "' 23 theories which emanate from such a source. They were taught in that greater school of experience, nurtured and broadened by grim necessity ; and they formulated certain methods to better their condition, through such means and by such guides as a kind Providence has given to deserving men. Their business was conducted with a directness that admitted of no mistake, and their resolutions and demands were drawn with that candor which admitted of only one construction. They practised direct methods, and, as a natural result, met with deserved success. The minutes of the first recorded meeting are given below : — " Proceedings of the Grand State Alliance of Texas, held at Jasper Creek, June 12, 1880. •* President W. T. Baggett called the house to order. The Assistant Door- keeper being absent, J. S. V/elch was appointed in his place, and ordered to take up the word, finding all persons correct. The Alliance was opened in due form. W. T. Baggett, President, J. N. Montgomery, Vice-President, J. H. Dover, Secretary, G. B. Patton, Lecturer, A. E. Robertson, Door- keeper, answered to roll call. J. W. Sullivan, Treasurer, absent. Excuse rendered by W. T. Baggett. William Shadle, Assistant Doorkeeper, no excuse : fined 50 cents. George McKibbins, absent ; excuse rendered by W. T. Baggett. President appointed committee to examine credentials, consisting of J. N. Montgomery and G. B. Patton, who reported for No. i, nothing; No. 2, B. F. Hemphill, G. M. Plumlee, and W. P. Stone. James W. Sullivan, excuse rendered and received; No. 3, S. M. Welch and W. H. Chancelor; No. 4, blank; No. 5, defunct; No. 6, J. S. Reeves; No. 7, blank; No. 8, F. Fridley, present, Y. M. Pullen, absent: fined 50 cents; No. 9, J. A. Culwell ; No. 10, blank; No. 11, C. F. Kinconon ; No. 12, blank. •' On motion of G. B. Patton and G. M. Plumlee, J. S. Cox was permitted to represent Boon's Creek, No. 4. On motion of Fred Fridley and J. S. Reeves, lecturing was postponed until business was over. On motion of F. Fridley and A. E. Robertson, each Sub-Alliance was appointed a committee to revise the constitution, and report the same at the next meeting at Goshen. On motion of J. S. Reeves and G. M. Plumlee, all Sub-Alliances failing to send up marks and brands of their members, and estray lists, would not be allowed representation in the next meeting of the Grand State Alliance. Adjourned for dinner. ' ' After dinner financial reports showed : — Jasper Creek, No. 3,. paid $.50 Garrett's Creek, No. 4, paid 2.00 Mt. Pleasant, No. 9, paid 2.75 Peaster's Springs, No. 6, paid 20 Wright's School House, No. 12, paid 1-75 24 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, Goshen, No. 8, paid $3.35 Shiloah, No. 7, paid 60 Central, No. 2, paid 2.00 Total amount paid $13-15 " On motion of G. M. Plumlee and J. S. Reeves, the Secretary was ordered to buy books, stationery, etc., useful to his office, with the money on hand. On motion of G. B. Patton and A. E. Robertson, the Secretary was allowed one dollar per month, from January, 1880. On motion of J. A. Culwell and John Stratton, each member was allowed to retain one dollar for each Alliance organized by him. On motion of J. N. Montgomery and J. A. Culwell, voted that each member that had organized Alliances be paid. W. T. Baggett had organized about 9, but only claimed $2.25 which he had spent, which was ordered paid. On motion of J. A. Culwell and J. H. Dover, L. G. Oxford was empowered to organize Alliances until July 16. On motion of C. F. Kinconon and J. S. Cox, Fred Fridley was empowered to organize until July 16. On motion of G. M. Plumlee and John Stratton, J. S. Welch was empowered to organize until July 16. There being no other business, the Alliance adjourned to hear a public lecturer, to meet at Goshen, July 15 and 16, 1880. (Signed) "W. T. Baggett, President, ♦•J. H. Dover, Secretary!'^ The above is a literal transcript of the minutes of the Grand State Alliance of Texas, as recorded in the Secretary's book. It discloses but twelve Sub-Alliances, with four of them unrep- resented. The methods of doing business, while somewhat peculiar, were straightforward, and appear to have been quite satisfactory. The names and location of these twelve Sub- Alliances were : — Poolville, Parker County No. i Central, Parker County " 2 •Jasper Creek, Jack County " 3 Boon Creek, Jack County " 4 College Hill, Parker County « 5 Peaster's Springs, Parker County . " 6 Shiloah, Parker County " 7 Goshen, Parker County " 8 Mt. Pleasant, Wise County " 9 Springtown, Parker County "10 Garrett Creek, Wise County "11 Wright's School House, Parker County "12 From this it is seen that the order had made but little prog- ress outside of Parker County. The next meeting was held at I THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 25 Goshen, on the i6th of July, 1880. Four new Alliances had been organized since the last meeting, three in Wise County, and one in Parker. Considerable business of importance was transacted at this meeting. A test oath was formulated, and a large number of amendments to the constitution were offered, and laid over, under the rules, until the next meeting. The fol- lowing are the minutes as taken from the record : — "The Grand State Alliance met at Goshen, Parker County, July i6th, 1880. W. T. Baggett, President, called the house to order and ordered the word taken up. Finding all correct, opened the Alliance in the third degree. Roll call; W. T. Baggett, President, J. N. Montgomery, Vice-President, J. H. Dover, Secretary, J. W. Sullivan, Treasurer, answered to roll call. G. B. Patton, Lecturer, absent; excuse rendered by G. C. Span, and the same received by the Alliance. George McKibbins absent ; fined 50 cents. A. E.. Robertson absent; fined 50 cents. William Shadle absent; fined 50 cents. The Secretary ordered to notify William Shadle he was due 50 cents for non-attendance at Jasper Creek, June 12th. Appointed a committee to examine credentials, consisting of J. N. Montgomery and J. W. Sullivan, who reported, for No. i, nothing ; for No. 2, W. J. Sullivan, B. F. Hemphill, F. M. Brown, and J. W. Potts ; No. 3, J. S. Welch and R. Lyons ; No. 4, — ; No. 5, — ; No. 6, Sam Guerry; No. 7, A. S. Brown; No. 8, J. C. Gilliland and J. M. Parker; No. 9, L. G. Oxford and J. A. Culwell; No. 10, nothing; No. II, T. M. Culwell; No. 12, G. C. Span; No. 13, O. G. Peterson; No. 14, W. P. Gilliland; No. 15, — ; No. 16, — . Lecturing by W. T. Baggett. Adjourned for dinner, to meet at 2 o'clock p.m. Met at 2 p.m. A committee consisting of Fred Fridley, John Boss, H. Rechburgh, to examine and com- pare estray list. Then a letter from George McCormick, Attorney General, was read. "New business, amendment to Art. i, Sec. i, by L. G. Oxford, on mo- tion of O. G. Peterson and J. A. Culwell, tabled; by O. G, Peterson to Art. 3, Sec. 2, 3, and 4, tabled ; by L. G. Oxford to Art. 4, Sec. 2, tabled ; by O. G. Peterson, resolution, tabled; L. G. Oxford to Art. 4, Sec. 5, tabled; by Dr. O. G. Peterson, supplement, tabled ; next, by O. G. Peterson, supple- ment, tabled; next, amendment of J. N. Montgomery, tabled; (April the loth brought up and became a law). Adjourned to meet at 7 p.m. "After supper roll call dispensed with. Estray list read by Fred Fridley. On motion of G. C. Span and J. H. Dover, non-members of the Farmers' Alliance pay 50 cents per head for finding stock through Farmers' Alliance ; next by Dr. O. G. Peterson, supplements, tabled ; by Dr. Peterson, resolutions, tabled. A motion to adjourn to meet to-morrow at 9 a.m. Met at 9 a.m. Saturday. Roll call ; four officers absent ; six delegates absent. On motion of J. S. Welch and Dr. Peterson, to rescind an act passed yesterday, charging non-members 50 cents a head for finding stock. Resolution by J. S. Welch, tabled. On motion of J. H. Dover and Dr. Peterson, the President be em- 26 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. powered to appoint a committee to organize Farmers' Alliances until Decem- ber, i88o- On motion of Dr. Peterson and J. H. Dover, the President ap- pointed a committee to frame a test oath. Test oath received and committee discharged. By J. N. Montgomery, a supplement, tabled. The President appointed a committee to criticise the constitution and correct it, — L. G. Oxford, J. N. Montgomery, G. B. Patton, and Dr. O. G. Peterson. W. T. Baggett added. Election of officers. W. T. Baggett was nominated and elected by acclamation. For Vice-President, J. N. Montgomery, 3 votes; L. G. Oxford, 3 votes; O. G. Peterson, 3 votes. For Secretary, J. H. Dover, 15 ; G. W. Bond, 4; Assistant Secretary, G. W. Bond, 13 ; J. C. Gilliland, 6. Lecturer, L. C. W. Patton, 2 ; J. A. Culwell 8, and Dr. O. G. Peterson, 2 ; J. C. Gilliland, 2. Assistant Lecturer, J. C. Gilliland was nominated and elected by acclamation. Treasurer, J. W. Sullivan, 12; and J. N. Mont- gomery, 6. For Doorkeeper, J. S.Welch, 9; and G. C. Span, 9. The President gave the casting vote to J. S. Welch. For Assistant Doorkeeper, J. N. Montgomery, 10; B. F. Hemphill, 2, G. C. Span, 4; John W. PoJ;ts, 2. Names of members appointed by the President to organize Alliances : Dr. O. G. Peterson, G. M. Plumlee, Fred Fridley, S. M. Guerry, to organize till August 6th, 1880. No other business appearing, the Alliance was closed in due form to meet again 'at Friendship Church, in Wise County, Texas, August 5th, 6th, and 7th, 1880. (Signed) ♦' W. T. Baggett, President, ** J. H. Dover, Secretary. ^^ The next meeting was held August 5, 1880. This meeting proved to be the most important of all that had been held, as it marked out a course that the Alliance has since pursued. Offi- cers were elected for the term of one year. A constitution was revised and ordered printed. The number of Alliances had in- creased, and the work of organization had been carried into an adjoining county. The minutes of the meeting, as taken from the record, are as follows : — " The Grand State Alliance met at Friendship, Wise County, Texas, August 5, 1880. W. T. Baggett, President. House called to order by the President and opened in the third degree. Delegates present: No. 9, J. B. Roberts and H. C. Richburg; No. 12, A. M. Green and G. C. Span absent. No. 14, W. P. Gilliland; No. 8, J. M. Stacks, J. W. Brisco absent. No. 6, C. H. Dodson; No. 13,6. F. Heasley; No. 17, J. W. Patterson; No. 7, H. M. Jones; No. 3, W. C. Thompson and J. E. Harris; No. 18, A. L. Kiter; No. 19, J. H. Gains ; No. 1 1, J. W. Culwell. Sundry Laws, which were tabled at last Grand State Alliance, were adopted and marked such. Adjourned till Friday morning at eight o'clock. "The Grand State Alliance met Friday at 8 a.m., August 6th. President called the house to order and renewed business in the third degree. Roll call ; I THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 27 W. T. Baggett, President ; G. W. Bond, Assistant Secretary ; L. G. Oxford, Vice-President; J. A. Culwell, Lecturer; J. C. Gilliland, Assistant Lecturer; J. W. Sullivan, Treasurer. J. H. Dover was absent and fined 50 cents. Minutes of previous meeting read and adopted. On motion such business as is neces- sary to go in the constitution is to be made a law from date. Resolution offered by Dr. O. G. Peterson passed and became a law from date, to elect officers for one year, etc. ; resolution by Dr. O. G. Peterson, that officers be elected Tuesday after the first Sunday in August of each year, or as soon after as possible ; resolution offered by H. C. Richburg made a law from date ; reso- lution offered by L. G. Oxford that each subordinate Farmers' Alliance be re- quired to purchase one copy of ' Cushing's Manual of Parliamentary Usages,' made a law from date. On motion, a committee was appointed to get up new work on the secrets of the Alliance, consisting of A. Dunlap, L. G. Oxford, O. G. Peterson, J. N. Montgomery, J. S. Welch, and W. T. Baggett; on motion, agreed to fine a member of the committee on secret work two dol- lars, should he fail to meet the committee at Peaster's Springs, September 10, 1880; on motion, adjourned till 2 p.m. Grand State Alliance met at 2 p.m. House called to order by President. Alliance Nos. i, 2, 4, 5, 15, and 16, the above numbers absent, their delegates fined 50 cents each for non-attend- ance. On motion, the corrections made in the constitution by the committee appointed for that purpose, were received by Grand State Alliance com- mittee, L. G. Oxford, G. W. Bond, O. G. Peterson, J. N. Montgomery, and W. T. Baggett. A committee was appointed to scrutinize the constitution and prepare it for the press : G. W. Bond, J. A. Culwell ; and on motion J. M. Stacks and J. N. Montgomery were appointed to contract for the print- ing of 1000 copies of the constitution. On motion, J. M. Stacks and J. N. Montgomery were ordered to borrow the money to pay for the printing of the constitution, in case they could not get it done on time, and we, as a Grand State Alliance, stand good to them for the money they may borrow for that purpose. On motion of O. G. Peterson, went into the election of officers, which resulted in the election of J. N. Montgomery, President; W. T. Bag- gett, Vice-President ; J. H. Dover, Secretary ; J. C. Gilliland, Assistant Secre- tary ; L. G. Oxford, Lecturer ; Andy Dunlap, Assistant Lecturer ; John W. Sullivan, Treasurer; J. S. Welch, Doorkeeper; W. G. Thompson, Assistant Doorkeeper. The next meeting of Grand State Alliance to be at Peaster's Springs, September 11, 1880. " No other business ; the Alliance was closed. (Signed) "W. T. Baggett, President, "J. H. Dover, Secretary. G. W. Bo'ST), Acting Secretary ." The officers elected at the previous meeting in July were chosen for the usual term of six months, but under the resolu- tion passed at this meeting a new set of officers was elected at this August meeting, to serve for the term of one year ; hence the seeming conflict of electing officers in July and August. It 28 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. will be noticed that the Alliance met each month, but it should be understood that the Grand State Alliance was confined almost entirely to one county. The next meeting was at Peaster's Springs, Parker County. The following is a copy of the declaration of purposes ordered printed by the Grand State Alliance, at its meeting held in Friendship, Wise County, August 5, 1880. It should be read by all who are interested in the history of the Alliance, as' it shows plainly the germ that has sprouted and grown into the present grand organization. ♦'DECLARATION OF PURPOSES. "Profoundly impressed that we as the Farmers' Alliance, united by the strong and faithful ties of financial and home interest, should set forth our declaration of intentions, we therefore Resolve: "I. To labor for the Alliance and its purposes, assured that a faithful observance of the following principles will insure our mental, moral, and financial improvement. "2. To endorse the motto, 'In things essential, Unity, and in all things Charity.' *' 3. To develop a better state, mentally, morally, socially, and financially. "4. To create a better understanding for sustaining our civil officers in maintaining law and order. "5. To constandy strive to secure entire harmony and good will among all mankind and brotherly love among ourselves. "6. To suppress personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry and all selfish ambition. *'The Meeting at Peaster's Springs. " The Grand State Alliance assembled at Peaster's Springs, Parker County, Texas, September 11, 1880, at ten o'clock a.m. House called to order by President J. N. Montgomery. The doorkeeper being absent, the president appointed F. M. Brown doorkeeper pro tern., and ordered the word taken up. Finding all correct, the Alliance was opened in the third degree. Roll call: J. N. Montgomery, President ; J. H. Dover, Secretary ; L. G. Oxford, Lecturer ; J. W. Sullivan, Treasurer ; W. C. Thompson, Assistant Doorkeeper, answered to roll call. W. T. Baggett, Vice-President; J. C. Gilliland, Assistant Sec- retary; Andy Dunlap, Assistant Secretary; J. S. Welch, Doorkeeper, were absent. J. S. Welch's excuse rendered and received by the Grand State Alliance. Baggett, Dunlap, Gilliland, were fined 50 cents each. Delegates from Wise County Alliance: W. L. Garvin and J. A. Culvvell. Culwell was absent, and fined 60 cents. For Parker and Jack Counties: Alliance No. i, H. H. Nookes; Central, No. 2, J. W. Potts and J. M. Brown, present; W. I THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 29 B. Shults and G. M. Plumlee, absent. Plumlee's excuse rendered and received. Shults fined 50 cents. Jasper Creek, No. 3, R. Lyons and M. F. Gray. Gray absent; excuse rendered and received. Boon's Creek, No. 4, suspended; Shiloh, No. 7, blank; Goshen, No. 8, R. E. Tackett and J. R. Montgomery. Montgomery absent, and fined 50 cents. Wright's School House, No. 12, R. A. Wright and J. S. Erwin; East Grindstone, No. 19, blank; fined 50 cents; Springtown, No. 10, suspended. "Minutes of last meeting read, amended, and adopted. On motion of J. W. Potts and F. M. Brown, G. W. Bond was fined 50 cents for negligence of duty in leaving J. N. Montgomery's excuse out, and leaving out the name of J. S. Welch, and not charging him with a fine, etc. Next the president appointed a finance committee to examine the books of secretary and treas- urer of Grand State Alliance, consisting of L. G. Oxford, R. E. Tackett, and W. L. Garvin. On motion of L. G. Oxford and R. Lyons, that the Grand State Alliance adopt some form of burying the dead ; carried. The president appointed R. Lyons, Andy Dunlap, and Dr. O. G. Peterson to get up the work and report at the next meeting of the Grand State Alliance, November 13, 1880. The committee appointed at Friendship, on secret work, made their report, which was received, and the committee discharged. With the twining around stricken out; first, Peace; second. Social; third, Love. The Finance Committee reported that they found the secretary's and treasurer's books in good condition. On motion of R. E. Tackett and L. G. Oxford, each Subordinate Alliance was taxed $1.25 to pay for the printing of the con- stitution, etc. ; the same to be paid by the first of October, 1880. W. L. Garvin, A. J. Caston, and W. J. Womack were authorized to organize Farmers' Alliances till February, 1881. There being no other business, the Alliance was closed with usual ceremonies, to have a called meeting at Garrett's Creek, Wise County, Saturday, November 13, a.d, 1880, at ten o'clock a.m. Said meeting was called for the purpose of receiving the report of the com- mittee appointed to get up the work on burying the dead, and any other business that may come before the Grand State Alliance. (Signed) ** By J. M. Montgomery, President ^ ♦•J. H. Dover, Secretary?^ Brothers Dawes and Garvin, in their history further say : — *' It will be seen that the Farmers' Alliance, when first organized, was not a chartered institution; but it was soon learned, meeting with so many obstacles arising from deep prejudices which existed in the minds of so many people against a farmers' organization, that they could not perpetuate and carry out successfully the great and grand objects of the order with open doors to politicians and demagogues ; hence an application was filed with the Secretary of State, asking for a new charter, that the Farmers' Alliance might become a chartered institution, and receive that protection and enjoy the benefits accorded to all other chartered institutions. A charter was granted, and the Farmers' Alliance took its place in the world's history as the first 30 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. organization that active, operative farmers ever formed for their own protec- tion, benefit, and enjoyment, acting under, the following original charter: — " ' State of Texas. Charter. J. N. Mo?itgomery et al. "♦State of Texas, County of Parker. •* ' Know all Men by These Presents : That we, L. S. Tackitt, J. H. Dover, and G. M. Plumlee, citizens of the State and county aforesaid, and such others as they may hereafter associate with them, have heretofore, to-wit : On the I2th day of August, 1880, formed themselves, with J. N. Montgomery, J. C. Gilliland, J. W. Sullivan, L. G. Oxford, Andrew Dunlap, J. S. Welch, William Thompson and others, into an association and organization under the name of "Farmers' Alliance," said association being formed for the purpose of encouraging agriculture, horticulture, and to suppress personal, local, sec- tional, and national prejudices, and all unhealthy rivalry and selfish ambition. The business of said corporation is to be transacted in the city of Weather- ford, county and State aforesaid. The term of existence of this association is fixed at twenty-five years, from August 12, 1880. *"The Trustees, to-wit: J. H. Dover, W. T. Baggett, and L. S. Tackitt, residents of Parker County, were duly elected for the first year ending August 12, 1881. " ' Said society has no capital stoqk, and the estimated value of the goods, chattels, lands, rights, and credit owned by said association is fifty dollars. '"The following persons were elected officers for twelve months from August 12, 1880: — •' ♦ President — J. N. Montgomery. ♦' 'Vice-President — W. T. Baggett. *' ' Secretary — J. H. Dover. " 'Assistant Secretary — J. C. Gilliland. " ' Lecturer — L. G. Oxford. " 'Assistant Lecturer — A. Dunlap. " « Treasurer — J. W. Sullivan. " ' Doorkeeper — J. S. Welch. " 'Assistant Doorkeeper — William Thompson. " ' In witness whereof, we, as citizens of the State of Texas, have on this the 6th day of October, 1880, subscribed our names. (Signed) " ' L. S. Tackitt, "*J. H. Dover, *' ' G. M. Plumlee.' " * The State of Texas, County of Parker. " ' Before me, J. M. Richards, Judge of the County Court of Parker County, State of Texas, this day personally appeared L. S. Tackitt, J. H. Dover, and G. M. Plumlee, citizens of Texas, to me personally known, and acknowledged that they signed the above and foregoing instrument of writing after the con- tents of the same had been fully made known to them, and that they volun- tarily signed the same for the purposes and association therein expressed. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 3 1 " ' In witness whereof I have thereto signed my name and set my seal of office, this 6th day of October, 1880. (Signed) "'J. M. Richards, [seal.] " ' County Judge^ Parker County ^ Texas. " * Endorsed. ** • Charter of the '* Farmers' Alliance " of Parker County. " * Filed in the Department of State, October 8, 1880. (Signed) " * T. H. Bowman, " ' Acting Secretary of State.'' •"The State of Texas, Department of State. *' * I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original charter of the " Farmers' Alliance " of Parker County, with the indorsement thereon now on file in this Department. " ' Witness my official signature and the Seal of State, at the city of Austin, the 9th day of October, a.d. 1880. " ' T. H. Bowman, [seal of state.] ''' Acting Secretary of state: '♦Our readers should bear in mind that, up to this time, the Farmers' Alliance was local in its character, imperfectly organized, with no literature or means of educating its members, and nothing wherewith to push its organ- ization, save patriotic hearts and willing hands. Hence, it devoted itself to the social conditions and local questions affecting its members, pointing out the evils from which the farming classes were suffering and which all acknowl- edged, but there was no remedy to be found for them outside of a thorough organization of the farmers. The Grang^had been disorganized, the farmers were scattered, divided in opinion, almost indifferent to their condition, the means employed in valuing their products, and without any means of express- ing or enforcing their views as a class. And thus the Alliance employed what feeble means it had to effect an organization of the farmers. " Called meeting of Grand State Alliance, at Garrett's Creek, November 13, 1880. All officers being absent but the secretary, on motion and second, F. M. Culwell was elected president pro tern. House called to order by President Culwell, and J. W. Culwell was appointed doorkeeper, and ordered to take up the word. Finding all correct, the Alliance was opened in due form. Roll call : J. N. Montgomery, W. T. Baggett, J. C. Gilliland, Andy Dunlap, J. S. Welch, and W. C. Thompson were fined $1.00 each. L. G. Oxford and J. W. Sullivan were absent, but excuse rendered and received by the Alliance. President appointed J. A. Culwell and J. H. Dover to examine credentials. Report for Wise County Alliance, J. A. Culwell and H. C. Richburg; for Jack County, Lost Creek, No. 21, J. E. Overhuls ; for County Line, No. 14, J. M. Rowe and S. F. Gilliland; Poolville, No. i, W. H. Thompson. Next, call for the report of the committee appointed at Peaster Springs, September 11, consisting of Andy Dunlap, R. Lyons, and O. G. Peterson, all absent, and, on motion and second, fined 50 cents each. On 32 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, motion of C. H. Richburg and J. A. Culwell, the signs and words of the three degrees were changed. ''' Resolved, That any person on entering an Alliance, the doorkeeper of said Alliance shall give to such person the number of the degree in which the Alliance is at work, after which such person shall give to the doorkeeper the word of that degree,' etc. On motion and second, the same adopted. On motion and second, trade sign changed. On motion and second, the presi- dent pro te??i. was empowered to appoint or authorize members to organize Alliances till the next meeting of Grand State Alliance. The president appointed, for Jack County, J. E. Overhuls and Dr. H. C. Burns; for Wise County, J. A. Culwell; for Parker County, R. E. Tackett. No other busi- ness appearing, the Alliance adjourned, to meet at Poolville, Parker County, Texas, Tuesday, February, 1880, at ten o'clock a.m. (Signed) " F. M. Culwell, President pro tern., ♦♦J. H. Dover, Secretary. ♦' State meeting of Texas, Grand State Farmers' Alliance, held at Pool- ville, Parker County, Texas, Februai^ 8, 1881. House called to order at ten o'clock a.m., Vice-President W. T. Baggett in the chair. The Alliance was opened in due form, and declared ready for business. Roll call of officers : all officers present except three, — J. C. Gilliland, Assistant Secretary; L. G. Oxford, Lecturer ; Andy Dunlap, Assistant Lecturer. Oxford's excuse rendered and received. GilUland and Dunlap fined 50 cents each. All subordinate Alliances were represented except Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22. Committee on Credentials was appointed, consisting of J. M. Mont- gomery, W. C. Thompson, and J. R. Oxford, who reported all credentials correct. Minutes of last State Alliance were read and approved. The secre- tary was ordered to have charters prepared for all subordinate Alliances, and was also duly authorized to affix the signature of president to the same. Alliances that were not represented, and those due reports, were allowed an extension of three months' time, in which to make out reports as required by Art. 6 of constitution of Farmers' Alliance, and forward the same to secretary of Grand State Farmers' Alliance. " The question of the advisability of selecting a newspaper that would give free pubUcation to matters of interest to the order, in consideration of the united patronage of the members throughout the State, being under discussion, it was resolved that the Weatherford Herald, a live and influential newspaper, published every Friday at Weatherford, Parker County, Texas, by Messrs. Curl and Wood, be adopted ; and to facilitate the rapid increase of its circu- lation among the members of the order, all secretaries of subordinate Alli- ances were instructed to act as agents for the Herald, in securing subscriptions from members of their respective Alliances. The resignation of Grand Lecturer L. G. Oxford was received and accepted. The following amend- ment was proposed by A. G. Culwell, to Art. 6 of the constitution of the Farmers' Alliance, that it shall be changed to read ' Each and every subordi- nate Alliance on record shall make out its returns, and send them to Secre- I THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 33 tary of Grand State Alliance, against the stated meetings of the Grand State Alliance,' etc. No other business appearing, except fines of officers for non- attendance, J. N. Montgomery paid $1.00; J. A. Colwell, 25 cents; J. H. Dover, 25 cents ; and Vice-President Baggett pocketed the money, etc. Moved and seconded to meet at Goshen, Parker County, Texas, August 9, 1881. at ten o'clock a.m. (Signed) "J. H. Dover, Grand Secretary :' A copy of the record of each meeting up to date has been given, in order to show the methods and earnestness of our earlier brethren, and to form a basis for comparison with the present system, and rapid growth of the order. These records disclose an honesty of purpose well worthy the emulation of all. They prove that these brethren were guided by the principles of right and justice that only come through a desire to better others besides themselves. It is upon the solid foundation of truth and love, laid deep and strong by these pioneers of the Alliance, that the present magnificent structure of agricultural organization has been built. All honor to those noble men, who lived and acted fully up to the light that a Divine Ruler had been pleased to show them ! Their sphere of action was cir- cumscribed, and their efforts at the time counted for but little ; yet the effects on future conditions no man will ever be able to completely comprehend. The next meeting was a called session held at Central School House, April 2, 1881, for the purpose of perfecting arrangements for charters, and putting a deputy grand lecturer in the field. The meeting was not largely attended, but the business was satisfactorily completed. The general situation was discussed, and all seemed impressed with the idea that better times were near at hand. The next meeting of the Grand State Alliance was held at Goshen, Parker County, August 9, 1881. More delegates than usual were present, including those from the County Alliances of Wise and Jack. It was evident that the Alliance had come to stay, and that a rapid growth was assured. Much interest was therefore taken in the proceedings, and a general desire to avoid mistakes and correct any possible errors seemed to prevail. The burial service, as reported by Brother O. G. Peterson was 34 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. adopted. The form of a regalia to be worn by officers and members was also considered and adopted. The following officers were chosen for the ensuing year: Andy Dunlap, President ; W. L. Garvin, Vice-President ; C. M. Wilcox, Secre- tary; B. G. Gilliland, Treasurer; D. B. Gilliland, Lecturer; M. A. Denton, Assistant Lecturer; W. H. Pearce, Doorkeeper; W. P. Dent, Assistant Doorkeeper. Arrangements were made to revive dormant Alliances, and to push the work more vigorously. Brother J. H. Dover, Grand Secretary, was allowed ^i8 for his services during the past twelve months. This was not a very large salary for one of the principal officers. Alliance No. i, at Poolville, had died out, and a resolution was passed instructing the deputy lecturer of Parker County to visit that Alliance, and either revive it or take charge of its books and papers. This seems to indicate that the so-called "Father of the Alliance" had lost interest in his offspring. A committee was appointed to investigate certain charges against Senator Maxey ; which seemed to indicate a determination to scrutinize the acts of public servants. A motion prevailed, striking the word " Grand " from the charters of County Alliances. A report showed that the different Alli- ances were in arrears to the Grand State Alliance to the amount of $2^.6<^. The whole amount received at that meeting was $6\.6o. From these figures it will be seen that economy was one of the virtues practised by the Grand State Alliance. The next meeting was held at Weatherford, Parker County, February 7, 1882. All the grand officers present, except Vice- President W. L. Garvin. The membership had increased satis- factorily, and the work of organizing was being conducted quite successfully. A large increase in the attendance over previous meetings cheered the hearts of those who had stood " the heat and burden of the day." The following important resolution was adopted : — " That the Committee on Secret Work condense the three obligations into one, and report the same to the president of the Grand State Alliance, in time for printing with the amended constitution." This action greatly simplified the work and eliminated much useless ceremony. A resolution was also adopted, giving I THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS, 35 " contributing members of any Alliance the right to vote in electing members in any Alliance, but no other vote as visiting members." This proved a wise measure. Brother A. B. Woodward was appointed general lecturer at large for Northern Texas, for the purpose of extending the work in that direction. One of the early members, writing of this meeting, says : — *' From its inception, women were admitted as members of the Alliance. As it grew in numbers, the social feature became a strong bond of union. In order to preserve this, without even a pretext of disapproval, the Alliance at this meeting inserted an amendment in its constitution, restricting its mem- bership to white persons only. The wisdom of this measure is now admitted by all, both white and colored." Heretofore the secret work of the Alliance had consisted of three degrees and three obligations. It was deemed by this body impracticable with a farmers' organization to make any distinction between members ; that the work should be so sim- plified that the humblest members of any and all Sub-Alliances could enter the meetings of any County or State Alliance, and participate in the enjoyments and benefits to be derived from these meetings ; therefore a committee was appointed to com- bine the three degrees and three obligations into 07ie, placing all members upon an equal basis ; which was reported and adopted by this meeting, and the work thus simplified remains to this day, admitting any member to the meetings of the State or National Alliances. Thus the Farmers' Alliance became the first secret order having no privileged classes, controlled by different degrees of advancement ; but any of its members can enter even its national meetings, and have a voice in their deliberations. The Rural Citizen of Jacksboro was adopted as the official organ. That was probably the first official organ of the order. Also, on motion, Brothers Dunlap and Wilcox were appointed a committee to confer with the State Grange in regard to the sale of cotton. Here was doubtless the germ of the system of the State business agents, so prevalent at the present time. By resolution, the presiding officer of each Alliance was to be addressed as "President," and the word ''Alliance" substituted for "Lodge." Arrangements were made for a more perfect 36 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. understanding regarding the brands to be used on cattle, and the manner of treating estrays. The 25-cent dues were ordered to be distributed as follows : 10 cents to Sub- Alliance ; 5 cents to County Alliance; and 10 cents to State Alliance. The meet- ing was a grand success, and the order generally was greatly encouraged and benefited. The next meeting was held at Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto County, August 8, 1882, President Dunlap presiding. In his report, the secretary gave the number of Alliances in each county as follows: Parker, 34; Wise, 27; Hood, 21; Jack, 14; Somervell, 7; Palo Pinto, 7; Tarrant, 3; Bosque, i; Denton, i; Houston, i; Cook, i; Red River, 3 ; total, 120. Persons rejected, 37 ; persons expelled, 7. The following officers were chosen for the ensuing year: Andy Dunlap, President ; A. M. Chandler, Vice-President ; C. M. Wilcox, Secretary ; B. G. Gilliland, Treasurer ; S. O. Daws, Lecturer ; Hodges, Assistant Lecturer ; T. B. Smith, Chaplain; C. S. Maddox, Doorkeeper; H. F. Austin, Assistant Doorkeeper. The following important resolution was adopted : — **That it is contrary to the spirit of the constitution and by-laws of our order to take part in politics ; and further, that we will not nominate or sup- port any man or set of men for office as a distinct political party." This measure had a good effect, as it was the year for State elections. The topic of discussion was, the attitude of the Alliance to politics. A reward was offered for horse and cattle thieves. The salary of the secretary was fixed at ^100 per year. President Dunlap was allowed ;^2.5o for postage and stationery during the past year. A new form of regalia was adopted. Adjourned, to meet at Granbury, Hood County, in February, 1883. The proposed semi-annual meeting at Gran- bury was a failure, on account of a violent storm and intensely cold weather. The next meeting was held at Weatherford, Parker County, August 7, 1883. Brother Daws writes of this meeting as follows : — " But before taking up the proceedings of that meeting we will notice briefly the growth of the order up to this time. At the meeting at Mineral Wells the report of the secretary showed that there were one hundred and twenty i THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 37 Alliances. True, they were not all represented, and some were not taking the interest they should, yet it showed how rapidly the Alliance was coming into favor with the laboring class of people. Already it has spread over the coun- ties of Parker, Wise, Jack, Palo Pinto, and Hood, and it was not altogether unknown in the counties* of Somervell, Tarrant, Bosque, and Denton. It had spread south as far as Houston County, and east into Cooke, and even farther, into Red River County. There were fifty-six delegates in attendance, exclu- sive of the officers, that composed the Grand State Alliance, which shows very conclusively that the interest was rapidly increasing. There had been thirty-seven persons rejected as unfit for membership, which proves that the Alliance was not seeking to swell its ranks with any and every kind of men, but wanted good, moral men to enlist in her cause. "At this Weatherford meeting of the State Alliance, all the State officers were absent, except S. O. Daws, Lecturer, and C. M. Wilcox, Secretary. Only thirty Sub-Alliances were represented. This was the least number of delegates in attendance upon any of the State meetings since 1880, Many were the causes of the decline of the order in the last year. The want of Alliance literature, the means to employ active lecturers to visit, instruct, and encourage the Sub-Alliances and institute new ones. In their efforts to co-operate in buying and selling, in the past, they had almost been treated with contempt by tradesmen and others, and so far had failed to achieve practical benefits from their effiDrts. Again, it had been a very sickly year throughout the counties where Alliances had been formed, and the year previ- ous being a political year, a great many persons rushed into the order for the sole purpose of their own personal, political aggrandizement ; therefore, after the passage of the non-political resolution at Mineral Wells, they and their personal friends lost their primary interest in the Alliance, which caused the disorganization of several Sub-Alliances during that year. While this tempo- rarily checked the growth of the order, it fixed for all time to come the true status of the Farmers' Alliance on party questions." A resolution favoring the establishment of Alliance libraries was passed. The officers elected for the ensuing year were : W. L. Garvin, President ; J. A. Culwell, Vice-President ; C. M. Wilcox, Sec- retary; P. M. Hodges, Treasurer; W. C. West, Chaplain; Dr. Riley, Lecturer ; Creekmore, Assistant Lecturer. Secre- tary C. M. Wilcox was allowed 1^24.75 for postage, stationery, and express during the past year. This was rather small com- pared with the present secretary's expenses. Assistant lectur- ers were allowed $5.25 for organizing Sub-Alliances. Motion adopted : — " That when any stolen, lost, or strayed stock is reported to the secretary of the State Alliance, it shall be his duty to report the same to the secretary 38 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. of each County Alliance, and he shall report the same to the secretary of each Sub-Alliance in his county." Bonds of treasurer fixed at $500. Rules were adopted to ascertain the efficiency of each lecturer, and regulating their commissions. This meeting, though small, did some good work, and made arrangements to recover lost ground. The next meeting was held at Chico, Wise County, February 5, 1884, President W. L. Garvin presiding. Previous to this meeting the condition of the Alliance became alarming to the friends of the order, and vigorous means were used to bring about a reaction. Brother S. O. Daws was sent into the field as a traveUing lecturer. His work proved a success, so that delegates from more than fifty Sub-Alliances took part in the meeting. As the " Trade Store " system was proving a failure, and for the purpose of encouraging co-operation in trade, the following resolution was passed : — ** That we encourage the formation of joint stock companies in Sub and County Alliances for the purpose of trade and for the personal benefit of jnem- bers financially." The president and secretary were allowed $10.50 for postage, etc. Brother Daws was continued as travelling lecturer, at $50 per month. The secretary was required to give a bond for $200. Meeting adjourned to meet at Weatherford, August 5, 1884. This meeting was rather a disappointment to the brethren, and a strong desire was manifested to push the work more thoroughly, which was done. The next meeting of the Grand State Alliance was held at Weatherford, Parker County, August 5, 1884, President W. L. Garvin presiding. The good work of the previous six months was plainly seen, and the brethren were much encouraged. Over one hundred and eighty delegates were present, and the best of feeling prevailed. It was evident to all present that the Alli- ance was once more on the up grade. It looked as though the farmers of Texas had at last decided to give the Alliance a trial. Many new faces were seen at the meeting, and more than ordi- nary interest was manifested. Several amendments to the con- stitution were made, and the secret work was amended in a few minor particulars. The system of Alliance trade stores, or agen- THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS, 39 cies, was discussed at length, and its benefits and weak points exposed. A consensus of opinion prevailed that nothing could be done, except through vigorous efforts. In their efforts to per- fect a trade system for their mutual good, through correspond- ence with manufacturers, they were always referred by them to their agents. In their communications to wholesale men, for trade, they were continually referred by them to the retail mer- chant. In the disposition of their cotton, in trying to reach the manufacturer, they were met by the "bulls" and "bears" in the cotton market. Hence the Alliaince at this meeting, recom- mended to the County and Sub-Alliances the importance of establishing cotton yards of their own, for the purpose of bulk- ing their cotton and selling, if possible, directly to the factories. This was done to some extent, but was violently opposed by the cotton buyers and speculators. In some towns, it is said that farmers could not purchase land to be used for such purposes, so strong was the prejudice of the merchants against the Alliance. The officers elected at this meeting were as follows : J. A. Culwell, President ; J. C. McConnel, Vice-President ; Andy Dunlap, Secretary ; Jacob Brown, Treasurer ; W. R. Lamb, Lecturer ; Reeves, Assistant Lecturer ; J. R. Masters, Chaplain ; S. O. Daws, Lecturer-at-Large. The next meeting was held at Decatur, Wise County, August 4, 1885, President J. A. Culwell presiding. Brother Daws writes : — " This meeting was a great surprise, even to the members of the order who had been keeping up with its progress. More than six hundred delegates were in attendance, which was the greatest body of true agriculturists that had, up to that time, ever assembled in the State. The same discussions, as in the previous meetings, relative to the cotton market and mercantile trade, were continued, as shown by the following recommendations and resolutions : — ''Resolved, That the Grand State Alliance recommend to the County Alliances that the members of all Sub-Alliances act as a unit in the sale of their produce, and to this end the County Alliance set apart a day or days in which to put their produce on the market for sale. We further recommend that a committee of correspondence be appointed by the County Alliance, who shall, if possible, make arrangements for the combined sale of the produce of members of the Alliance. We further recommend that hone but members of the Alliance be allowed in this combination. The secretary of the Grand State Alliance to notify each County Alliance. "Adopted. 40 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, ** Reselved, That County Alliances appoint a committee of three discreet members from each County Alliance, whose duty it shall be to examine cost bills of freight bills of merchants with whom the Alliance has made contracts for sale of goods at specified rates per cent. A refusal to show such bills by said merchants shall terminate and make null and void such contracts with said merchants. " Believing that the business of the Alliance could be better transacted by a less number of delegates, and to provide against a much larger delegation next year, the number of delegates was limited to three to each county." The effect of this meeting was to place the Alliance in a good position before the public, and to attract to its aims and pur- poses some of the best men in the State. Many of the old hangers-on were relegated to the rear, and fresh blood was infused into the organization. Long will the brethren of Texas, especially the older ones, look back with feelings of pride and fondness to the " Decatur Meeting." A large amount of detail work was accomplished, some few changes were made in the organic laws, and a sort of general clearing up was indulged in. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : A. Dunlap, President ; J. S. Morris, Vice-President ; C. M. Wilcox, Secretary ; J. A. Landers, Treasurer ; J. H. Jackson, Chaplain ; G. W. Belcher, Lecturer ; Z. S. Lee, Assistant Lecturer. The next annual meeting was held at Cleburne, August 3, 1886, and marked an era in the history of the Alliance. It was by far the largest gathering ever held by the order, and great interest was manifested in the result. Extensive preparations had been made for the meeting, and a general rally of the brethren was anticipated. Eighty-four counties were repre- sented at the meeting, by delegates, many being present for the first time. The Alliance had assumed such large proportions, and was enjoying such a rapid growth, that the politicians of the State began to look upon it with some little anxiety. Their fear was then the same as now, that it might "go into politics," and that, if it did, some one might get injured. The pcess of the State began to warn the brethren against any such action, and at the same time predicted that it certainly would be done. This put many of the brethren, especially those who were polit- ically inclined, in an attitude of suspicion, which became inten- sified as the business of the meeting progressed. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 4 1 The meeting was called to order by President Dunlap, and, after an address of welcome by Mr. Grain of Cleburne, and a response by President Dunlap and Brother McWhorter, the usual routine of business was taken up. The meeting took hold of the business before it in earnest. Among the many resolutions was the following : — •* It is the sense of this body that we put forth our best efforts as individ- uals, and also as an organization, to have the Commissioner of Agriculture elevated to the position of a cabinet officer in the government, and that we ask our representatives in Congress to urge the same." Unanimously adopted. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : A. Dunlap, President ; D. J. Eddlcman, Vice-President ; H. G. Moore, Secretary ; J. A. Landers, Treasurer ; J. M. Brooks, Ghaplain ; G. W. Belcher, Lecturer. The following resolutions were adopted, to be added to the Declaration of Purposes : — " i! That as an organization we do not antagonize other organizations, which have for their object the amelioration of the condition of any class of our citizens. But we will not form a coalition with any other organization. " 2. That as citizens we have a right to belong to any organization, politi- cal party, or church, we may see proper, but as a Farmers' Alliance we will not consider such subjects within our body." [The constitution was subsequendy adopted without these resolutions, thereby making them statutory law. — Coinmittee of Revision. '\ The Committee on Good of the Order and Demands made the following report : — "We, the delegates to the Grand State Farmers' Alliance of Texas, in convention assembled at Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas, a.d. 1886, do hereby recommend and demand of our State and national governments, according as the same shall come under the jurisdiction of the one or the other, such legislation as shall secure to our people freedom from the onerous and shameful abuses that the industrial classes are now suffering at the hands of arrogant capitalists and powerful corporations. "We demand, "I. The recognition by incorporation of trade-unions, co-operative stores, and such other associations as may be organized by the industrial classes to improve their financial condidon, or to promote their general welfare. 42 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, '* 2. We demand that all public school land be held in small bodies, not exceeding 320 acres to each purchaser, for actual settlement, on easy terms of payment. "3. That large bodies of land held by private individuals or corporations, for speculative purposes, shall be rendered for taxation at such rates as they are offered to purchasers on credit of one, two, or three years, in bodies of 160 acres or less. " 4. That measures be taken to prevent aliens from acquiring title to land in the United States of America, and to force titles already acquired by aliens, to be relinquished by sale to actual settlers and citizens of the United States. *' 5. That the law-making powers take early action upon such measures as shall effectually prevent the dealing in futures of all agricultural products, prescribing such procedure in trial as shall secure prompt conviction, and imposing such penalties as shall secure the most perfect compliance with the law. ** 6. That all lands forfeited by railroads or other corporations, immedi- ately revert to the government and be declared open for purchase by actual settlers, on the same terms as other public or school lands. '♦7. We demand that fences be removed, by force if necessary, from public or school lands unlawfully fenced by cattle companies, syndicates, or any other form or name of corporation. "8. We demand that the statutes of the State of Texas be rigidly enforced by the Attorney-General, to compel corporations to pay the taxes due the State and counties. "9. That railroad property shall be assessed at the full nominal value of the stock on which the railroad seeks to declare a dividend. "10. We demand the rapid extinguishment of the public debt of the United States, by operating the mints to their fullest capacity in coining silver and gold, and the tendering of the same without discrimination to the public cred- itors of the nation, according to contract. **n. We demand the substitution of legal tender treasury notes for the issue of the national banks ; that the Congress of the United States regulate the amount of such issue, by giving to the country a per capita circulation that shall increase as the population and business interests of the country expand. "12. We demand the establishment of a national bureau of labor statis- tics,*that we may arrive at a correct knowledge of the educational, moral, and financial condition of the laboring masses of our citizens. And further, that the commissioner of the bureau be a cabinet officer of the United States. "13. We demand the enactment of laws to compel corporations to pay their employees according to contract, in lawful money, for their services, and the giving to mechanics and laborers a first lien upon the product of their labor to the full extent of their wages. " 14. We demand the passage of an interstate commerce law, that shall secure the same rates of freight to all persons for the same kind of commodi- ties, according to distance of haul, without regard to amount of shipment. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 43 To prevent the granting of rebates ; to prevent pooling freights to shut off competition ; and to secure to the people the benefit of railroad transportation at reasonable cost. "15. We demand that all convicts shall be confined within the prison walls, and the contract system be abolished. ** 16. We recommend a call for a national labor conference, to which all labor organizations shall be invited to send representative men, to discuss such measures as may be of interest to the laboring classes. ♦' 17. . That the president of the State Alliance be, and he is hereby, directed to appoint a committee of three to press these demands upon the attention of the legislators of the State and nation, and report progress at the next meet- ing of the State Alliance. And further, that newspapers be furnished copies of these demands for publication ; and be it further '* Resolved, That the president of the State Alliance have fifty thousand copies of these resolutions and demands printed and distributed to the Sub- Alliances, through the respective county secretaries. ''Resolved, That each delegate to the State Alliance present a copy of these resolutions to each candidate for a legislative office, State or national, and endeavor to secure his indorsement and assistance in carrying them to a successful issue. (Signed) "W. M. Mathes, E. B. Warren, ♦♦H. T. Clark, J. H. Morrow, **J. M. Perdue, Geo. H. Stovall." **B. F. Rogers, The Committee on Sale and Shipment of Cotton reported as follows : — "I. Recognizing that cotton is the most important crop — financially con- sidered — that concerns the farmers of this greiit State ; that its value for last year having been $80,000,000, as paid by the spinners, and $64,000,000 paid to the producers, leaving a margin of $16,000,000, over half of which immense sum was marginal profits ; that this year the crop will not vary much from that of last year ; hence, if concerted action is not taken by the producers of Texas, eight or nine million dollars will again be swallowed up as marginal profits, over and above all fair charges, to liquidate expenses of transportation, sampling, weighing, inspecting, classifying, handling, etc. Eight or nine millions of dollars are lost each year to the producers of Texas, principally through false weights, defective sampling, cliques and corners, and enormous charges for transportation. Therefore your committee recommends, after careful consideration, that the cotton yard system be adopted by the County Alliances, as the surest and most immediate relief to the producers of the State. "2. It is recommended by your committee that the County Alliances (either singly or where a number of counties lie contiguous to an oil mill) make the best terms possible for the sale of cotton seed, and that each County Alliance 44 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. making such arrangement shall report terms of such to the secretary of the State Alliance for transmission to all the County Alliances of the State, if that officer deem said report of sufficient importance. •' 3. Your committee recommend that each County Alliance in the cotton district hold a called meeting for discussion and action on the cotton problem, as soon after receiving notice of this recommendation as possible. "4. Your committee suggests that the State secretary, or corresponding State secretary, if such an officer should be elected, shall write to the general agent of the pooled railroad lines in Texas as to the best rates that said pooled lines will give on cotton shipments, and report such answer to each county secretary. Also, to get statements concerning best rates on cotton from railroad lines not in the pool, for transmission to the County Alliances. ♦'E. D. M ACRE AD Y, "B. F. Ellis, " R. M. Champion." Adopted. The following resolutions were read and adopted : — ^'Resolved, i. That E. D. Macready is hereby appointed corresponding secretary of the Farmers' Alliance. "2. That said E. D. Macready be allowed thirty dollars per month for the period of six months. "3. That the salary of the Secretary of the State Alliance shall be one hundred dollars per month." Committee on Constitution and By-Laws reported, offering a substitute for the present constitution, and recommending the creation of the office of corresponding secretary for the pur- pose — in addition to the cotton correspondence — of keeping the order posted as to the best markets for the sale of all kinds of produce and the purchase of all kinds of commodities ; and that suitable steps be taken by this body for the extension of the work into other States, with the view of organizing a Na- tional Alliance ; and that suitable steps be taken to procure an amended charter, as the present one seems to be inadequate. On motion, the report of the cornmittee was received. The constitution was then unanimously adopted. The following resolutions were then adopted : — ** Resolved, That no person who is an officer or owns stock in any banking corporation is eligible to membership in the Farmers' Alliance, and any such persons who belong to the organization are hereby requested to withdraw ; otherwise such persons shall be dropped from the roll. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS, 45 «* Resolved, That we recognize the right of the laboring classes to organize, and condemn any effort on the part of any man, or set of men, who seek to proscribe the right of any man exercising his freedom by joining any labor organization having for its object the bettering of the laboring man's condi- tion. ''Resolved, That we establish an Alliance brand; that we first establish the statutory county brand as our county brand, and in addition we establish an Alliance brand to be placed on the jaw of animals. ''Resolved, That we now proceed to the election of the executive com- mittee provided for in the constitution just adopted." Brothers C. W. Macune of Milam County, Evan Jones of Erath County, John H. Harrison of Falls County, were duly elected. Brothers J. R. Johnson of Dallas County, E. D. Macready of Grayson County, and C. W. Macune of Milam County, were appointed by the president as the committee to revise, correct, and have printed the constitution and by-laws. The Alliance adjourned at 5 p.m., August 8, 1886, to meet in Waco, August I, 1887. A. DUNLAP, President State Fanners'' Alliance. H. G. Moore, Secretary State Farmers'' Alliafice. During the entire meeting there was a kind of restlessness and suspicion that could not be kept down. When the Com- mittee on Demands reported, the storm broke, and a general heated discussion was the result. After the demands had been adopted, some were led to believes that the Alliance was about to launch into politics. Acting upon this, a secret meeting was held, and another set of State officers was elected, consisting of John H. Harrison, President ; D. J. Eddleman, Vice-President ; C. C. Camp, Secretary ; and J. A. Landers, Treasurer. This action was kept so quiet that but few knew of it until an appli- cation was made for a charter by this new organization. They had chosen the same name as the regular Alliance, and had chosen the same vice-president and treasurer. Taken as a whole, it looked very much like a bad piece of business. Presi- dent Dunlap at once called a meeting of the executive com- mittee, and the matter was fully discussed. It was evident that only thorough work and good judgment could save the Alliance 46 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. from a long, bitter feud, and perhaps total destruction. President Dunlap, either from a want of nerve, or distrust of his ability to deal with the difficulty, resigned as president of the Alliance, which was quickly followed by the resignation of D. J. Eddie- man, vice-president. This placed the entire responsibility upon the chairman of the executive committee, Dr. C. W. Macune. It was in this manner and under these conditions that Brother Macune began his career of service to the Alliance. A man with less courage would have given it up as a hopeless task. Not so with Brother Macune. Believing in the ultimate tri- umph of truth, relying on the just principles of the Alliance, and strengthened by that faith which comes through an honest purpose, he began at once to act vigorously in his attempt to save the Alliance. He held a conference with the dissenting brethren, and succeeded in persuading them to hold in abeyance the organization they had begun, until after a State meeting, which should be called in the near future. This was accom- plished after much persuasion, and a candid discussion of the whole situation. After further consultation, it was agreed to call a meeting of the State Alliance on January i8, 1887, at Waco. In accord- ance with this agreement, Acting President Macune issued his proclamation for the called session. In the meantime the poli- ticians had not been idle. They had sown the seed of discord and distrust wherever possible, and the whole order was in a state of ferment. As the time for the called session drew near, the feeling became more intense, and the danger of serious divisions seemed imminent. In the midst of all this difficulty, K Brother Macune was doing a noble work in allaying the fears of I some, strengthening the faith of others, and trying by every ' means in his power to bring the brotherhood to a proper sense of the duties and responsibilities which devolved upon them as members of the Alliance. He succeeded in this effort so far that, to a considerable extent, the best men in the Alliance rallied to his support, and gave him their aid and advice. Nor did his labors stop with Texac. Hearing of the Farmers' Union in Louisiana, he wrote letters to find out exactly what it was, and sent Brother Evan Jones to that State with a prop- osition of consolidation, which in the end proved successful. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 47 Plans were also formulated to perfect a national organization and carry the order into other States. It was under these con- ditions, and for the purpose of arranging the difficulties growing out of the split in the organization, that the called session at Waco was convened. It was a remarkable meeting. A promi- nent member of that session says : — "The meeting began with nearly every one ready, and expecting serious difficulty. It continued for nearly two days in a turmoil of excitement and bad feeling, and finished its labors on the fourth day amidst a regular love- feast, and with the brightest prospects." The declaration of purposes, up to the Cleburne meeting, in 1886, consisted of six divisions. At this meeting, division num- ber one was changed and number seven added. As will be seen in the old constitution, division one read as follows : — '• To labor for the Alliance and its purposes, assured that a faithful observ- ance of the following principles will insure our mental, moral, and financial improvement." The one great danger which threatened the Alliance was the introduction of partisan politics. Brother Macune, realizing the true condition, and believing that future success demanded a proper beginning, introduced the following as a substitute for this section : — "To labor for the education of the agricultural classes in the science of economical government, in a strictly non-partisan spirit." This gave rise to a lengthy debate, but was finally adopted, and has proved what Brother Macune declared it would, the founda- tion rock on which the superstructure of the Alliance has been built. The wisdom of this declaration is being demonstrated daily, and its necessity is recognized by all. Section number seven was added without much debate, and was considered at the time of no great importance. It was written and presented to the committee for consideration, by Brother W. H. H. Shook, a school teacher from Grayson County, Texas. It has grown in favor with the Alliance, until now no member can read it, or hear it read during service, without a feeling of honest pride in being able to belong to an order that promulgates such noble sentiments. In accepting this section. 48 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. the Alliance did as in many other matters, — it built for the future. As the proceedings of the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas, held at Waco, in January, 1887, must be of interest to every member of the order, we feel justified in giving them in detail. "Pursuant to call issued by C. W. Macune, chairman of Executive Com- mittee and acting president, the Farmers' State Alliance met in the Court- House, Waco, Texas, ten o'clock a.m., Tuesday, January 18, 1887. *' Brother Macune occupied the chair, and opened the Alliance in due form. '• Brother B. J. Kendrick, of McLennan County, was appointed vice-presi- dent pro tempore. "The acting president stated that he would order the call of the roll, and that if he found a quorum present, he would explain the object of the meeting. He then explained his decisions and rulings in regard to apparently conflict- ing meanings of certain clauses in the constitution, in reference to the manner in which the Farmers' State Alliance may be reconvened. ♦' The roll was then called by the secretary, and it was found that seventy- one counties were represented. "The chair ruled that all officers and members of standing and special committees are entitled to seats during the session. " Brother O'Byrne of Gregg raised the question whether those officers who resigned their positions in the Farmers' State Alliance are still members of this body. The chair decided in the affirmative. An appeal from this decision was taken by Brother O'Byrne, which, after some discussion, was withdrawn. " The acting president then explained the embarrassment of his situation, and asked that the Alliance relieve him by electing a temporary chairman or president, to preside until President Dunlap's successor shall be elected. But it being clearly the wish of the Alliance that Brother Macune should occupy the chair for the period mentioned, no action was taken in the premises. " On motion, the chair was authorized to appoint a committee of twelve on Credentials. The following were appointed : — "W. M. Reed, chairman, McLennan County; J. M. Smith, Bell; Nat Draughan, Red River; J. B. Larry, Bosque; S. W. Hilliard, Burleson; A. S. Simmes, Leon; J. A. Ramsdale, Burnet; C. H. Alden, Travis; A. P. Cagle, Montague; J. A. Buford, Coleman; John O'Byrne, Gregg; T. M. Collie, Stevens. " On motion, a committee consisting of Brothers Jones of Erath, and Pickett and Dunkp of Wise, was appointed to receive and introduce the visiting brothers from the Louisiana Farmers' Union. "At 12.22 o'clock, the Alliance adjourned until half-past one. " The Alliance met at 1.45 o'clock. " A communication from Rev B. H. Carroll, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Waco, inviting the members of the Farmers' State Alliance to hear THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 49 his lecture on ' Personal Liberty,' to be given at the church at 7.30 p.m., was read, and on motion the invitation was accepted. *' Brother Jones of Erath County was called upon to tell something about the Louisiana Farmers' Union. He stated that he visited the Union in session at Ruston, Louisiana, in pursuance of an order from the acting president of the Farmers' State Alliance, where he received a most cordial reception, and found that the aims and purposes of the Union were similar to those of the Alliance. *' Some interesting communications from the president, vice-president, and lecturer of the ' National Alliance,' which recently met in Chicago, were read by the chair. On motion, a vote of thanks was tendered Brother Macune, for the interest he manifested in obtaining the information above referred to. '* A communication from Mr. J. A. Tetts, the corresponding secretary of the Louisiana Farmers' Union, was read ; also a communication from the Union, which had been sent by the hand of Brother Evan Jones. " After spending the remainder of the day and much of the following fore- noon in useless discussion, considerable ill-feeling was shown, and a desire to obstruct proceedings was manifested to an extent not to be mistaken. Finally, the acting president declared that he would entertain no further business until he had stated the object of the meeting, and called upon the body to elect a temporary president. He then read a message, stating the object of the meeting, and making some recommendations. *♦ Message of the Acting President. '• All the different classes and occupations of society are engaging in organi- zation for mutual advancement and protection to a greater extent than ever before in the history of the world. In fact, we may say that every calling is organized. This thorough organization has created a new order of things. Problems in regard to a calling or an occupation are constantly being pre- sented, as that occupation becomes more thoroughly organized, and others are being presented as other occupations with which they have dealings become organized. The peculiar relations of large organizations to their own members, to the government, and to other organizations, is a subject worthy of the most profound study by all who exercise the right of citizenship. " However, the general relations and objects of organization we all under- stand, and are pledged to support. Whatever other objects an organization may have, especially an organization like our own, the grand central object, around which all others revolve, and from which they draw life, is co-opera- tion for mutual effort and advancement. I hold that co-operation, properly understood and properly applied, will place a limit to the encroachments of organized monopoly, and will be the means by which the mortgage-burdened farmers can assert their freedom from the tyranny of organized capital, and obtain the reward for honesty, industry, and frugality, which they so richly deserve, and which they are now so unjustly denied. " Take for example a freight question as illustrated in this way: A car-load of lumber from Galveston to Waco will probably cost you about forty dollars 50 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, freight ; but if you load that very same fiat car with cotton and ship to Galves- ton, the freight will cost about one hundred and fifty dollars. Here is a tribute that the cotton fields pay the corporate monopolies for nothing ; but I hold that we have an adequate and complete remedy in co-operation. Nothing would whip them quicker or more completely than for the farmers of Texas to build cotton mills enough to manufacture what cotton goods they want to use ; then plant only as much cotton as they want to manufacture, and spend their spare time in raising a diversity of products for the supply of home consumption, thus rendering themselves independent. But the possibilities of this organi- zation exceed those of any or all other organizations combined, when we take into consideration the fact that in no part of the globe does cotton grow to that degree of perfection that it does in the cotton belt of the United States ; that the necessities of the world absolutely demand the exportation of a large per cent of the crop raised in this favored section every year; and if the farmers of the cotton belt were all to unite into an organization, they could force the world to pay a just and fair price for the labor expended in raising this staple. There is no necessity for the condition that now exists ; no reason why the price of your next year's crop is now set in London, by the knowledge whether the Jews — who control the money market of the world — go on the market or not. The possibilities for good by enhghtened co-opera- tion are without limit. •' For some two and a half months I have been acting as your president, in order to discharge duties of that office which would otherwise have been made vacant by the resignation of President Dunlap and Vice-President Eddleman. I issued the call for this meeting. Whether I had the authority to call the meeting or not, you have responded by your presence, and I now wish as my last act in this capacity to explain the object of this meeting, and then call upon you to elect a chairman for your temporary organization. The objects of the meeting as expressed in the call are : — ♦* I, C. W. Macune, chairman of the Executive Committee, and ex officio president of the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas, do hereby issue this, my official call, for an extra session of the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas, to convene in the city of Waco, Texas, at ten o'clock a.m., on the third Tuesday, it being the eighteenth day of January, 1887, for the following purposes, to wit : — " First. The election of officers to fill vacancies. ''Second. To consider the report of the 'Conference Committee' that convened in Waco, November 10, 1886, at the request of said Executive Committee, which report is to be published in the Dallas Mercury, and to be sent to the secretaries of the various Alliances throughout the State, to which attention is hereby directed. " Third. To devise a method of sending representatives into other States of the Union, for the purpose of organizing and co-operating with other agri- cultural societies. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 5 1 '■'■Fourth. To consider and determine upon the propriety of adopting a second or co-operative degree, which has been considerably promulgated among the Alliances. "-Fifth. And for such other purposes as the absolute necessities of the order may imperatively demand. "All duly accredited delegates to the regular meeting of the said State Alliance held in August, 1886, at Cleburne, Texas, are hereby notified to attend this above-called session of said State Alliance, and will be recognized as the members composing said called session, as provided in Art. 11, Sec. 6, of the constitution of said Farmers' State Alliance of Texas. ♦♦ C. W. Macune, " Chairman of the Executive Co7nmittee and ex officio President of the Fartners' State Alliance of Texas. *• Thus you see this is a business meeting, and I will not consume your time by speaking. These objects need no explanation, unless it be the last. I would like to say a few words upon that. *' While filling my position as chairman of the Executive Committee, and acting as president of this association, I have been the recipient of a great number of letters from the different parts of the State, asking information or instruction in Alliance work, or offering suggestions, etc. The result has been that the imperfections and necessities of the order have been made visible, and it is to the result of information and experience gained in this way that I now wish to call your attention. *• Under the head of: * Such other purposes as the absolute necessities of the order imperatively demand ; ' the following suggestions are made : — " There should be a code of laws enacted by this body, which would consti- tute the statutory law of the order. The constitution, as the organic law, can only express principles, and should be supplemented by a statutory law that will explain and provide for a uniform and certain method of carrying out the principles enunciated in the constitution. Resolutions, such as it has been the custom of this body to pass, do not seem to meet the demand, and it is suggested that resolutions be passed when it is desired to express a senti- ment, or as advisory measures, but that all commands of this body, prescrib- ing anything or prohibiting anything, be enacted as laws, and have a uniform style of caption ; e.g. ' Be it enacted by the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas, in regular (or called) session assembled.' " The statutory law should embrace clear and distinct provisions defining the duties, powers, and responsibilities of the president of the State Alliance, and of every other officer, or chairman, or member of the standing committee of the State Alliance. It should prescribe a method of trial, by which the State Alliance may try a County Alliance, and one by which a County Alliance may try a Sub-Alliance. There should be a legal form for the commissions of all officers and committee-men. The present method of appointing and com- missioning organizing officers has resulted in some sections having too many, and some sections are yet unorganized, and does not seem to meet the 52 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, demands of the order. It is suggested that the number in each congressional district be Umited to one, and that he receive his commission upon passing a satisfactory examination before an examining board, composed of the pres- ident, secretary, and Executive Committee of the State Alliance, and that his commission be good for a specified and limited time, and that he have power and authority to appoint as many as one deputy in each county, vi^ho shall be deputies under him, and all of whose acts shall be done on his responsibilities. That the law defining the duties, powers, and responsibilities of organizing officers and their deputies, be made complete and explicit, and so changed that they may be more interested in getting good material than large numbers in the organizations, and that they be not allowed to take fifteen men as charter members without a ballot. Also the organizing officers be made members of the State Alliance. '•The order has grown in the last year and a half from 700 Alliances to about 3500, now organized; and perhaps the most potent argument that organizing officers have used in securing this rapid accession to our ranks has been the individual benefits that would accrue from concentration of trade in purchasing supplies, and the bulking of products when offered for sale. Letters of inquiry are being constantly received, asking information as to trade con- tracts and trade arrangements. Brethren who have joined with sanguine hope of the benefits that would come from co-operation within the order, should not be disappointed ; if they are, they will leave our ranks in disgust, and our numbers will decrease as rapidly as they have increased. This body should, therefore, enact laws defining and establishing a bureau, or making it the duty of the executive or some other committee, to collect and classify the wants and desires of the order and ascertain the very best means of supplying those wants; and they should at all times be ready to give the very best information attainable as to trade contracts, and they should also keep a record of the different trade contracts and arrangements ; they should also keep a record of the different contracts, and note on same the amount of success and satisfaction that attend it in its working, in order to classify same as statistical evidence as time progresses, to the end that we may determine, from the teaching of experience, which is attended with the very best results. " This body should take effective and adequate steps to support and assist, to direct and concentrate, the efforts being made by County Alliances to regulate and reform the system of purchasing supplies and sale of products. '• There should be a plain law as to the admission of infidels, and if they are excluded, which it is hoped they will be, that the question also be settled as to whether they should be allowed to remain after they have gained admis- sion to the order. ** Under the laws of Texas, the charter of an incorporated association rests in the Board of Trustees; and it is hereby requested that provision be made for the election of a Board of Trustees, to be composed of at least fifteen members, and that the Board of Trustees shall, when a vacancy occurs in the office of president and vice-president, fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term, unless they shall deem it expedient to hold a called THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS, 53 session of the State Alliance ; and they should as soon as possible be intrusted with the power of deciding when a called meeting of this body is necessary. •* There should be a law defining the manner of consolidating two or more Alliances, when they shall so desire. " Respectfully submitted, " C. W. Macune, " Chairman, Executive Cotfwiiitee.'''' The message had a quieting effect, and seemed to satisfy the brethren that the Alliance had been in safe hands, and that the best interests of the order had been conserved. The idea began to obtain that the difficulty which at 'one time threatened the perpetuity of the order had, under the guidance of honest and discreet officers, prompted by a sense of duty and responsibility, been made to serve the best interests of the order, and promised to be a blessing in disguise. Brother Macune was, on motion, made permanent chairman, until the successor of President Dunlap had been selected. One hundred and four counties were represented at this meeting, which showed a rapid growth during President Macune's administration. The following officers were elected to fill vacancies : Evan Jones, President ; R. F. Butler, Vice-President. W. M. Mathes and B. F. Rogers were elected members of the Executive Com- mittee, to fill vacancies. On motion of Brother Daniels it was " Resolved, That we extend to Brother C. W. Macune our grateful thanks for the able manner in which he has conducted the affairs of the order since the resignation of President Dunlap, and assure him that perfect satisfaction has been given." The following was adopted : — ** Whereas, The manner of selling our cotton, as adopted by the County Alliances, has proven unsatisfactory, and as some of the County Alliances hare requested that the State Alliances adopt some plan which will bring the pro- ducer and consumer nearer together, and dispense with so many middlemen ; therefore be it ''Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to report upon the expediency of securing an agency for the sale of the coming cotton crop in the manufacturing centres." Brothers R. J. Sledge, H. W. Wade,*and B. J. Kendrick were appointed said committee. 54 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. The committee appointed to consider the Conference Report now presented their report, which was a satisfactory solution of the differences heretofore existing in the State AlUance. The report was unanimously adopted by a rising vote, amid cheers and other manifestations of deep feeling. It was felt that har- mony had been fully restored, and the main object of this called session had been accomplished. "Report of Special Committee on Proceedings of Conference • Committee. "We, to whom were referred the proceedings of a number of Alliance brothers, calling themselves a Conference Committee, which met in Waco, November lo, 1886, beg leave to submit the following resolutions, which we earnestly recommend the Alliance to adopt, without debate, and in the spirit of brotherly love and kindness, as a settlement of the seeming dissatisfaction among our brothers : — ** Whereas^ There is no warrant in our constitution for any committee of conference ; therefore be it ''Resolved^ i. That the proceedings of said Conference Committee be not recognized by the Farmers' State Alliance. "2. That the official action of the Executive Committee in accepting the resignation of President Dunlap, Vice-President Eddleman, and Executive Committee-man Harrison, is hereby approved ; also all other acts in accord- ance with the constitution of the Farmers' State Alliance. "3. That we re-indorse and reaffirm the demands passed at the Cleburne session, with the construction that they are non-partisan in a political sense. "Jacob Brown, Chairman. J. W. Sumner, *♦ R. A. Burford, Jos. Smelser, ** D. D. Welch, John F. Emerson, '• W. F. Petty, Committee:' The committee on Acting President Macune's report said : — " We have examined carefully the report of Brother Macune, and find it full and explicit, and in keeping with law, justice, and economy, and we recommend its indorsement. We further recommend that he be sustained in his action in calling this session, as we conceive it has been the means of protecting and preserving our noble order." In this is found the complete vindication and approval of what had been considered by some an invasion of the rights of the order, and is a fixed example of the reward which usually follows patience and well-doing. THE ALLIANCE IN TEXAS. 55 "Report of Special Committee on State Agency for Sale of Cotton. '* We beg leave to make the following report : — "I. We respectfully recommend that each County Alliance establish at least one co-operative store, cotton yard, and lumber yard. •' 2. We recommend the selection by the Executive Committee of a person of ability and competency, in every sense of the word, who shall be the State Alliance business agent, whose duty it shall be to negotiate the sale of cotton and other products as may be placed under his charge by the Alliance, and to purchase from first hands as near as may be ;)ie supplies for the Alliance co-operative stores, recommended above ; who shall be an officer of the State Alliance, holding his office until his successor is elected and qualified ; sub- ject to suspension for cause by the Executive Committee, with right of appeal to the State Alliance ; entitled to the counsel and assistance of the Executive Committee, whenever necessary ; his books and papers always open to the inspection of the Executive Committee, whose duty it shall be to examine them at least every quarter ; under a good and sufficient bond made to the Executive Committee, for the faithful performance of the duties of his office ; with such salary as the Executive Committee may deem proper, and the reception of any emolument from any other source than the Farmers' State Alliance to be sufficient cause for dismissal from office and forfeiture of bond. "Respectfully submitted, "B. J. Kendrick, Chairman. After transacting a large amount of detail business, the meet- ing adjourned, to meet in Waco, in regular session, the first Tuesday in August, 1887. At this point we will take leave of the history of the State Alliance of Texas, and follow that of the National Alliance. The State Alliance of Texas is at this time standing in the front ranks, amid the thirty-three sister States and Territories, that she can now point to with pride and truth- fully say, "These are my children." It was the mother of the Farmers' Alliance, its protector while young, and its defender in more mature years. Every true Alliance member should think of the Lone Star State with gratitude, and always accord to her the meed of praise. God bless the State Alliance of Texas ! May it ever prosper; may its noble brotherhood continue in the faith, and at last reap the reward in reserve for those who endure to the end ; so say I, and so says the brotherhood every- where. CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. During the morning session of the third day of the called meeting of the Texas State Alliance, at Waco, on January 20, 1887, the following preamble and resolution were adopted : — *' Whereas, One of the objects of this called session is to devise some method of sending representatives into other States of the Union, for the purpose of organization and co-operation w^ith other agricultural societies; therefore, be it ^'Resolved, That this body elect two of its members from each congress- ional district in the State, as delegates from the order, to meet Brother J. A. Tetts, a delegate from the Louisiana Farmers' Union, and organize a National Farmers' Alliance, with instructions to procure a charter from the government of the United States, if practicable, for a National Farmers' Alliance, or some modification of that name, and to organize themselves by electing the neces- sary officers and adopting a constitution and by-laws, to be submitted to the order for ratification ; and, that they inaugurate an efficient system of extend- ing the order rapidly in other States." Prior to the passage of this resolution, considerable talk had been indulged in with reference to the formation of a national organization. Brother C. W. Macune, Acting President of the State Alliance, had corresponded with the officers of the Farm- ers' Union of Louisiana, and had ascertained that their objects, purposes, and membership were similar to those of the Alliance. Relying upon his own sense of the natural fitness of conditions, he had sent Brother Evan Jones to Louisiana, for the purpose of arranging a basis of consolidation. His mission was so suc- cessful that Brother J. A. Tetts was sent to the meeting at Waco, with full powers to act, as the following correspondence will show. "RusTON, La., January 12, 1887. " To the State Farmers* Alliance of the State of Texas ; Greeting : "Your distinguished representative, Brother Evan Jones, bearing creden- tials from Hon. C. W. Macune, ex officio president of your honorable body, honored our meeting with propositions that we send a delegate to meet your 56 C3 i THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 57 body at Waco, at a called meeting to be held on and after the i8th of January. " We, the State Union of Louisiana, appreciate the consideration shown us, and hope that the cordial relations between the two sister orders may con- tinue to a closer union of interest and a complete harmony of action, in the near future. Having such a hope, we have submitted an outHne of a union to your esteemed representative, and to further the movement have selected Brother J. A. Tetts, our corresponding secretary, to meet you at Waco, during the meeting to be held at that place. "Brother Evan Jones gave a very clear outline of the principles and objects of your order, which we cordially adopt in our order though (we regret to say it), not as fully comprehended as they seem to be in your older and much better posted organization. "As the objects and principles of the two orders are identical, we see no reason why they should not be united under the same national government, and work in harmony. " Hoping that all may work to our mutual satisfaction and benefit, we refer you for further details to Brother Evan Jones and our delegate elected to meet ^^^* Respectfully submitted, "J. C. Jones, "P. Moore, "J. E. ViRONY, " Committee. "John M. Stallings, ^^ President of the State Union of Louisiana. "L. E. RicnkKTiSy Secretary pro tem:^ '* RusTON, La., January 13, 1887. " To the Officers and Members of the State Farmers'' Alliance of the State of Texas ; Greeting : " This is to certify that Brother J. A. Tetts, a member in good standing of the Farmers' State Union of Louisiana, was duly elected at a called meeting of the State Farmers' Union, of Louisiana, to represent our Union at the meeting called at Waco, January i8th, of your honorable body. " This election was held in accordance with an invitation from the chair- man of your Executive Committee, extended through Brother Evan Jones, who honored us with a visit in behalf of your organization. " Brother J. A. Tetts is empowered by the State Farmers' Union, of Lou- isiana, to treat with your body in our behalf on the subject of a union of the two orders, either in the form of a union of work, or a connection through a national alliance of farmers' orders or organizations. " John M. Stallings, " President of the State Union of Louisiana. "A. J. TKYI.OR, Secretary pro tem.^'' 58 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. "Waco, January 12, 1887. " To the Farmers' State Union of Louisiana ; Greeting: ♦' Brothers and co-laborers with us in our common cause : ^ It is with pro- found pleasure that we acknowledge and receive your duly accredited delegate, Brother J. A. Tetts, from your grand body to this grand body, now in session in the city of Waco, Texas. We are profoundly impressed with his earnest- ness, zeal, and ability to represent both your grand body and the noble cause which he represents, and through him we desire to return fraternal greetings to your great body, and trust this friendship thus begun may ever continue. " Respectfully, *' D. J. Eddleman, G7;«w///^^." Brother Macune recognized, at this early date, the necessity of a unity of action among reform organizations. At the even- ing session of the same day, the matter of delegates to the National Farmers' Alliance was taken up. The different con- gressional districts reported their lists as follows : — I, J. J. Fairchild, W. K. Deason ; 2, W. B. Briggs, B. F. Rogers ; 3, J. M. Perdue, John O'Byrne ; 4, D. B. Hale, Nat Draughan ; 5, A. Dunlap, Geo. B. Pickett ; 6, J. B. Barry, R. F. Butler ; 7, Joseph Carter, A. C. Russell ; 8, Ben Terrell, E. B. Warren; 9, W. M. Reed, C. W. Macune; 10, J. W. Goodwin, W. D. Branum ; 11, S. P. Burns, D. M. Rumph. The delegates thus selected were confirmed, and these breth- ren, with Brother J. A. Tetts, constituted the members of the first meeting that formed the National Alliance. The first meeting of these delegates was held the succeeding day, January 21, 1887, and the following officers were elected: C. W. Macune, President ; J. A. Tetts, First Vice-President ; G. B. Pickett, Second Vice-President ; J. M. Perdue, Third Vice- President ; E. B. Warren, Secretary ; R. F. Butler, Treasurer. These were the first officers of the National Alliance. Work was at 'once begun on the formation of a National constitution. The declaration of purposes of the Texas State Alliance was selected, and the following constitution was pre- pared : — CONSTITUTION. Declaration of Purposes. Profoundly impressed that we, the farmers of America, who are united by the strong and faithful ties of financial and home interests, should, when THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 5$ organized into an association, set forth our declaration of intentions, we therefore resolve : 1. To labor for the education of the agricultural classes in the science of economic government, in a strictly non-partisan spirit, and to bring about a more perfect union of said classes. 2. That we demand equal rights to all and special favors to none. 3. That we return to the old principle of letting the office seek the man, instead of the man seeking the office. 4. To indorse the motto, "In things essential unity, and in all things charity." 5. To develop a better state mentally, raorally, socially, and financially. 6. To create a better understanding for sustaining our civil officers in maintaining law and order. 7. To constantly strive to secure entire harmony and good will to all mankind, and brotherly love among ourselves. 8. To suppress personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices, all unheal thful rivalry, and all selfish ambition. 9. The brightest jewels which it garners are the tears of widows and orphans, and its imperative commands are to visit the homes where lacerated hearts are bleeding ; to assuage the sufferings of a brother or sister ; bury the dead ; care for the widows and educate the orphans ; to exercise charity towards oifenders ; to construe words and deeds in their most favorable light, granting honesty of purpose and good intentions to others ; and to protect the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union until death. Its laws are reason and equity ; its cardinal doctrines inspire purity of thought and life ; its intention is, " Peace on earth and good will to man." Article I. Section i . This body shall be known as the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, with power to make its own constitution and by-laws. Sec. 2. The National body shall be composed of delegates from the vari- ous organizations holding charters from, accepting the secret work of, and confirming to the constitution and by-laws of this National organization. Sec. 3. Each State organization that complies with the above require- ments shall be entitled to one delegate for each four counties, or fraction of four counties, organized in that State. Sec. 4. No person shall be eligible to membership in the National body until he shall have attained the age of twenty-five years. Article II. Section i. The regular annual meeting of the National body shall be on the second Wednesday in October of each year, at ten o'clock a.m., and at such place as may from time to time be decided by the body, or such officer or committee as they may delegate that duty. Sec. 2. The officers of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative 6o AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. Union shall be a President, Vice-President, an additional Vice-President for each State organized, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Chaplain, a Lecturer and Assistant Lecturer, a Doorkeeper and Assistant Doorkeeper, and a Sergeant- at-Arms. Sec. 3. They shall be elected at each annual meeting, from members of the body, and shall be entitled to hold office until their successors are elected and installed ; at which time the retiring officers shall immediately become honorary members of the National body, for that session only. Sec. 4. The duties of the officers of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union shall be the duties usually incumbent upon and performed by officers of the same name in similar organizations. Sec. 5. The President shall be the presiding officer. Sec. 6. The Vice-Presidents of the body shall constitute the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. Article IIL Dues. Section i. Each State organization, under the jurisdiction of this body, shall pay, at each annual session of the body, five per cent of the gross cash receipts of the State organization. Sec. 2. The members of the National order are expected to present, at the regular annual meetings, reports of the numerical strength and condition of the order in the State they represent, and of the success attending their efforts in co-operation ; also mental and moral improvement. Article IV. Section i. The President, Secretary, and Chairman of Committee on Secret Work shall constitute a board for the examination of brothers who wish to become organizing officers. Sec. 2. A brother wishing to become an organizing officer shall present to the above board of examination a recommendation from the President and Secretary of his State organization, or some other creditable authority, ^s to his integrity and moral character, and that he is not addicted to the excessive use of intoxicants ; upon the receipt of which, it shall be the duty of the examining board to examine the applicant as to his qualification and adapta- bility to the work. Sec. 3. If he shall pass a satisfactory examination, he shall be commis- sioned as organizing officer J)y the President, which commission shall be attested by the Secretary. Sec. 4. There shall not be more than one organizing officer commissioned in each Congressional District, in States having no State organization. Sec. 5. The organizers shall work under instructions from the above- named examining board, and shall report to the National Secretary. Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the President to issue a charter, attested THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 6l by the Secretary, to each Alliance organized according to law and instruc- tions, by organizing officers. Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the President to issue charter, attested by the Secretary, to any State organization, or any farmers in the State, when they comply with the following requirements : — A. That they admit to membership no person unless eligible to member- ship, under the constitution of the State Alliance of Texas, or the State Far- mers' Union of Louisiana. B. That they have organizations in as many as three counties in the State for which the charter is desired. C. That they will adopt and use the secret work of this National asso- ciation. D. That they will not adopt laws or usages contrary to the constitution of this National order. E. That they have adopted a constitution and by-laws, and present a copy of same to be filed with the National Secretary. Article V. Section i. All rights and powers not herein expressly delegated, are reserved to the State organizations severally. Article VI. Section i. This constitution cannot be altered or amended, except upon a written resolution, clearly setting forth the change or addition to be made, which shall be read in open session on at least two separate days, and adopted by a two-thirds majority, and not then unless it be ratified by three-fourths of the State organizations of the order within one year. Name of Signers. J. J. Fairchild, B. F. Rogers, John O'Byrne, G. B. Pickett, R. F. Butler, C. W. Macune, S. P. Burns, W. K. Deason, W. M. Reed, D. B. Hale, An- drew Dunlap, E. B. Warren, W. D. Branum, D. M. Rumph, W. B. Briggs, J. M. Perdue, Nat Draughan, J. B. Barry, Ben Terrell, J. W. Goodwin, J. A. Tetts. At the evening session of January 21, the above constitution and report of organization were submitted to the Texas State Alliance, and received a unanimous ratification. The minutes of that meeting further show that the officers of the National Alliance, being called upon, made appropriate addresses, thank- ing the Alliance for the honors conferred upon them, and por- traying hopes of a bright future for the cause. Brother Harrison also, being called upon, responded in a feel- ing speech. 62 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. On motion of Brother Pickett the following was passed : — •' Resolved^ That should it become necessary, the secretary of the Farmers' State Alliance is hereby authorized to draw his draft upon the treasurer of the Farmers' State Alliance for any amount not to exceed $500, as a loan to the National Alliance, to enable its officers to organize, said amount to be re- funded as soon as a sufficient sum accumulates in the treasury of the National Alliance." The Farmers' Union of 1-ouisiana also ratified the constitution and report at its next meeting. In this manner the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America began its eventful career. These brethren builded better than they knew, and brought into existence an organization that has not only proven the wonder^of the age, but has developed so rapidly, through the living principles which it embodies, that its own members and followers are hardly able to keep pace with its progress. No one has been found bold enough to attempt its completion, or venture an opinion as to its final results. It is a growth, a development, that increases in size and force as the obstacles it encounters increase in numbers and importance. It is the economic conundrum of the nineteenth century, and no one has as yet fully comprehended its mission. Directly after the close of the meeting, President Macune obtained the following charter from the General Government :- — •* Ads of Incor. Liber. ^^ folio 159 et seq. ♦' United States of America, District of Columbia. '* Know All Men that the National Trade Union known as the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, being an association of working-people having two or more branches in the States and Territories of the United States, does by these presents file its Articles of Incorporation in the Office of the Recorder of the District of Columbia, as follows, to wit : — " 1st. This Association is known to the trade under the name of National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Unionof America. " 2d. Under this name it shall have the right to sue and be sued, to implead and be impleaded, to grant and receive property Real, Personal, and Mixed, and to use said property and the proceeds ajid income thereof for the objects of said Corporation as in its charter defined, and to do any and all Corporate Acts. " 3d. The legal residence and general business office of this Association is the City of Washington in the District of Columbiai^United States of Amer- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 6^^ ica ; but the general meetings of the Association, or of the Board of Trustees, or of the officers, may be at such places as may be prescribed by the Consti- tution or Regulations of the Association. " 4th. The term for which it is to exist is ninety-nine years. " 5th. The number of Trustees shall be three, and G. B. Pickett, who resides in Wise County, Texas, J. M. Perdue, wh# resides in Upshur County, Texas, and J. A. Tetts, who resides at Ruston, Louisiana, are the trustees for the first year. " 6th. This Association shall have no Capital Stock. *♦ 7th. This Association is formed for the purpose. A, to promote the science of Agriculture and Horticulture ; B, to labor for the education of the Agricul- tural classes in the science of economic government in a strictly non-partisan spirit, and to bring about a more perfect union of said classes ; C, to develop a better state mentally, morally, socially, and financially ; D, to create a better understanding for sustaining our civil officers in maintaining law and order ; E, to constantly strive to secure entire harmony and good will to all mankind and brotherly love among ourselves ; F, to suppress personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices, all unhealthful rivalry and selfish ambition ; G, to aid its members to become more skilful and efficient workers, to promote their general intelligence, to elevate their character, the protection of the individual rights of its members, the raising of funds for the benefit of the sick, the dis- abled, or the families of deceased members, and to form for these purposes a more close union among all white persons who may be eligible to membership in this Association. This declaration is executed and filed by authority of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union. " Witness our hands and seals, using scrolls for seals, this the 27th day of January, a.d. 1887. [seal.] ♦' C. W. Macune, *' President of the National Farmers^ Alliance and Co-operative Union of America. " E. B. Warren, *• Secretary of the National Fanners^ Alliance and Co-operative Ufiion of America. "The State of Texas, County of Milam. " Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day came and personally appeared C. W. Macune, President of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union, known to me to be the person who executed, and whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument of writing, and acknowledged to me that he executed the same for the purposes and considerations and in the capacity therein set forth and expressed. " Given under my hand and seal of office, the 29th day of January, A.D. 1887. (471, vol. I, p. 158.) [notarial seal.] " B. I. Arnold, *' Notary Public Milam Co., Texas. 64 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, " The State of Texas, County of Lee. '* Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day came and personally appeared E. B. Warren, Secretary of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, known to me to be the person who executed, and whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument of writing, and acknowledged to me that he executed the same for the ^^urposes and consid- erations and in the capacity therein set forth and expressed. " Given under my hand and seal of office, this the 27th day of January, A.D. 1887. [notarial seal.] "C. H. Jones, J.P.L.C.B. 1204, '"'■ Ex officio Notary Public^ Lee Co.^ Texas. )-ss: ** Office of Recorder of Deeds, District of Columbia. '• I, James C. Matthews, Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia, do hereby certify that I have compared the annexed copy of Act of Incorpo- ration with the record of the original thereof, recorded in this office on the 23d day of February, 1887, at 10.30 a.m., in Acts of Incorporation No. 4, one of the Land Records of the District of Columbia, on page 159 et seq., and that the same is a correct transcript therefrom, and of the whole of said record. •* In Testimony Whereof, I have here hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal this 23d day of February, 1887. [seal.] "Jas. C. Matthews. *' Recorder of Deeds, District of Columbia^ At the meeting at Waco, a resolution had been passed, instruct- ing the president to extend an invitation to all labor organiza- tions to send delegates to the next meeting of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, to be held at Shreveport, Louisiana, during the fall of 1888. Act- ing upon this. President Macune sent Brother G. B. Pickett to visit the organization known as the Agricultural Wheel, then attracting attention in Arkansas and adjoining States. His mission proved so successful that delegates were sent from the National Wheel to attend the meeting at Shreveport. With his usual vigor, based upon the belief that the farmers of the South were ready for co-operation in any plan that promised relief, he sent into the various States well-trained, careful organ- izers. It was the custom at tnat time to grant no one a license to organize, until he had passed a rigid examination as to his qualifications for that work. By this means the moral and intellectual standard of the men sent out amons: straneers to THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 65 propagate the work, was kept up, and confidence in the results of their efforts was well founded. It is well worthy of notice that these brethren received no salary, their only remuneration being the fee for organizing, which, though small, was enough to make them self-sustaining. A similar condition was never before known. In the spring of 1887, President Macune sent these organizers into the States of Missouri, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee. Here was an jattempt to organize eight States, with only $500 in the treas- ury, and even that was a loan from the State Alliance of Texas. The venture was very successful, and fully met the expectation which President Macune, in his good judgment, had anticipated. From this time until the National meeting at Shreveport, the work of propagation was incessant and effective. Cheering news came in from nearly all the States, and a large National meeting became assured. As this was the first meeting after its organization, it was looked forward to with some anxiety. Visions of the fate of the Grange frequently came up, and prophets were not wanting who predicted quick and certain destruction. Filled with a determination to discharge every duty faithfully and well ; anxious to avoid the rocks and pitfalls that had proved the Waterloo of other efforts of a similar nature ; and, above all, trusting to the honesty, fidelity, and integrity of one another, the brethren, representing nine States, met together in regular annual session. The brethren were unacquainted with one another, and not exactly certain of the proper methods, or the most important purposes to serve. But the meeting soon developed a large number of able men, who have since proved themselves as such, by their fidelity and constancy to the cause of the Alliance. Among these were Colonel L. L. Polk and S. B. Alexander, of North Carolina; R. T. Love, C. T. Smithson, and W. R. Lacy, of Mississippi ; Moore and Ansley, of Arkansas ; Oswald Wilson, of Florida; S. M. Adams and H. P. Bone, of Alabama; Tanner, Pratt, and Stallings, of Louisiana ; Johnson and Despain, of Missouri ; McDowell and Gardner, of Tennessee ; the usual number of old reliables from Texas, and many others. 66 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. I give below the proceedings in detail. " The National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America met in regular session, in Shreveport, Louisiana, October 12, 1887, at ten o'clock a.m. "The following officers were present: C. W. Macune, President; J. A. Tetts, First Vice-President; G. B. Pickett, Second Vice-President; J. M. Perdue, third Vice-President; E. B. Warren, Secretary; R. F. Butler, Treas- urer ; Ben Terrell, Lecturer ; B. F. Rogers, Assistant Lecturer ; Nat Draughan, Sergeant-at-Arms. " The President filled vacancies by appointing the following brethren tem- porarily: W. S. Rushing of Mississippi, Chaplain; J. A. Green of Texas, Doorkeeper; O. M. Wright of Louisiana, Assistant Doorkeeper. '* The Alliance was opened in due form. "The President announced the following Committee on Credentials: Ma- Gee of Mississippi, Polk of North Carolina, and Jones of Texas- "By consent, T. B. Ruff of Tennessee, a member of the Agricultural Wheel, was duly initiated into the Farmers' Alliance. "The following committee on order of business was announced: G. B. Pickett of Texas, Linn Tanner of Louisiana, Oswald Wilson of Florida. " The Committee on Credentials reported as follows : "We, your committee, find the following brethren entitled to seats in this body: "Mississippi: J. G. Hamilton, R. S. MaGee, T. E. Groom, Hazelhurst; W. B. Mosley, Chester; T. L. Darden, Fayette; W. S. Rushing, Carthage; T. W. Sullivan, Carrol ton ; E. L. Martin, Jackson; R. T. Love, Chester; C. T. Smithson, Newport; W. R. Lacy, Carthage. "Arkansas: W. H. Moore, Belfont ; John A. Ansley, Prescott; George Martin, Sulphur Rock ; Joseph Tisdale, Texarkana. " Florida: Oswald Wilson, Marianna. "North Carolina: L. L. Polk, Raleigh. "Alabama: J. M. Robinson, S. M. Adams, L N. Gresham, and J. M. Langston; Six Mile Alliance, H. P. Bone. "Louisiana: J. C. Jones, Ruston ; W. M. Vickars, Shreveport; A. T. Hatcher and L. C. McAlpin, Lula ; R. L. Tannehill, Winfield ; E. McDonald, Rayville; Linn Tanner, Cheneyville ; P. F. B. Pratt, Bastrop; J. M. Stall- ings, Ruston. "Missouri: A. B. Johnson, W. D. Ham, Poplar Bluff; J. W. DeSpain, J. Graves. "Tennessee: J. A. McDowell, Union City; A. E. Gardner, Dresden. " Texas : J. S. Massey, F. Hoffheinz, A. M. Turnbull, J. A. Green, W. P. Hancock, J. M. Renick, R. A. Binford, J. J. Fairchild, T. M. Smith, R. P. Briscoll, N. H. C. Elliot, C. E. Cade, D. C. Whitman, L. L. Sloss, D. J. Eddleman, C. A. Leverton, Evan Jones, L Stoddard, R. J. Wallace, R. M. Kay, S. O. Daws, Matt S. Wallace, R. J. Sledge. John O'Byrne, H. C. Maund. " The Alliance adjourned until 1.30 p.m. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 67 " 1.30 P.M. President Macune in the chair. The Alliance opened in due form. " President Macune delivered his annual address, which was full of interest- ing facts and suggestions. "Message. ' ' Brethren of the Farmers' National Alliaiice and Co-operative Union of America : " This is indeed an auspicious occasion. It is the first session of this body ; and this body is the first organization of the real cotton-raisers ever inaugurated on a plan calculated to assist the poor man. It is a time in the history of cotton-raising when the price of that staple is not equal to the cost of producing it. This is a gathering of representative men from ten States ; men who represent the greatest of all industries, the agricultural, assembled here, not merely for the pleasures or emoluments to be gained by their attend- ance, but, I trust, imbued with the proper conceptions of the great responsi- bility resting upon them, thoroughly alive to the conditions of the times, and firmly resolved to work out the proper and true solution of how to relieve the depressed condition of agriculture in our beautiful southland, and, when found, to stand shoulder to shoulder in one solid phalanx, till the effort is crowned with victory. As the first legislative body ever convened in the order, you will have a great work to perform, and the future prosperity of this great movement is, therefore, largely in your hands. Your attention is called to the causes that, combined, created the necessity for this organiza- tion; the plan on which organization has been effected, comprising the organic law of the order, both written and unwritten ; also the objects and conditions it is expected to achieve, in the event that success attends the effort. The laws to be made by this body will be statutory, and will be based upon and explanatory of the organic law ; they should be prompted by the necessities that gave rise to the existence of the order, and executed with a spirit of devotion to the objects we seek to achieve, bounded only by the limit of possibility. '*Mr. Garvin, in his history of the Alliance in Texas, says that it was started somewhere between 1870 and 1875, in Lampasas County, by a num- ber of farmers, who associated themselves together in a defensive league, to resist the encroachments of land-sharks, who proposed to rob them of their homes. The history of the move, from its inception up to 1886, was not attended with much interest. It had grown by August, 1885, to tlie number of about 700 Subordinate Alliances, and had changed its objects and workings, until they resembled very closely those of the present. From August, 1885, to August, 1886, a most prodigious growth was recorded; the increase was about 2000 Sub-Alliances. Among the reasons for this rapid growth, and probably one of the most potent, was the fact that all other occupations were either organized, or were rapidly organizing, and the farming interest was unable to cope with them, unorganized ; therefore the necessity for organization for self-defence. Again, the results of combination had reduced the price of 68 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. all products the farmer had to sell to such an extent, that in many cases they would not pay hireling's wages to the one who produced them, and were really grown at a loss. The rule was, that a year spent in the most vigorous labor and rigid economy would with good management yield a bare subsist- ence, and in many cases it yielded less ; and would finally result in a sur- render of the farm to the mortgagee merchant, and the addition of one more family to the army of renters. It seemed to be an admitted fact that organi- zation was the only hope of the farmer, and as the Alliance was presented as strictly a farmers' organization, its ranks were rapidly filled with all those who felt disposed to unite and resist the encroachments of other organizations, and who realized that it required organization to meet organized power. Such large numbers joining a secret organization in so short a time rendered proper instructions as to the principles and objects of the order impossible ; consequently many joined who were not as well posted as they should have been, and vast differences were entertained as to the policy to be pursued in order to accomplish with speed and certainty the objects of the order. '* Some contended that the only hope was in the ballot-box, and that united political action was the only \yay for the Alliance ever to accomplish anything ; others, realizing the danger to American institutions, by the intro- duction of a secret political party, contended that we must eschew politics altogether, and that the Alliance was a social and benevolent organization, calculated to make man a better farmer and a better neighbor. Others had different conceptions : some, that it would make all farmers' boys orators ; some, that it would stop horse-stealing ; some, that it would make all its members truthful and honest; and the contention between. the different factions was beginning to assume alarming proportions, as a family quarrel, when the called session of the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas was held in the city of Waco, in January last. One object of that called meeting was to devise some plan of extending the work into other States. The Louisiana State Union, which had met just prior to that time, had elected and sent to that meeting a delegate, to co-operate with the State Alliance of Texas in the extension of the work. It was there shown that there was already in exist- ence an organization in the northwestern States calling itself the National Farmers' Alliance, but that it was a very loose organization, and was non- secret, that the door to membership was too wide for it to meet the wants of the times in the South. It was the prevailing sentiment that none but those most interested in farming should ever be admitted. It was, after a full inves- tigation, decided that the organization as it existed in Texas, and the other States of the South, to which it had spread from and by the authority of the Texas Alliance, could accomplish nothing by joining the National Farmers' Alliance of the Northwest, and in view of the fact that the cotton belt of America was a circumscribed country, there was a necessity for a national organization of those residing in the cotton belt, to the end that the whole world of cotton-raisers might be united for self-protection. This was a grand conception, and one susceptible of results beyond our expectations. It was, therefore, decided to organize, in connection with Louisiana, a National Farm- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 69 ers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America ; to make it a strong national order, with the one great battle-cry of co-operation as the universal principle upon which all could unite ; co-operation in its broadest sense, that is, that we will assist one another, that we will stand shoulder to shoulder in bearing the crosses and burdens of life, that we will intelligently pull together in everything; in buying and selling, in producing and consuming. There is a necessity for enlightened co-operation in everything, leaving local issues for local or State Alliances to settle. "■ The necessity for the extension of the work lay in the fact that other States were in as bad a condition as Texas and Louisiana, and that, as the interests of the cotton-producers were identical, and the evils from which they were suffering general, the greatest good could not be effected without uniting the whole cotton belt. It was necessary to the local business experi- ments already commenced, that they be made general, and be participated in by all, in order that they prove a greater success. Single towns or counties could not inaugurate a move that would affect the cotton business much, and a whole State could not accomplish as much acting alone as it could in con- junction with the other ten. It will be seen, then, that in the organization of this national association, the object was to organize the agriculturists of the cotton belt for business purposes ; and that purpose has been carried out, and has been found to give sufficient scope to the ability of all, and that the dis- sensions spoken of in the early history of the order, in regard to politics and other subjects, have entirely died out, and given place to an enlightened effort to accomplish something grand — a business organization. *« If we look back through the history of this and other countries, we will see that some branches of industry have always been knocking at the doors of legislation, and when weak, begging for class laws that would assist their business efforts ; if they were strong, they would either demand or buy such favors ; but in either case they have too often been successful. It is proverbial that the other two great classes of production, the manufacturing and the commercial, which include railroads and transportation lines, have been largely built up to their present condition of wealth and prosperity by government favors and assistance. Now, if this be true, at whose expense has the gov- ernment done this, as there are only three classes of producers? It must evidently have been at the expense of the third ,class, which is the great agricultural. The agricultural class, then, has not only received no govern- ment favors, but has been bled to enrich other classes. This is now fully realized, and is productive of a determination on the part of our people to submit to such wrongs no longer. They do not organize a new political party to carry out their plans ; they call upon the government to correct the evils, or provide protection, as the case may be. It is realized that class legis- lation is a great evil, because it builds up two classes at the expense of the third. Then either let the third class be the recipient, or do away with all class legislation. If a party was organized for that purpose, the party would die when that purpose was accomplished. *' Under our system of government, we should not resort to a new political 70 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. movement to carry out every reform necessary. We have the two great principles and conceptions of the genius of our institutions, as contended for by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as a basis for a division into two great political parties; that should suffice: let every one carry his ideas of reform to the party, to which he belongs from principle. And as the agricul- turists comprise a large majority of all the voters, they will necessarily com- prise a majority in each party. But their greatest influence in politics can be brought to bear, not at the hustings, but in the halls of legislation, by the proper and judicious exercise of the right of petition. There they step forward as Alliance men strong and united, and demand that the government redress wrongs committed by it ; but in partisan politics the members of our order should participate, not as Alliance men, but as citizens, because politics is for the citizen. '* Let the Alliance be a business organization for business purposes, and as such, necessarily secret, and as secret, necessarily strictly non-political. This is somewhat of a digression, but is made in order to show the ideas that were entertained at the time this national association was launched forth on the sea of experiment as a business organization of the farmers of the cotton belt. The plan on which organization has been effected is to some extent new ; and while it perhaps contains nothing original, it is experimental, in that it combines the features of several different systems. Being a secret organization, it is necessarily to some extent like the father of all secret organizations, monarchical in form ; but being a chartered association, under the law of our country, for business purposes, and being composed of a people who are familiar with, and devoted to, a republican form of government, its written law is in conformity to that system. You will, therefore, find in the construction of a code of statutory law that you must provide for a member- ship who occupy a dual relation to the order ; that is, the constitution is the written organic law, and outlines a republican form of government. The secret work is the unwritten organic law, and is co-ordinate with the written, and outlines a limited monarchy. By keeping these ideas in view, you will avoid confusion, and will find questions of law much easier of solution. " It is a great pleasure to be able to congratulate you on the rapid exten- sion of the work under the plan outlined. There are now State organizations in eight States, and in many States the work is progressing in a very satisfac- tory manner, as the report of the secretary will show. The plan of organiza- tion seems to meet the necessities, with perhaps a few modifications. There appear to be no prominent defects in the plan as a national enterprise, and as complete jurisdiction is surrendered to the State Alliances when organized, it rests with them to make laws to meet local conditions. There is a feature of the Alliance that is very important, and has always been a part of the unwritten work, that it might perhaps be well to introduce some laws and regulations in the written work, in order that it may be more universally understood. That is the trade system, and the co-operative efforts being made to act in harmony in the sale of products and purchase of commodities. On the success of this feature much of the prosperity of the order depends ; THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 7 1 hence, some general laws and recommendations should be in print, in plain and easy-to-be-understood language, so that all may understand, and tend towards one and the same object. Much might be said as to the future oi" this great movement, and still it is all expressed in the single sentence ' There is no limit to the possibilities.' However, I call your attention to tht fact that our people, owing to money pressure and the fact that cotton is our great money crop, are disposed to rely too much on it, and purchase many^ things that should be produced at home ; therefore this body should strongly recommend more diversity of farming, to the end that our people become more self-sustaining, and therefore less dependent. *' State Alliances should be called upon to take steps to assist their mem- bers in procuring the facilities for diversifying their products, and to assist V them in the sale of their surplus ; and further, these States raise 7,500,000 bales of cotton yearly ; a little over two-thirds of this enormous crop is sold in Europe, and the price not only for that, but for all that is used in America, is fixed in Great Britain ; and yet our government does not allow one yard of cotton cloth imported without a tax of about sixty per cent of its value. This enables American spinners to undersell the British looms, and prevents the importation of British cloth, but dies not prevent British spinners from dis- criminating against American cotton in every conceivable manner, and in con- stantly crowding the price of the staple down, so as to enable them to compete with the American spinner. The condition simply is, that the British spinner fixes the price on every pound of cotton raised, and the effect of our law is to make him virtually interested in reducing the price of our cotton. Were it not for this tariff-law discrimination against him, by an ad valorem tax, he would as soon see cotton high as low ; and would, perhaps, prefer it high. ** Our people occupy the ridiculous position of not only paying the New England spinner about fifty per cent more for the cotton cloth than it is worth, but they, by submitting to that law, allow conditions that very naturally reduce the price of every pound of cotton they raise. "It is not claimed that as cotton-planters and Alliance men we should demand the abolition of all tariff; that would not be our province in that capacity. We may do that as citizens, if we choose ; but as cotton-raisers and an Alliance business organization, we have a right to demand the correction of evils that afilict and sap the very life-blood from our business. Merchants, bankers, insurance men, and all others do the same. But in so doing we should be careful that we do not inflict wrongs on others, or on other interests. '* It is claimed by many intelligent and honest thinkers, that if we reduce the tariff on manufactured cotton goods, we would ruin American manufac- turing ; and we might with propriety reply : Which is the most essential, that the few American factories keep on paying a dividend of from twenty to forty- five per cent, and that the many farmers become tenants, serfs, and slaves ; or that the manufacturer be placed upon a level with the agriculturist, and that each be allowed the fruits of his own labor, and a fair interest on the money invested ? But our object is to show the effect that a reduction of the cotton tariff would have on the mills. In the first place, there is no surplus of cotton 72 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. raised in the world, and this is proven by the fact that there is no accumulation of it. Now, it is true that the old doctrine of price being regulated by demand and supply holds good in this instance, but in a country where every seventh person is either a pauper or is the recipient of public charity in some shape, the demand is very materially modified by the ability to purchase ; and that whenever the ability to purchase is enhanced, the demand will be very mate- rially increased. "Now, if by reducing the tariff, English cotton goods were introduced, cheaper goods would increase ; the ability to purchase and the increased demand would act upon the limited cotton supply by increasing the price of the raw cotton, which would, in turn, raise the price of the cloth to its present price, or perhaps higher, and still keep up the increased ability to purchase by the increased amount of money put in circulation by the cotton-producers, who would be receiving an increased price for cotton. Therefore, the result would be, not to lessen the price of cotton goods, but to increase the price of raw cotton ; and it is held that the increased demand would, as far as justice is necessary, compensate the mills for the loss of profit. *' In conclusion, it is hereby recommended that this body formulate some plan of universal co-operation among our people, whereby each Sub, County, and State Alliance shall have an agent, and that a national agent be chairman of a board composed of the different State agents, and that a system be es- tablished for conducting the production and disposition of the cotton crop. Such a board could have accurate and reliable information every month, as to the condition of the crop in every neighborhood in the eleven Southern States. They could negotiate and consummate arrangements tending to an increased price ; and should all negotiations prove of non-effect, they could adopt a graduated scale for the reduction of the cotton crop, which would be an injustice to none. This plan is simply offered as a suggestion, and it is hoped that something of this character will be adopted. "C. W. Macune. ** A memorial to the Congress of the United States, touching the questions of protective tariff, silver, and bonds was referred to the Committee on Demands. "A printed letter from the Knights of Labor was read, and on motion referred to the Committee on Resolutions. " The following, offered by N. H. C. Elliot, was adopted : — " Whereas, The farmers of North Carolina have an organization known as the State Farmers' Association, the declared objects and purposes of which are in accord with the general principles and purposes of the Farmers' Alliance; therefore, " Resolved^ That a committee be appointed to present to that body, at its next annual meeting in Greensboro, on the second Wednesday in January, 1888, the general objects, purposes, and principles of the Farmers' Alliance, to the end that the said Farmers' State Association may be induced to adopt the same and become thoroughly affiliated with us. *' Whereupon the president appointed N, H. C. Elliot of Texas, L. L. Polk and S. B. Alexander of North Carolina, said comniittee, THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. ^^ "The following paper, offered by Martin of Arkansas, was read, and on motion received and concurred in : — " Believing that all labor organizations should be a unit in their efforts to bring relief to the toiling masses, whenever they are satisfied that their rights are infringed upon by organized capital ; therefore be it '* Resolved^ That the Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union will at all times oppose any unjust or oppressive move of any corporation, the object of which is to do an injury to any of the sister labor organizations. And, '•'■Resolved, That we will, in an honest, legitimate way, assist any labor organization to throw off the oppressive yoke of organized capital. "The following, offered by J. A. Ansley of Arkansas, was, on motion, adopted : — " Resolved, That the chair appoint a committee of four on the part of the Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union, to confer with a like committee to be composed of one member from each State, sent to this body as delegates or representatives by various State Agricultural Wheels. Said committee will formulate a plan upon which said bodies may consolidate. Should any plan be agreed upon, the same shall be sent by a delegate from this body, and submitted for the consideration of the National Agricultural Wheel, at its annual meeting in November next. " The following were announced as said committee: R. F. Butler, B. F. Rogers, and Evan Jones, of Texas, and J. C. Jones of Louisiana. " On motion of G. B. Pickett of Texas, the regular order of business was suspended, and H. C. Brown, Secretary and Treasurer of the State Agricul- tural Wheel of Kentucky; S. B. Erwin, President State Agricultural Wheel of Kentucky; S. H. McDowell, Secretary National Wheel of Tennessee; Alf E. Gardner, Secretary and Treasurer National Wheel, Tennessee, were introduced and initiated into the Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, preparatory to a conference between the States represented by these brethren, pointing to a union of these orders. "The Conference Committee made the following report: — '-'■ Resolved, That we, as delegates of the Farmers' Alliance and Agricultu- ral Wheel, agree to accept, as a basis Q(f union, the secret work of the Alliance and the national constitution of the same ; each State accepting this basis of union to retain such name as they now have, if they so desire. "-Resolved, That the eligibility clause in the National Alliance constitution be explained by statutory enactment, showing that the State Alliance of Texas, or the State Farmers' Union of Louisiana, have no power to change this eligibility. 'J. H. McDowell, Tenn., '' Agricjiltural Wheel. '♦B. F. Rogers, Tex., 'R. , F. Butler, Tex., 'Evan Jones, Tex., 'J- C. Jones, La., " Committee. 74 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. '*The time having arrived to which the election of the officers had been set, John O. Byrne of Texas moved that each State be admitted to cast the whole number of votes to which they were entitled. Carried. " The delegates from Florida asked the privilege, in behalf of Florida, to place in nomination C. W. Macune, as a candidate for president of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, who was, on motion, unanimously elected by a rising vote. '*A motion prevailed that Brother L. L. Polk of North Carolina inform Brother C. W. Macune of his election. " Nominations were then declared in order for vice-jDresidents and such other officers as are provided for by the constitution of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, in regular order, which resulted in the election of the following brethren to the respective offices : — "First Vice-Presidents, L. L. Polk, North Carolina; R. T. Love, Missis- sippi ; S. B. Alexander, North Carolina ; H. P. Bone, Alabama ; Linn Tanner, Louisiana; W. H. Moore, Arkansas; S. B. Erwin, Kentucky; A. B. John- son, Missouri; J. H. McDowell, Tennessee; M. D. K. Taylor, Texas; Oswald Wilson, Florida; E. B. Warren, Secretary, Texas; A. E. Gardner, Treasurer, Tennessee ; J. C. Jones, Chaplain, Louisiana ; Ben Terrell, Lec- turer, Texas; J. A. Tetts, Assistant Lecturer, Louisiana; L N. Gresham, Doorkeeper, Alabama ; H. C. Brown, Assistant Doorkeeper, Kentucky ; T. E. Groome, Sergeant-at-Arms, Mississippi. "A motion prevailed to select the place for the next meeting of this National Alliance. Whereupon, Meridian, Mississippi, was duly and consti- tutionally selected as such place. "A motion by Love of Mississippi prevailed, that a committee of one from each State represented here, be appointed to report at the next meeting of this body some plan by which we can own our organ ; also, in addition, our printing establishment, for the publishing of everything necessary to the needs of Alliances, such as school-books, etc. "The president announced as the Committee on National Organ J. H. McDowell of Tennessee, Ansley of Arkansas, E. L. Martin of Mississippi, L. L. Polk of North Carolina, Oswald Wilson of Florida, Tannehill of Lou- isiana, A. B. Johnson of Missouri, and Lane of Alabama. " Resolved, That this National Alliance and Co-operative Union of America adjourn to meet in Meridian, Mississippi, on the second Wednesday in October, "Demands of the National Farmers' Alliance upon Congress. '■'■Resolved^ That we, the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, in convention assembled, advocate and indorse the follow- ing principles, as in accord with the sentiments and demands of the tillers of the soil : — " I. We demand, first, the recognition by incorporation, of trades-unions, co-operative stores, and such other associations as may be organized by the THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 75 industrial classes, to improve their financial condition, or promote their general welfare. "2. We demand that all the public lands be held in small bodies, not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres to each purchaser, for actual settlers, on easy terms of payment. ** 3. That large bodies of land held by private individuals or corporations, shall be assessed for taxation at such rates as they are offered to purchasers, on credit of one, two, and three years, in bodies of one hundred and sixty acres or less. " 4. That, whereas, large bodies of our public lands have been sold to foreign capitalists, thus tending to the establishment of land aristocracy in this country, similar to that which has reduced the people of Ireland and other monarchical governments to a condition of abject serfdom, we demand the passage of laws forbidding the ownership of lands by aliens, whose allegiance belongs to other nations ; and that the public domain be held as the heritage of our own people and our children after us. "5. That all lands forfeited by railroads and other corporations immedi- ately revert to the Government and be declared open for purchase by actual settlers, on the same terms as other public lands. ** 6. We demand that all fences be removed, by force, if necessary, from public lands unlawfully fenced by cattle companies, syndicates, or any other form or name of monopoly. "7. We demand the extinguishment of the public debt of the United States by operating the mints to their fullest capacity, in coining silver and gold, and the tendering of the same without discrimination, to the public creditors of the nation, according to contract. "8. We demand the substitution of legal-tender treasury notes for the issues of national banks ; that the Congress of the United States shall regulate the amount of such issue by per capita circulation, that shall increase and keep pace with the growth of the country's population and the expansion of her business interests. We further demand the repeal of the present national banking system. "9. We demand that the Department of Agriculture be made one of the departments of State ; that it shall be increased in scope and efficiency, and in connection therewith there shall be established a bureau of labor statistics. " 10. We demand the enactment of laws to compel corporations to pay their employees according to contract in lawful money for their services, and the giving to mechanics and laborers a first lien upon the products of their labor, to the extent of their full wages. "II. That the laws relating to the suppression of the transmission of immoral, profane, or obscene literature through the mails, be made more stringent, and be extended so as to suppress the transmission of such litera- ture by any public carrier. "12. We demand that the United States Government purchase, by right of eminent domain, the telephone and telegraph lines, and operate them as adjuncts of the United States postal service. 76 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. "13. That in view of the fact that the delegates to this body represent a majority of the cotton-producers of the cotton belt of America, which belt produces over two-thirds of the cotton of the whole world ; and in view of the further fact that two-thirds of the cotton in the cotton belt is demanded and used for export to a foreign power, which fixes the price on every pound of our cotton ; and in view of the fact that the said power is debarred from returning to this country a single yard of manufactured cotton, thereby mak- ing said power interested in crowding down to the lowest figure the price of cotton, we hereby demand that the United States Government adopt a speedy system of reduction of the import duty on manufactured cottons, in such a way as to do justice to this, the greatest of all classes of producers. " 14. We demand such a revision of the tariff as will lay the heaviest burdens on the luxuries and the lightest on the necessaries of life, and as will reduce the incomes from imports to a strictly revenue basis. "15. That as a remedy against the unjust accumulation and encroachment of capital, we demand a graduated income tax. "16. That as upon the intelligence of the people depend the stability and perpetuity of our own free government, we demand for the masses a well- regulated system of industrial and agricultural education. "17. That we oppose the continued influx of pauper labor from the mon- archies of Europe, whose anarchic views and communistic doctrines are breeding discontent and disloyalty to law, order, peace, and good government, and, by an overplus of worthless labor, reducing our own laboring classes to starvation ; we therefore demand more stringent laws to prevent this country being further used as an asylum for the communists and paupers of other countries. "18. We demand that the constitutions, both State and national, be so amended as to provide for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people." The meeting closed amid universal satisfaction, and a general determination to take the order into all the cotton States. In fact, the formation of the cotton-growing States into one grand agricultural organization was as much as the most sanguine expected. It was argued that the cotton belt of the United States produced seven-tenths of the cotton of the world, and that the producers of the raw material, through combination, could force prices to where they would return a fair profit on production. Such a position was logically correct, and no doubt could be made effective. It was with this idea that many of the States joined the organization. However, it soon began to appear that the wheat and cattle raisers of the West were in the same position, and dominated by the same power. A sort of fellow-feehng was engendered through mutual distress, that THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, yj finally took shape and led to the introduction of the order into the Western States. President Macune was fortunate in the selections for vice- presidents in the different States ; also in securing the services of Brother E. B. Warren, who made a most excellent secretary. But above all, for the prosecution of such a work, he had the assistance and hearty co-operation of Brother Ben Terrell, as national lecturer. Brother Terrell labored incessantly, going anywhere and everywhere that the judgment of the president deemed necessary. Under such management, and with such coadjutors, failure was impossible. The work of organization spread rapidly. Further negotiations were held with the National Wheel, looking toward consolidation, with good suc- cess ; and Brother Terrell was sent to attend their national meeting at McKenzie, Tennessee. Mutual explanations were' made, and it was decided to hold a meeting at the same time and place, and try to consolidate. Meridian, Mississippi, was the place selected. It would fill a volume to detail the immense amount of labor performed by President Macune and his corps of assistants, in the propagation of the principles of the order. Brother Macune saw clearly the benefits arising from active, effective, and successful work in the line of organization, and bent his whole energy to further that end. He seems to have been the guiding and deci- sive power, with every one willing and ready to assist. New States were organized, business agencies were established,' and the progress of the Alliance was without a parallel in history. Under such conditions, the time for the third annual session of the Alliance drew near. The meeting at Shreveport was a sort of getting together of the scattered forces of the Alliance into one compact organization, with mutual understandings between those who, though belonging to the same Order, were comparative strangers. The meeting held at Meridian was an > attempt to further extend the field of operation, by consolidating^^ / with an organization similar in character, aims, and purposes,' but made up of almost entire strangers. Under these circum- stances, the more timid were reluctant to run any chances of making a mistake. President Macune had looked over the ground thoroughly, and carefully considered the matter in all 78 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. its bearings, and concluded that the consolidation of these two forces into one would form a power for good that, in the end, would be irresistible. Having come to this conclusion, he made every exertion possible to accomplish this result. In this he was ably assisted by Brothers L. L. Polk, J. H. McDowell, and others. The annual meeting at Meridian was composed of full dele- gations from twelve States and Territories, every oile in earnest, and all flushed with the victories of the past year. I give the most important acts of that meeting, in the synopsis which follows : — •* The National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America met in regular session in the city of Meridian, Mississippi, December 5, 1888, with the following officers present : C. W. Macune, President ; L. L. Polk, First Vice- President; R. T. Love, Vice-President for Mississippi; S. B. Alexander, Vice-President for North Carolina; H. P. Bone, Vice-President for Alabama; Linn Tanner, Vice-President for Louisiana ; A. B. Johnson, Vice-President for Missouri; J. H. McDowell, Vice-President for Tennessee; E. B. Warren, Secretary ; A. E. Gardner, Treasurer ; Ben Terrell, Lecturer ; H. C. Brown, Assistant Doorkeeper; T. E. Groome, Sergeant-at-Arms. *' The president filled vacancies by appointing the following, pro tern. : J. W. Beck of Georgia, Chaplain; T. J. Bounds, Doorkeeper. ** Alliance opened in due form. "Committee on Credentials appointed, consisting of Quicksall of Ken- tucky, Dimmick of Louisiana, Tracy of Texas, Bone of Alabama, and Payne of North Carolina. "The following officers were appointed temporarily: Evan Jones, Vice- President for Texas ; W. A. Wilson, Vice-President for Georgia ; H. McRae, Vice-President for South Carolina ; W. M. Huey, Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms ; G. L. Clark, Assistant Doorkeeper. J. W. Reid, B. J. Hubbard, and J. C. DeLoach were appointed secretaries. '♦ While waiting for the report of Committee on Credentials, President Macune read his annual message, as follows : — '■'^ Brethren : In presenting to you this, my annual message, to the third regular session of this body, at the expiration of my term of office, I have much to say, and feel deeply impressed with the importance of a full and free expression to you as to the past and present condition of the order, and the necessities of the future. Ours is no common struggle ; upon it depend, in a great measure, the future prosperity of agriculture and the liberty and inde- pendence of those engaged in that pursuit And, indirectly, the perpetuity of our system of government must be largely affected by our success or failure. This is true because the people whom we seek to relieve from the oppression of unjust conditions, are the largest and most conservative class of citizens of this country ; they are the greatest producers, and are the permanent, stable, THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 79 and solid class, on which the prosperity of all others depends, and to which all must look to judge" of the future of the land. '* Causes that tend to depress and enelave this important element of our country, which may be well designated as the foundation of the superstruct- ure, must surely endanger the very structure itself, and tend towards ultimate dissolution and loss of all control. Strange as the assertion may sound, it is nevertheless true, that we have two classes of anarchists in this country : one the avowed anarchists, who oppose all law and order, and the other a blindly selfish class, who would loudly disclaim anarchy, but advocate conditions that so surely sap the vitals of productive labor, that the result is ten times more productive of results ripe for anarchy than all the agitation of the avowed anarchists. If our order means anything, it means justice, right, law, and order, and therefore must be the very antipode of all forms of anarchy, both avowed and disguised. So just a cause may well command great devotion and energy ; but when, in addition to the justice of the principles involved in the movement, its magnitude and importance and the necessity for action are considered, the command will be recognized and accepted as imperative by all those who have allied themselves to the order. As to the magnitude and importance of the business, you, as the representatives of the membership at large, are to be congratulated upon the wonderful growth the order has made in so short a time. As will be shown by the report of your secretary, there are now about ten thousand Sub-Alliances ; these are associated into about eight hundred County Alliances, and represent an individual membership of about four hundred thousand. Twelve States are working under charters from this body, and three or four more are about ready to be chartered. While this is a good showing for the time and means employed, it is but a start compared with what may be done in the same field, and may well and forcibly impress you with the importance of providing a more efficient system of securing laborers and means with which to prosecute the work. As to the necessity for action, all will perhaps admit that it exists, and that it calls for immediate activity. All other occupations are organized and are constantly striving to draw the lines of their organization closer, and the progress of material development has brought about such peculiar conditions in this day and time that to avoid organization is to refuse the benefits of enlightened co-operation, and suffer from the evil effects of trusts and combines, that seem to have no limit to their greed, and heed no resistance except organization. That this is understood and recognized by the masses is evinced by the avid- ity with which they embrace an opportunity to unite with the organization, and this should be carefully noted as an indication of the responsibility rest- ing on this body to provide such laws and rules within the order as will insure to its members the benefits of enlightened co-operation in fact ; and such laws as will assist them in acting as a unit to resist the encroachments of opposing organized power. •' Questions of great delicacy and importance will be presented to this body for solution, and, unfortunately, the limited time that the majority will prob- ably agree to stay may render a proper consideration and discussion of all 8o AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, the subjects impossible. It is therefore suggested that you try to get all the business presented to the body on the first day and referred to the com- mittees ; that the committees be made small and expected to work and report promptly. So great an amount of work as you have before you must neces- sarily be done largely by committees, unless much time is consumed in its execution. " One of the most important subjects to be considered is the basis of an organic union with the National Agricultural Wheel. This was discussed at your last regular meeting, and the national lecturer appointed to visit the National Agricultural Wheel at its regular session in Nashville, Tennessee, in December, 1887, and make overtures tending toward such union. He was courteously received and highly honored by that body, and his propositions and negotiations treated with all the respect due his important mission from this honorable body. As a result, the National Agricultural Wheel adjourned its regular session at that time and place, to meet with the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, at this meeting. That arrange- ment has been carried out, and they are here to-day, and should have your immediate attention and consideration until you have, if possible, agreed upon a basis that will place these two great orders, that are working and striving for the same ends by the same methods, under the same jurisdiction ; so that as a unit, they may press forward, shoulder to shoulder, united in one solid phalanx : one motive, right ; one thought, victory ; and one sentiment, fraternal love, actuating bot^. " Your attention is called to the necessity of adopting and publishing the policy that will be pursued as to the extension of the organization into the Northern States. " It will be remembered, at the time of the organization of this order as a national trade-union, the prime motive was to secure a strong organization of the producers of the cotton belt of America. It was argued that an organ- ization of that district meant virtually an organization of the world, so far as the production of cotton was concerned ; and that, therefore, in that direction was the best field to demonstrate the power and benefits of co-operation and organization. In pursuance of this doctrine, the work has been pushed with most vigor in the cotton States, until each has now a State Alliance. Other States are knocking at the door, and it seems that there can be no good cause for denying them admission. But the extension of the work into new territory, where new conditions and issues are to be met, is attended with great responsibility and danger. The danger is, that the objects of the order and the methods it proposes to work by will be misunderstood. It should be remembered that the evils which now afilict agriculture are of a general char- acter, and have been for years developing, and consequently no spasmodic effort will relieve, neither can an effort directed by one idea alone be ade- quate. The relief measures must be general in character and must be applied in every possible way, and contended for with a persistence and determi- nation that will be content with slow and partial results for the present genera- tion, and insure the grandest benefits to posterity. Consequently, great care THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 8 1 must be exercised that the ship of state be kept sailing in the open waters of general reform, ready to respond to and take advantage of any favorable wind that may be presented. The shoals and rocks of special ideas must be avoided, as containing the elements of disaster. " While all will admit that nothing will be of as great service in promoting the objects the Alliance seeks to achieve as certain legislative enactments, still nothing could be more disastrous to the order than to tie it to that one channel of reform, because by directing all effort in that direction, it would soon be recognized as the chief object of the order, and when that was accomplished, the necessity for the existence of the order would no longer remain, and it would nattirally go to pieces. He who teaches as a panacea for all, either a party reform, a money reform, a land reform, or any other special reform for general conditions, must not be accepted as a guide. All the special reforms that contain good should be contended for as methods of the Alliance, but great care should be taken not to confound them with the principles which are general and are founded on ultimate truth, and as such, and in that capacity, are alone capable of meeting the general adverse con- ditions to be contended with. Hence the necessity, in the extension of the work into new territory, of being able to define the issues on which the meth- ods to be pursued will depend, in plain and simple language, so that all will understand readily and indorse fully. In the cotton belt, co-operation in regulating the price of that product has been an idea that all could grasp at once and indorse it; but other sections are not^favored with a product of which they have a comparative monopoly in the production, and the danger is that without some strong object of peculiar class to act as a ballast, they may attach too much importance to partisan political methods, and getting them mixed with the principles of the order, seriously injure the movement. It must therefore be extremely hazardous to extend the order into new territory without using great caution, and giving full notice to all who contemplate joining its ranks, that its objects are : ' To teach the principles of economic government in a strictly non-partisan spirit ' ; 'To bring about a better understanding among agriculturalists'; *To promote mental, moral, social, and financial prosperity ' ; ' To bury the dead, relieve the sick and afflicted, to comfort the distressed ' ; and that it means '■ Peace on earth and good will to man.' While it is every man's duty to his family and country, under our form of government, to be a partisan, the proper place for him to receive a true education is not in a partisan school. Let the order be the great school of truth, in which, by a thorough exchange of ideas, all may be truly educated. Let it there be agreed what great principles shall be indorsed. Leave parti- sanship to the individual, but study and discuss political economy as a class, and arrive at true conclusions. There need be no apprehension as to what will be the partisan policy of any people who believe and think alike, from enlightened understanding of the same subject. They would then act to- gether and be beyond the reach of those who would try to array them to do battle on account of class prejudice. It is therefore suggested that this body, as the representative of all the Alliances now organized, pass such laws as 82 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. will prohibit Alliances from taking organized action in partisan politics or sectarian religion, under penalty of forfeiture of charter, and that all Alli- ances to be hereafter organized be notified of that law before charters are issued to them. "Your attention is called to the necessity of defining — both for the infor- mation of the membership and as a guide for your executive — the genius of your laws, both organic and statutory : this will be found a task worthy of careful execution. It seems that the order is under two distinct systems of law and government, and must necessarily be so as long as it is a secret order with a written constitution — the charter from the United States government and the constitution adopted at the first meeting of this body, composed of delegates from two States and ratified by those States — comprises the organic law. Under it each State is a separate autonomy, limited only by the rights and powers expressly delegated to the national government in the constitu- tion, thus making the order like the government of the United States, a con- federated form of republican government, and authorizing its legislative branch to make laws to the extent expressly delegated by the constitution only. *' The other system of laws that governs the order, and to which it is sub- ject, is similar to that of all other secret societies, and is of the nature of a limited or constitutional monarchy, and must ever be so as long as the secret work emanates from the general government. By authority of this system, you have in your legislative capacity, while in session, powers co-ordinate at least with the constitution. No constitution has ever prescribed a penalty for violating the obligation, still any Sub-Alliance or any president, by virtue of this last system of laws, to which the order is subject, would, on sufficient evidence, expel a member for that offence, and expulsion is the extent of pun- ishment possible under the constitution. Your powers, then, as a legislative body, are supreme under the one system, and are only limited by the consti- tution under the other. You will therefore be at liberty, should you so decide, to pass a system of statutory laws, and to offer the State Alliances constitutional amendments for their adoption. It will be found a great con- venience to adopt a uniform rule when enacting statutory laws ; have them read by caption, numbered, and referred to appropriate committees ; also require that they all commence in the same form, as, 'be it enacted.' This will save time from being wasted in useless discussion before the body. Statutory laws enacted by this body, by virtue of the authority of the unwritten law or secret work, should be supreme, controlling and being recognized and en- forced by all subordinate divisions of the government. That is to say, should this body pass a law by that authority which affected the individual member- ship, all State, County, and Subordinate Alliances would immediately be sub- ject to that law and responsible for its execution. " The organic law, as embodied in the constitution, should express nothing but general principles, and should leave the provisions for applying those principles entirely to legislative enactment. This is peculiarly necessary in our form of popular government, where amendments to the constitution have to be ratified by three-fourths of the State Alliances before becoming laws. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 83 Hence the necessity of having the constitution contain as few provisions as possible, and restrict it to a simple expression of principles so general and permanent that they will need no change ; and to a definition limiting the rights and powers of all concerned. Your present constitution, therefore, needs very few changes ; there are, however, three constitutional amendments submitted to your attention, as of sufficient importance to be submitted to the States, and you are requested to consider the advisability of so doing. " First, a change as to the manner of raising, and the amount of, the reve- nues now derived from the States, as five per cent of the gross receipts. There is no necessity for any special elaboration on this point, as all will admit that the revenues are not adequate to meet the running expenses which must be incurred, and that this comdition must seriously hamper the work. Your secretary has had a hard fight with short funds ; he has received less than one thousand dollars, and is over one thousand dollars in debt. That office is economically managed when the gross expenses do not exceed thirty- five hundred dollars per year, including stationery, postage, printing, etc. But the funds coming in under the present system have been so irregular and vague that the secretary has been compelled to manage along, relying upon other resources for the greater part of the year. He had a right to expect that in the end he would receive enough from this body to pay all indebtedness. No other officer has been allowed any expense during the past year. But all of your officers have been compelled to advance the funds from their own pockets to defray their expenses in attending this meeting. This is a hard- ship, and is not just ; the laborer is worthy of his hire, and should at least get his own money returned to him. However, the greatest necessity for revenue is to provide a fund for the elaboration and extension of the work into new fields. *' The second amendment is in regard to representation, which, under the present plan, is cumbersome and sometimes unequal. One delegate from every four counties is not based on any ratio as to extent of territory or numer- ical strength of. constituency. This should be remedied, so as to always keep the size of the body within the bounds of reason, and at the same time provide some uniformity as to the amount of interests represented by each member. " The third amendment suggested is one providing for a supreme judiciary, to be co-ordinate in power with the executive and legislative branches, with appellate jurisdiction in matters of controversy between the State Alliances, and in trials for impeachment of officers of the National Alliance. Such appeals, in the latter class of cases, being taken from the findings of special committee appointed by the president, when competent ; and when not, to be appointed by the Legislative Department when in session ; and when not, to be appointed by the Supreme Bench. The Supreme Judiciary should have original and final jurisdiction in cases involving the constitutionahty of any statutory laws, and in cases defining the legal relations of the^ order with other organized bodies. " The statutory laws of the order will depend entirely upon your wisdom, and should clearly define and provide for the effective operation of every 84 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. principle of the constitution. You are to be congratulated upon having one vice-president from each of the States, and that the vice-presidents form the Executive Committee, and it is suggested that you constitute them a diplomatic council, with power to meet at any time on call of the president, and define and carry out a plan of consolidation with any kindred organiza- tion, subject to ratification and approval by the Supreme Judiciary. This would enable such business to be despatched at all times of the year. '* It is suggested that a law be passed regulating the printing of rituals and charters, and that States should not be allowed to have that work done. A reason for this is that the National Alliance, by having large numbers made, can secure better work for less money ; and further, it might, by being re- stricted to the National Executive Committee, be made a source of revenue. " There is great necessity for a statutory enactment that will be the means of securing full and accurate crop reports at least four times a year ; and some action should be taken by this body that will impress the people with the importance of this business and secure the co-operation of all to perfect a bureau that will be absolutely correct, and can at all times be relied upon to represent the interest of the producer, whether it be simply to inform him of the best time to sell, or contradict some falsehood circulated by speculators to reduce the price of produce. 7 "Your attention is called to the fact that the laws of the United States, -. under which this National Trade Union is chartered, require that the head- quarters of the corporation be in the District of Columbia, and it is suggested that you consider the propriety of opening an office in Washington, to be the home of the corporation. The order seems now to have grown large enough to make this necessary and advisable. " If the people of this country suflfer from the effects of class legislation, if class legislation has been the result of influences and importunities brought to bear by certain classes upon the law-making powers, it seems that it might be well for agriculture to have a small, but competent and inexpensive com- mittee to watch the motions of Congress, and present and push the influences and importunities that may be thought advisable in behalf of the members of that great class, and sound the alarm when offensive class legislation seemed probable. " The different State Alliances, during the past year, have been organizing their business efforts and are endeavoring to co-operate on the exchange plan. This plan is pure and simple co-operation, with no joint-stock features what- ever, and differs from similar plans before introduced, in several important particulars. It is calculated to benefit the whole class, and not simply those who have surplus money to invest in capital stock ; it does not aspire to, and is not calculated to be a business for profit in itself, but is intended to be strictly auxiliary and supplemental to the farming efforts. Another distinc- tive feature of the exchange plan is that, instead of encouraging a number of independent stores scattered over the country, — each in turn to fall a prey to the opposition, whenever they shall think it of sufficient importance to con- centrate a few forces against it, — this plan provides for a strong central State THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 85 head, and places sufficient capital stock there to make that the field for con- centrating the fight of the opposition, and a bulwark of strength and refuge for the local store efforts. The opposition to the central exchange under this system is of course very determined and very bitter, but it has been found vastly better than the scattering fight, and certainly has a much greater advantage in repelling the attacks of the opposition, and seems competent to conquer all the attacks of the external opponents, if properly sustained by the constituency. The greatest danger comes from bombs thrown by the enemy, that cause dissension and dissatisfaction among the membership. Of course a big majority will be found firm and steadfast, but a few are always waiting anxiously to be struck by such bombs. This system has been tried longer and more extensively in Texas than any other State, and has been attended with no little strife and opposition. In the effort made in that State, it was thought best last winter to deviate from the true exchange plan ; the business was just being started and did not have its capital stock paid up sufficiently to enable the central exchange to stock up with goods, and the exchange plan proper was held in abeyance, intending to develop it fully when the capital should be sufficiently paid in ; and a plan was offered by the Alliances, and by them adopted, by the provisions of which a system of joint notes, made by the Sub-Alliances and secured by mortgages on the cotton crop, are given by the Sub-Alliances direct to the central exchange, under the supervision and approval of the county business agent. These joint notes ranged in amount from one hundred to five thousand dollars, and were in- tended to represent the amount of credit purchases that each Alliance desired to make on time during the year. All the notes were made due November 15th, and as the previous custom of the country had been October ist, that was intended as a step toward lengthening the season for marketing the cotton. The effort contemplated making nothing fall due, on the following year, prior to the first day of January. The exchange was expected to use the joint notes, which were negotiable paper, as a basis of credit, and borrow money upon them to be used in purchasing the supplies for the makers of the notes. "The effort was only partially successful, owing principally to the small amount of capital paid up. The notes, if ever so good, could not be used at their face value in borrowing money ; the borrower must have some capital or ability to pay of himself. The amount of notes made in favor of the exchange was about four hundred and twenty thousand dollars ; the amount of goods put out on credit was about two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars ; the amount of stock paid into the co-operation was about seventy-six thousand dollars ; but at this time the exchange was in its greatest trouble, and received the criticisms through the press that crippled it and interfered the most with its success ; it had only received about seventeen thousand dollars cash capital on which to operate, and had put out in the neighborhood of two hundred thousand dollars' worth of goods to the brethren, or nearly twelve times its capital. The result of the effort in Texas has probably demonstrated that that plan should not be attempted by an exchange, unless it has a large paid- 86 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. up capital. However, that plan, if carried out, is calculated to assist greatly in handling the cotton crop, because it enables the poor man to make a crop without mortgaging to the merchant. The exchange plan of Texas is now more forcibly than ever demonstrating its success. The brotherhood of the entire State have paid up their indebtedness to the exchange, closer than ever before known in a credit business, and the exchange has been enabled to liquidate its indebtedness faster than most any corporation or mercantile con- cern in the State. It had paid, on the first day of September, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; and while the commercial reports every day showed private mercantile concerns, in different parts of the State, making consignments, giving mortgages, closing out, etc., in greater numbers than had been known for years, the exchange was, every day, growing more solid and getting its business in a healthier condition, and one fact that stands out prominent, and is a subject of congratulation, is, that not a single Alliance or co-operative store, that traded with the exchange, has failed. \ " With a State exchange system in each State, it is quite probable that you will be called upon to consider bills for the establishment of a National Ex- change, for the purpose of harmonizing the efforts of the State exchanges, and to assist and direct their enterprises. In so doing, you should exercise the greatest conservatism and extremest caution. An investigation of the subject will impress you with its magnitude and importance. Nothing visionary should be for a moment tolerated. You should not provide for a National Exchange simply because there may be a demand for it ; better let it pass unless you can see positively how it will do great good, and be an efficient, successful, working enterprise, and see it so plainly that you can demonstrate it to a certainty. If a system of national co-operation can be made a success, it must, under our form of government, depend largely upon the perfection and success of the State systems that compose it ; and they in turn upon the county systems; and they in turn upon the people. Therefore, there is a danger of establishing a national system too early (before it has a proper foundation), and the result of such action would be an inefficient and inoper- ative enterprise, from which half a million people would expect wonders, while it found itself powerless to accomplish anything, and, as a result, great injury to a just and worthy cause. Examine, therefore, carefully into the con- dition of the co-operative effort in each State, before considering a national plan, and should you decide to adopt one, leave no possible chance for a fail- ure. Do this by prohibiting it from undertaking more than it can surely accomplish, and do not place a responsibility without bestowing power to discharge it. " Your attention is called to the recent troubles in regard to a combination in cotton bagging. " There seems no good reason why jute butts, from Calcutta, should be the only substance used to wrap the cotton crop. The effort, however, to use burlaps or corn husks as a substitute, seems to be a failure, but a bagging made of cotton is now by many regarded as a success in every way except price. If this body could take steps towards inducing the British purchaser THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. Sj to abolish his custom of docking American cotton six per cent for the bagging, provided it was wrapped in good substantial bagging made of cotton, it would seem to solve the question entirely. Perhaps the true solution would be to establish the cotton mills in the cotton-growing districts ; but that will take time, effort, and changes in many present customs, laws, and conditions. One of the most important inducements to manufacturers is cheap money, and one of the greatest aids to cheap money are insurance companies ; they control vast sums, that^or absolutely safe investments, are content with low rate of interest, and interest on the money invested in a plant of three or four millions is of more importance than the freights on the cotton or coal they use. Cheap money will have to be secured before many factories are located. "The importance of an Alliance Insurance Company, therefore, is not to be overlooked. From the moment the farmer sells Ifis bale of cotton, it is not only insured, but everything it touches and every man that owns it is insured, and the cotton pays it all. Everything and nearly everybody in this country pays tribute to the insurance companies. Why not, then, have the strongest stock insurance company in America, with two departments, one life and one fire, the capital stock of which would be used in loans to cotton fac- tories in the cotton States.'* It is certainly worthy of consideration. " You can perhaps accomplish much good by adopting suitable memorials to Congress, expressive of your sentiment in regard to the various questions in which our order is deeply and financially interested. This important method of bringing the wants and necessities, as well as the wishes, of the petitioners before Congress, is prosecuted with vigor with other classes, and has long been neglected by the agriculturist^. " The relations with other labor organizations are satisfactory and friendly, but have not been attended with as much intercourse as is probably advisable and necessary, to insure a thorough understanding of objects and methods. You are therefore requested to provide for a committee of one for each labor organization known to exist ; to officially communicate with such orders and secure any information they may be willing to give as to their objects and methods, ahd that such committee-men report promptly all such information to your chief executive, to the end that he may at all times be informed as to the diplomatic relations of the order, and be competent to take such action as the exigencies of the situation may require. At your last session, a com- mittee was provided for by the body, and appointed by the chair, to visit the executive officers of the Farmers' Alliance of the Northern and Western States, with a view of negotiating a basis on which a union might be achieved. Your president corresponded with the said officers, and made an appointment with them to meet said committee at Des Moines, Iowa, in January last. No re- port has been received from the chairman of the committee ; consequently your executive has no information to guide him in taking any further action in regard to the Alliance of the Northwest. : "The influence brought to bear by labor agitation has been productive of action by Congress, that will probably result in the establishment of a cabinet 88 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. office for a representative of agriculture, and you, as a people, are deeply interested in the selection the new President will make to fill that position. " The relations with the world at large are not as unfriendly as many sup- pose. The more intelligent of all other classes realize that all are interested in the prosperity of the agricultural producer, and that their true interests do not antagonize his ; conditions which tend to depress and ruin his business, must, in time, be disastrous on those who depend on him for food and cloth- ing. But there is an element of opposition in several other classes of our country, who oppose Alliance eiforts from purely selfish motives, and will spare no labor to oppose-and create confusion in the ranks. However, such opposition is an evidence of the justice of the cause, and must ever be met by the right on all occasions. The order will, therefore, pass on without heed- ing such opposition, to the accomplishment of its glorious mission — relieving suffering humanity and melting the chains, now forged to enslave posterity, into useful implements for the promotion of equality, justice, prosperity, and happiness to all who labor honestly. *' The Committee on Credentials reporte#the following list of delegates : — ♦♦Alabama: H. P. Bone, T. M. Barbour, R. M. Honeycutt, J. H. Harris, H. G. McCall. ♦'Georgia: J. W. Beck, C. T. Zachary, D. W. Dyal, A. F. Pope, W. A. Willson, R. L. Burk, J. H. Turner. ♦♦ Kentucky: J. E. Quicksall, W. S. Stone. ♦♦Louisiana: W. M. Mann, J. M. Stallings, A. Dimmick, W. R. Womack, A. T. Hetcher, T. A. Clayton, T. S. Adams. "Mississippi: W. A. Boyd, Robert C. Patty, G. W. Dyer, W. M. Steel, J. W. Copeland, S. D. Lee, J. C DeLoach, H. F. Simrall, F. M. Glass, D. R. Hearne, D. F. Chapman, J. H. Beaman, W. L. Mitchell, G. L. Donald, G. A. Tennison, H. H. Ratliffe. T. L. Darden, member Committee on Secret Work. ♦♦North Carolina: J. F. Payne, W. M. White. ♦' South CaroHna: J. W. Reid, A. C. Lyles, H. McRae. ♦' Tennessee: J. P. Buchanan, T. B. Harwell, J. B. Castles, W. T. Grant. ♦♦Texas: W. T. Baggett, B. J. Hubbard, H. C. Stephenson, G. L. Clark, Evan Jones, W. D. Ivey, F. M. Sellers, B. J. Kendrick, R. M. Flowers, M. G. York, W. M. Huey, W. W. Durham, R. J. Sledge, C. M. Wilcox, T. M. Smith, Harry Tracy. ♦♦ Indian Territory : Charles Roberts. ♦♦ Missouri: M. V. B. Page. ♦♦Kansas: W. P. Brush. ♦' The president gave notice that some few days ago he appointed a con- ference committee of three, consisting of G. B. Pickett of Texas, C. L. Smithson of Mississippi, and L. L. Polk of North Carolina, to confer with a similar committee from the National Agricultural Wheel, in reference to organic union of the two orders. ♦♦ The Committe of Conference on Organic Union being announced, reported as follows: — THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 89 " Meridian, Miss., December 5, 1888. *' To the Presidejit of the National Farmers'' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America. "We, your Joint Committee, appointed to consider a plan for the consoli- dation of the National Agricultural Wheel and National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, beg leave to submit the following report : " 1st. We most heartily recommend the proposed consolidation of the two orders. *' 2d. We recommend that the name of the consolidated order be The National Alliance Wheel and Co-operative Union of America. " 3d. We recommend that the two bodies meet in the court-house, in this city, at 3 o'clock this afternoon, in joint session or in committee of the whole, to be presided over by the president of the National Alliance. •'4th. We recommend that on all questions or matters relating to the organic laws of such consolidated body, each body shall be entitled to an equal number of votes, and on all committees appointed to perfect such con- solidation, the two bodies are to have equal representation, to be determined by their respective presidents. " L. L. Polk, E. M. Nolen, " G. B. Pickett, W. H. Hickman, "W.S.Morgan, C. T. Smithson, " Farmers'' Alliance Committee. Wheel Committee. " Moved by Charles Roberts of Indian Territory, and seconded by J. S. Castle of Tennessee, that the rules be suspended and report be adopted. "After some discussion, F. M. Sellers of Texas moved the previous question, which was agreed upon, and the vote being then taken on the original motion, it was carried. "A committee from the National Agricultural Wheel being present at the door, bearing a message from their organization announcing their action in reference to organic union, the president instructed Brother Polk to bring the gentlemen in and introduce them. The committee, through their chairman, reported that their body had by a unanimous vote adopted the recommenda- tions of their conference committee, which in substance means that they are in favor of union. " The time having arrived to adjourn, for the purpose of meeting with the National Agricultural Wheel as a joint committee, the president announced that, previous to such adjournment, he wanted the legal situation understood, and held that, as a joint committee, the body in which they were about to participate would have no power to change any laws of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, and that all action taken by the joint committee would have to be re-enacted by this body to become a law in this order, and if such action modified the constitution, it would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the State organizations within one year. "In the joint session of the Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union and the National Agricultural Wheel, the consolidation, recommended by the Con- go AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, ference Committee, was unanimously agreed upon, and the name adopted for the proposed organization was The Farmers and Laborers' Union OF America. Pending the discussion of a constitution, the joint session adjourned to lo a.m. to-morrow. " The joint session resumed its work. " The constitution was adopted set'tatitn, and an election of officers was held, with the following result : For President, Evan Jones of Texas ; for Vice-President, Isaac McCracken of Arkansas ; for Secretary, A. E. Gardner of Tennessee ; for Treasurer, Linn Tanner of Louisiana. " The constitution was then referred to the several State organizations of the two bodies for ratification, and it was ordered that, in the event of three- fourths of the Farmers' State Alliances ratifying the consolidation, the presi- dent of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union shall issue his proclamation making known said ratification, and that when three-fourths of the State Agricultural Wheels shall have ratified the consolidation, in accordance with the terms of this agreement, the president of the National Agricultural Wheel shall issue his proclamation of said ratification. The consolidation shall then be officially made known by proclamation of the president of the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America. " It was further ordered that, in the event of the ratification of the pro- posed consolidation, the next meeting shall be held in St. Louis, at lo a.m., on the first Tuesday of December, 1889. *' The constitution, as adopted by the joint session, is similar to that of the Farmers' Alliance, except that the eligibility of ministers of the gospel for membership is restricted to those living in the country. "Motion made by Patty of Mississippi that a roll of States be called, in order to find out whether delegates were instructed as to organic union with the Agricultural Wheel. Prevailed, and one State declared itself instructed to form the union. " Motion by Patty of Mississippi, that the Chair appoint a committee of one from each State and Territory, to take into consideration the question of organic union with the National Wheel, on the basis this day agreed upon in joint session, and the said committee report to-night before 12 p.m. Adopted, and committee appointed: R. C. Patty, Mississippi; Womack, Louisiana; Quicksall, Kentucky; Willson, Georgia; Bone, Alabama; Alex- ander, North Carolina ; Reid, South Carolina; Buchanan, Tennessee; Sellers, Texas ; Roberts, Indian Territory ; Brush, Kansas ; Johnson, Missouri. " The committee of one from each State, on the method by which the organic union could be perfected, made the following report, which was adopted : — " To the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of Afnerica : — " Your select committee, acting under instructions, beg leave to report the following resolutions, to wit : — ''Resolved, ist, That we approve the proposed constitution and by-laws this day adopted in joint session with the National Wheel, and that the same THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 9 1 be printed and transmitted with all convenient despatch to the several State and Territorial Alliances, for consideration. ''Resolved, 2d, That when as many as three-fourths of said State and Territorial Alliances shall have ratified said proposed constitution and by- laws, the president of the National Alliance and Co-operative Union shall make proclamation to that effect; and when concurrent action shall have been had by the National Wheel, the president this day elected by said joint session shall make proclamation providing for the organic union of State, County, and Sub-Alliances and Wheels respectively, in accordance with such regulations as he may prescribe. " Resolved, That the present organization of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America be preserved intact, until such proposed organic union shall have been effected. " Respectfully submitted, "Robert C. Patty, " Chairman, for the Com?nittee. ** Report of Committee on National Organ. *' The report of the Committee on National Organ was received and adopted by unanimous vote. Their report was this proposition ; — " The undersigned hereby respectfully present the following plan and proposal for your consideration and adoption : — " We will organize a company, with ten shares of $1000 each, paid- up capital, composed of good Alliance men, and will not increase the number of shareholders, and will hold all the shares or any part of them subject to purchase at full face value by the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America, when that body has funds for investment in that enterprise. Said company will start and run for a term (^ ten years, more or less, a newspaper, to be not less than a four-page seven-column paper, issued weekly, and devoted to the circulation of official news and the interests of agriculture, and the general dissemination of the true principles of political economy, strictly non-partisan in politics and non-sectarian in religion; to be a clean and neat paper of high moral tone, such as will be a source of true education to the youth, of emulation to those in active middle life, and of congratulation and comfort to the aged. *' The company will execute a bond to the president of the order and his successors in office, in the sum of $50,000, that all contracts by said , corpora- tion with members of the order, either for subscriptions or advertising, will be strictly carried out. Said company will, should you accept this prop- osition, locate said paper in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, and put it into successful operation on or before the first day of April, 1889, and will furnish same to all yearly subscribers at one dollar per year. *' A. B. Johnson, Chairman. *' Ben Terrell, " R. J. Sledge, '* C. W. Macune, " W. P. Brush, ♦' R. J. Sledge, '•J. A. Tetts, " Harry Tracy, " Robert C. Patty, Committee. §5 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. "Resolutions by Warren: That when this body adjourns, it shall be to meet at Atlanta, Georgia, the first Wednesday in October, 1889, should such meeting be necessary. Call sessions to be held at same place. "A resolution was unanimously passed, thanking the good citizens of Meridian for their royal hospitality. It was just simply unparalleled. The entire delegation of nearly 200 were made guests of this heroic city for nearly a week. "C. W. Macune, " President National Fai'tners' Alliance and Cooperative U7ii9n. " B. J. Hubbard, "J. W. DeLoach, "J. W. Reid, * • Recording Secretaries. "Attest: "Ed. B. Warren, Secretary ^"^ CHAPTER V. HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE Continued. The work done by the convention held at Meridian, Missis- sippi met with general approval. A fresh impetus had been given the order, and many of the benefits predicted at the beginning were being realized. The jute bagging trust was being successfully contested, and it seemed, for the first time in history, that the farmers were capable, and determined to take care of themselves. During the early spring, a national organ, The National Economist, was established, at the city of Washington, District of Columbia, and during the summer an important meeting was called, at Birmingham, Alabama, for the purpose of considering the sale of cotton. At this meeting much important business was done ; various plans for the relief of cotton-growers were formulated ; and President Macune, President McCracken, and Chairman S. M. Adams were re- quested to issue a proclamation requesting the proper officers in the various State organizations to convene all the county organizations in their respective States, on the second Tuesday in June, 1889, for the purpose of taking proper action to carry out the plans of the convention. At the Meridian meeting a plan of consolidation had been agreed upon and submitted to the States interested, for their action. As fast as the State meetings were held, the propo- sition for consolidation was ratified. When the required num- ber had given their consent, the following joint proclamation was issued : — ** Know all men by these presents, that — *' Whereas, The National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America did, at its last regular meeting, to wit, on the 5th day of December, 1888, in the city of Meridian, State of Mississippi, agree upon a new consti- tution for tlie order, and that said constitution was twice read in open session on two separate days, as required by law, and then passed by a two-thirds majority, and then submitted to the States for ratification in conformity to Article VI. of the constitution now in force; and 93 94 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. " Whereas^ The vote of the various State Alliances on said proposition is officially recorded as follows : Affirmative ; Tennessee, South Carolina, Ala- bama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Indian Territory: Negative; none reported. New Mexico has not reported at all, and the State Alliance of Texas ratifies conditionally. This record shows that the requisite three-fourths of the State Alliances have ratified said constitution ; and " Whereas^ The National Agricultural Wheel did, at its annual meeting, which was held in connection with the National Farmers' Alliance and Co- operative Union of America, and the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, in the city of Meridian, State of Mississippi, formulate a new constitution for the government of the order, and the same has been submitted to the State Wheels for their ratification ; and *' Whereas^ The following State Wheels have ratified the same : Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Indian Territory, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Texas. This record shows that over three-fourths of the State Wheels have adopted the aforesaid constitution ; and *' Whereas, The National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, the National Agricultural Wheel, and the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association did pass the following resolutions, to wit: — *' 'When as many as three-fourths of said State and Territorial Alliances shall have ratified said proposed constitution, the president of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America shall make proclama- tion to that effect, and when concurrent action shall have been had by the National Agricultural Wheel, the president this day elected by the joint session shall make proclamation providing for the organic union of the State, County, and Sub-Alliances and Wheels, respectively, in accordance with such regulations as he may prescribe ' ; and " Whereas, The said organizations, acting in joint session, did provide for a new set of officers in case said constitution should be ratified, and did elect as officers for that purpose, Evan Jones, President ; Isaac McCracken, Vice- President; A. E. Gardner, Secretary; and Linn Tanner, Treasurer: Now, therefore, " We, the undersigned, C. W. Macune, President of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, and Isaac McCracken, President of the National Agricultural Wheel, and Evan Jones, President of the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America, do by the authority in us vested, severally and officially, issue this our proclamation to the order at large, to wit : — ''First. The membership of the Farmers' Alliance are hereby notified that the new constitution has been ratified by the requisite number of States, and the same is hereby declared to supersede the constitution now in force, and to be in full force and effect from and after the thirtieth day of September, 1889. ''Second. The membership of the Agricultural Wheel are hereby notified that the new constitution has been ratified by the requisite number of States, and the same is hereby declared to supersede the constitution now in force. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 95 and to be in full force and effect from and after the thirtieth day of September, 1889, '• Third. The two national bodies now known as the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, and the National Agricultural Wheel, are hereby declared to be merged and consolidated into one body, to be known as the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America, said consolidation to take effect and be in force from and after the thirtieth day of September, 1889, and to be in charge of the following officers, to wit: President, Evan Jones of Texas ; Vice-President, Isaac McCracken of Arkansas ; Secretary, A. E. Gardner of Tennessee ; Treasurer, Linn Tanner of Louisiana. " Given under our hands, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, this, the 24th day of September, a.d. 1889. ♦*C. W. Macune, ** Isaac McCracken, "Evan Jones." By virtue and under the authority of this proclamation, the two great agricultural organizations became one. Consolidation had been accomplished, and the courage, labor, and persistency of President Macune had been crowned with success. In January, 1887, the State Alliance of Texas met at Waco, many predicted for the last time. In place of disaster came a great victory for the true principles of the Alliance. Instead of disintegration, the State Alliance was strengthened and the National Alliance brought into being. At once consolidation was secured with the Farmers' Union of Louisiana. October, 1887, the national meeting held at Shreveport laid the founda- tion for the consolidation of the Alliance and Wheel. The meeting at Meridian, in December, 1888, arranged the details, and the proclamation of September, 1889, confirmed it. Within two years and eight months from the birth of the National Alliance, three national orders had been united into one, all in excellent working condition, with a system well in hand, and a membership comprising eighteen States and Territories and numbering fully one million people. This was a vast under- taking, the most stupendous and far reaching that the agri- cultural people of the world had ever conceived possible to accomplish. It required courage, sagacity, patience, and, above all, an abiding faith in the objects sought, and a firm belief in the ultimate triumph of truth. The task was performed nobly, grandly, and conscientiously, and the one man above all others ^ 96 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. to whom belongs the meed of praise, and the credit of its accom- ^ plishment, is Brother C. W. Macune. Standing as he did, Hke the tower of strength that he is, "four square to every wind that blew," he was enabled to hand over to his successor this grand organization, as the fruit of nearly three years of labor. During this year much had been done by way of organizing and perfecting the system of spreading the doctrines of the Alliance. The new organization was beginning to attract the attention of the political as well as the commercial world. It grew rapidly, and as the next annual meeting at St. Louis approached, the interest in the order became intensified. The next annual meeting was held at St. Louis, Missouri. The fol- lowing is a synopsis of the proceedings : — FIRST DAY. St. Louis, Missouri, December 3, 1889. Delegates assembled at Entertainment Hall, Exposition Building, at ten o'clock, a.m., and listened to speeches of welcome, made by Mayor Noonan and Governor Francis of Missouri, and responses by J. H. McDowell of Tennessee, and A. J. Streeter of Illinois. Convention then adjourned to 1.30 p.m. The Farmers and Laborers' Union of America met at 1.30 p.m., President Evan Jones presiding. Prayer by Chaplain J. D. Satterwhite of Missouri. The following officers were appointed : Chaplain, J. D. Satterwhite of Missouri ; Steward, R. W. ^Tucker of Tennessee; Assistant Stewards, C. J. Higgins, Alabama; W. J. Talbert, South Carolina, and D. Ried Parker, North Carolina ; Doorkeeper, J. H. Turner, Georgia ; Assistant Doorkeeper, J. M. Ram- sey, Kentucky; Sergeant-at-Arms, G. A. Gowan, Tennessee. Report of Committee on Credentials. The following are the delegates, with their post-office addresses : — Alabama: J. H. Harris, Oakbowery; C. J. Higgins, Logan; T. J. Carlisle, Brun- dinge; R. F. Kolb, Montgomery; S. M. Adams, Randolph; H. D. Lane, Athens. Arkansas: L. H. Moore, Alston; John W. Lybrand, Grapevine; N. E. Chambers, Van Buren; Daniel Morgan, Magnolia; John A. Ansley, Prescott; E. F. Stackhouse, Little Rock, President State Alliance ; I. P. Lan gky, Bee Bee; W. S. Morgan, Hardy; Isaac McCracken, Ozone, Vice-President Farmers anHTLaborers' Union. Georgia: L. F. Livingston, Cora; Felix Corput, Atlanta; W. J. Northen, Sparta; J. W. Hogan, Valdosta; J. H. Turner, Lagrange. Florida : Robert F. Rogers, Live Oak, President State Alliance; A. S. Mann, Jack- sonville; Oswald Wilson, New York, State Business Agent; H. C. Randall, Purcell. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 97 Indian Territory : R. C. Betty, Dougherty. Indiana : R. F. Peck, Shoals. Kansas: A. E. Dickinson, Meriden; B. H. Clover, Cainbridge; Van B, Prather, Columbus; S. J. Atkins, Ruston; John S. McKinley, Wichita, Kentucky: H. C. Brown, Clinton; S. B. Erwin, CUnton; W. T.Winn, Fulton; W. W. Gill, Olmstead; W. R. Browder, Olmstead; S. B. Penn, Slater; J. E. Quick- sail, Ezell; B. F. Davis, Ezell; G. W. Comer, Peach Orchard. Louisiana: J. A. Tetts, Ruston; Daniel Morgan; T. J. Guice; J. D. Hunnicutt; J. D. Hammond, Bastrop: T. A. Clayton, New Orleans, State Business Agent. Missouri: J. S. Hall; H. W. Hickman, Puxico; J. W. Rodgers, St. Louis, 713 Olive Street, State Secretary; Thomas Day; S. F. Boyden, Neosho; George W. Reg- ister, Poplar Bluff; D. F. Eskew; Marcus W. Wood, Chairman Trade Committee; George A. Handley, Belton; W. A. Taylor, Versailles, Box 45; F. L. Hogard, Belton. Maryland: N. A. Dunning, Washington, District of Columbia; Harry Tracy, Washington, District of Columbia. Mississippi: R. C. Patty, Macon; H. F. Simrall, Vicksburg; J. H. Beeman, Ely; Frank Burkett, Okolona; F. M. Blount, Highland; A. M. Street, Boonville. North Carolina : Elias Carr, Old Sparta, President State Alliance; S. B. Alexander, Charlotte, Chairman Executive Committee; L. L. Polk, Raleigh, State Secretary; E, A. Moye, Greenville, Member Judiciary Committee; A. J. Dalby, Oxford, Agent Tobacco Manufacturing Company; W. A. Graham, Macpelah, Trustee B. and F.; A, H. Worth, Raleigh, Business Agent North Carolina. Nebraska : J. D. Hatfield, Clinton. Oklahoma: W. H. Barton, Guthrie. South Carolina : W. J. Talbert, Holmes, Lecturer; D. K. Norris, Hickory Flat; T. P. Mitchell, Member State Executive Committee; J. W. Reid, Reidville, Secretary State Alliance and Member National Committee on Secret Work; W. W. Keys, Greenville, Editor Cotton Plant. Tennessee: J. B. Buchanan, Murfreesboro ; R. W. Tucker, Nashville; J. R. Miles, Ralston Station; J. H. McDowell, Nashville; J. F. Tillman, Palmetto; B. H. Hord, Nashville; E. B. Wade, Murfreesboro; A. E. Gardner, Dresden. »/ Texas: B. J. Kendrick, Waco; C. M. Wilcox, Waco; E.B.Warren, Weather- ford; H. S. P. Ashby, Smithfield; T. J. Anderson, Paris. Virginia: Robert Beverly, The Plains; Mann Page, Brandon; G. H. Chrisman, Chrismann. The following communications were received : — From the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association : — Mount Vernon, Illinois, November 25, 1889. I certify that the following resolution was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, in session at Mount Vernon, Indiana, November 19 to 23, 1889 : — To the Officers and Me7nbe7's of the Farmers and Laborers'* Union of America, in Session at St. Louis : The Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association sends heartiest greetings, and bids you God- speed. We congratulate you on your consolidation. gS AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. and wish you unbounded success. We are glad to state that our organi- zation was never in a more flourishing condition. We are pushing the work of organization and education; our membership is encouraged and hopeful, and we will heartily join you in any effort you may make, or plan you may devise, for the amelioration of the condition of our people, or to redress the wrongs of the long-suffering and patient, but over- burdened farmers and laborers of the country, and that our committee on co-operative trade be, and they are hereby, charged with the bearing of this communication to said meeting. Given under my hand and seal of said association, the day and date above written. John P. Steele, Secretary, From the National Farmers' Alliance : — St. Louis, December 3, 1889. To the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America : Gentlemen : The National Farmers' Alliance, in convention assem- bled, have duly elected a committee of conference, consisting of nine members, to meet with a like committee from your organization. Respectfully, J. Burrows, President National Farmers' Alliance. Committee from the National Alliance of the Northwest was then announced in waiting. Brothers L. F. 'Livingston of Georgia, Mann Page of Virginia, and L. L. Polk of North Carolina were appointed a committee to receive the visiting committee and seat them on the plat- form. After an interchange of views, the committee retired, and on motion, the following Committee on Conference was appointed to confer with the National AUiance of the Northwest : H. W. Hickman, Missouri ; Mitchell, South CaroHna ; Page, Virginia ; Clover, Kansas ; Lybrand, Arkansas ; Patty, . Mississippi ; Tucker, Tennessee ; Anderson, Texas ; and Morgan, Louisiana. Also the following committee was appointed to confer with the Mutual Benefit Association : Davis, Missouri ; Clayton, Louisiana ; Gowan, Tennessee ; Bird, Alabama ; and Worth, North Carolina. On motion, a committee of conference on cotton tare and bagging, consisting of one from each cotton State, was appointed. The Committee on Conference then made a report as follows : — The joint committee agree to recommend to our respective organiza- tions the adoption of the following resolutions, to wit : — THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 99 First, That a joint committee of five on the part of the National Farmers' AlHance and a Hke number on the part of the National Farm- ers and Laborers' Union be appointed, with authority to formulate a plan for a confederation of said organizations and of other known agri- cultural and industrial organizations in the United States, to the end that immediate and practical co-operation may be secured for the ac- complishment of the objects common to all. Second, That the autonomy of said organization be preser\^ed intact until such time as the way may be found clear to effect organic union, if the same should hereafter be found necessary. A. J. Streeter (111.), Chatrf?ian, Robert C. Patty (Miss.), Secretary. SECOND DAY. President Jones delivered his annual address : — To the Officers and Metnbers of the Far7ners and Laborers^ Union of America, greeting. Dear Brothers : This is certainly an auspicious occasion, it being the first meeting of our organization ; an organization that to-day stands without a peer in its influence for good — not to the farmers and laborers only, that you represent, but to every legitimate and necessary interest of a free and independent government ; and upon the perpetuation of its principles and their influence upon our people depend the prosperity and liberty of all classes, and the stabiHty and power of our nation. An organization whose fundamental principles are founded upon equity and justice, and whosfe cardinal doctrines inspire peace on earth, a love of liberty, and good-will to all mankind ; an organization whose rise and progress are without a parallel, and which is destined in no distant day to embrace the entire agriculture and laborers of the world, and whose power and influence shall protect their Hberty and interest from the encroachment of rings, trusts, and soulless combinations, which are absorbing all of the profits of labor, and thereby paralyzing the indus- tries of our country. The wonderful growth of our order during the brief period of ten years, and the rapid strides it has taken in establishing its various busi- ness enterprises, based upon fair and equitable principles, have had a salutary influence upon commerce, and excited the admiration and respect of the business world. It has also aroused the hostility of the greedy and avaricious trusts, rings, and monopolistic combinations, to such an extent that great and lOO AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. persistent efforts are put forth by them to thwart us in every attempt at reform, or effort to correct the prevaiUng evils that now environ and threaten the destruction of our industrial classes. Ours is no common effort. We are approaching a period of social and political development that will test the wisdom and patriotism of our whole people, and will demand the most guarded and conservative action of our greatest statesmen. The weal or woe of our nation depends upon the intelligent action of the industrial and conservative classes, through organization, education, and co-operation. Brethren, in view of the above facts, and recognizing you as repre- senting the intelligence of the various State organizations in this, our highest legislative body (a cre-ature of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America and the National Agricultural Wheel, the consolidated power and influence of which make it one of the greatest organizations in the world), would call your attention to the gravity, magnitude, and importance of this occasion, and impress upon you the necessity of the most guarded, intelligent, and conservative action. It is an evident fact that to free our industrial classes from the oppres- sions that now prevail so universally, will require a perfect concert of action of all sections ; therefore, one of the most important subjects to be considered by this body is a basis of union or co-operation with all kindred organizations ; and whereas there have been negotiations between the National Farmers' AlUance and the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association of the Northwestern States, looking to a consolidation of these two great agricultural organizations with the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America, and as delegates from the National Farmers' AlHance and National Mutual Benefit Association are now in the city, I would recommend that you give this matter your immediate attention, and, if possible, agree upon a basis of union, or at least co-operation. I would call your attention to the necessity of more closely guarding State rights in our constitution. Would recommend that the work of organizing should come under the jurisdiction of State organizations, provided, however, that, in unor- ganized States, the president of the Farmers and Laborers' Union of iVmerica shall appoint organizers and take general supervision of the work ; and Whereas^ The constitution defines the duties of an executive com- mittee, would call your attention to the failure of its providing for the creation of same ; and THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE^. y-y^y.-lOl Whereas, The constitution, under the head of miscellaneous, now provides that all trials for offences shall be by the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America, while in session ; and Whereas, The time of holding said meetings is limited, and the ex- penses of the same great, would recommend the creation of a supreme judiciary, who shall hear and try all cases. I would also call your attention to the necessity of bonding your sec- retary. Also to the more clearly defining Article VII., governing eligi- bility. The advancement of civilization, the development of the natural resources of our country, the promotion and perpetuation of our free institutions, the stability, power, and influence of our republican system of government, the creation and successful operation of all our gigantic enterprises, which give strength and influence to government, depend largely, if not wholly, upon the intelligent application of the true princi- ples of co-operation. The most, if not every failure of all the various business efforts of our order, are due to a want of a proper understand- ing, and a strict adherence to the business principles of co-operation. It is the foundation that underlies the whole superstructure of our noble order, and a strict adherence to its principles will lead the membership to a degree of prosperity that shall gladden the hearts of all, and bring joy and contentment around the family circle. I would recommend that you spare no effort in providing the neces- sary facilities for the better education of the membership in these great principles. The monopolization of finance has been, and now is, the fountain from which all monopoHes, rings, trusts, and oppressive organizations draw their support, strength, and power. Money in shrinking and insufficient volume remits labor to idleness, reduces the price of products, plants mortgages on the homes of our people, bankrupts those who are forced to borrow, paralyzes our indus- tries, and produces hard times and great privations among the masses. It is impossible to have an equitable adjustment of capital and labor so long as money is contracted below that which is adequate to the demands of commerce ; hence, if we would correct the abuses and powers that are now prostrating -and enslaving our industries, lift the mortgages from the homes of our people, restore peace and prosperity to our now paralyzed and almost ruined agricultural and laboring people, we must have a circulating medium in suiiflcient volume to admit of transacting our business upon a cash basis. I would therefore recommend that you demand, at the hands of the 192 , ; . AG'RI-ClJhTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. law-making functions of our nation, a monetary system that shall con- form to the interest of^the producing and laboring classes, as well as the speculator and usurer ; that the coinage of silver be as free as gold, and that gold and silver be supplemented with treasury notes (which shall be a full legal tender for all contracts), in a sufficient amount to furnish a circulating medium commensurate to the business necessities of the people. There is, perhaps, no question that demands more serious attention at this time than the present condition of our land. From its many resources flows all the wealth of our nation ; and upon its proper and just distribution depend the prosperity, contentment, and happiness of the yeomanry — a class upon whom all nations must largely depend for strength and support. During the greatest prosperity of Rome, about eighty-five per cent of her population owned titles in land. It was then that she was founded upon a rock, and was mistress of the world; but in the course of her history, through the monopolization of her lands by the few, through unjust legislation, the homes were wrenched from the hands of the masses, and when the dark death-ford was reached, upon which civilization was to die, less than two per cent of the people controlled the land ; and it is said that about fifteen hundred men controlled the wealth of the world. To-day we find in America millions of acres of her fertile lands, bought by the lives and efforts of our forefathers, which should have been held sacred for homes for their posterity, squandered upon rail- roads and other corporations, and millions more are owned and con- trolled by domestic and foreign syndicates ; while a large per cent of our homes are hopelessly mortgaged, and about fifty per cent of our sons are tenants. This wholesale absorption of land by aggregated capital must be checked, or it will finally enslave the honest yeomanry pf our country, and inevitably destroy our much-loved republic. The hope of America depends upon the ownership of the land being vested in those who till the soil. Give the people homes, — theirs to improve, theirs to culti- vate, theirs to beautify, and theirs to enjoy, — and our grand republic will stand as the acme of modern civilization and national greatness. I would recommend that you demand legislation for the better protection of the lands and homes of our people, and a law prohibit- ing the alien ownership of land in America. Lands of America should be owned and controlled by citizens of America. As a means of developing the many natural resources of our great THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 103 and powerful nation, and the distribution of our products for the use and comfort of our people, the railroads take the lead as a benefactor of the human family, if properly used ; but the avarice and greed mani- fested on the part of these great corporations, have through their unjust manipulation of transportation destroyed all competition, and become oppressors rather than servants of the people for which they were cre- ated. These corporations have rights that should be protected ; a right to business, to legitimate profit, to property, and restricted power. It is not the railroads of which the people complain, but the abuses of their powers, chartered rights, and privileges. Everything they have and enjoy hangs like a plummet to its cord upon law alone ; and ag the law derives its strength solely from the will and obedience of the people, every rail, car, stock, bond, and charter has its security and protection chiefly from that tender homage and reverence which emanates from the hearts of our law-abiding and liberty- loving agriculturists ; and in oppressing them, they are chafing the cords upon which alone hang their profits, franchises, and existence. I would recommend that you demand such legislation, both national and State, as shall regulate and control rates and classifications of freights on all lines of transportation, that fair dealing and justice may be secured to all. While our order, as an order, is strictly non-partisan in politics, yet Section I. in our declaration of purposes says, that " we shall labor for the education of the agricultural classes in the science of economic gov- ernment, in a strictly non-partisan spirit." It is an evident fact that the origin and power to perpetuate the ex- istence of the various rings, trusts, and combines, that now oppress our people and threaten the overthrow of our free institutions, are due to unjust legislation, and the intimacy and influence that still exist between our representatives and these powerful corporations and combines, are such as to give good reason for serious alarm. We have reached a period in the history of our government when confidence in our poHtical leaders and great political organizations is almost destroyed, and the estrangement between them and the people is becoming more manifest every day. The common people are now beginning to see that there is no just cause for the now almost universal depression that pervades the labor- ing classes of every section of our country, and are disposed to attribute the same to the corrupting influence that these great combines and cor- porations exert over our leaders and political, moral, and social institu- tions. So long as our people neglect to inform themselves upon the I04 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. great issues of the hour, and continue to follow blindly machine politi- cians to the neglect of their own interest, they will continue to lose their individuaUty, influence, and power in our political institutions, and be wholly at the mercy of the soulless corporations that are now jvielding such an influence over our government. The very existence of our free institutions and repubHcan form of government, the very life and prosperity of the agricultural and laboring people, depend largely, if not wholly, upon financial, land, and transpor- tation reformation. It is a conceded fact that a republican form of government lives alone in the hearts of the people ; and its destiny depends entirely upon the purity of the ballot, and as this is in the hands of every man, there can be no safety, except as is guaranteed by its intelligent use. This is the fortress of our nation's strength ; and if our order would reach that high degree of usefulness for which it was created, it must, through a well-defined system of economic questions, produce this intelligence and virtue, thus preparing our people for an intelligent use of their franchise. When the dissolution took place of the two national bodies that com- pose the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America, I found myself in a very awkward and embarrassing situation. The responsibility of these two national bodies merged into one im- perfect organization, with a defective constitution, and with demands coming from the various States for organizers, new rituals, secret work, and other printed matter, and having no funds in the treasury for defray- ing expenses, and being compelled to draw upon my own private funds for the defraying of all my office and official expenses, with considerable division and dissension in some of the States, and having no executive committee or supreme judiciary to share my responsibilities, I must confess that it was with great forebodings that I assumed my official duties. Among my first official duties was to appoint an executive committee, composed of Brothers J. H. McDowell of Tennessee, G. L. Clark of Texas, and J. A. Tetts of Louisiana. I also arranged with Brother J. H. McDowell for the printing of 50,000 rituals and the new secret work — which were ready for distribution to State secretaries within thirty days from the issuing of our official proclamation. During the two months of our organization, I have given the order my very best efforts, availing myself of every possible means for the har- monizing of the brotherhood in States where unity failed to exist, and to perfect our organization. There were brethren who were ever ready with their counsel and encouragement, which assisted me greatly in the THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 1 05 discharge of my arduous duties. To them I shall ever feel grateful for their assistance, fidelity, and patriotism to the order during these trying hours. Brethren, never before in the history of organized labor have we been confronted with graver questions of business, of greater magnitude and importance, than will be presented to this convention. You virtually hold in your hands the destiny of our order, upon whose success or fail- ure depends the weal or woe of the patient and long-suffering agricultu- ral and laboring people of our nation. To-day all eyes are turned to St. Louis, while millions of anxious, waiting hearts are trusting to your patriotism and wise deliberation that shall pave the way for their relief. Feeling confident that you will meet bravely, calmly, and unselfishly the great work which now lies before you, and realizing your responsi- bihty and the necessity of having justice done to all respecting the humble as well as the highest members of the order, thereby strengthen- ing the ties that now bind us together in one common brotherhood, I assure you as your chairman, that my motto shall be, " Equal rights to all, and special privileges to none." Let us, therefore, as brethren, true to our God, cause, and families, enter upon the business of this meeting with full confidence in each other and brotherly love to all mankind, and may He who doeth all things well guide us in our deliberation to the perfecting and perpetu- ating of our order, free our nation from corporative power, and break the shackles that now bind our industries in iron chains. St. Louis, Missouri, December 4, 1889. The following resolution was adopted : — Resolved^ That the National Farmers' Alliance is hereby cordially invited to visit us in a body, to listen to the address of Ex- President C. W. Macune, on the aims and principles of the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America. Adopted. After considerable detail business. Ex- President C. W. Macune, of the Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, delivered the following address : — Brethren of the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America : It is the custom when legislative bodies of this character convene, for the president to deliver an address, setting forth the exact condition of the order, telling what has been accompHshed during his administration, and making such suggestions for consideration as he deems best. This has already been done by our worthy president. But this organization. lo6 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATLONS. and consequently our president's active administration, is only about two months old, and prior to its formation the same interests were repre- sented by two national organizations. As I had the honor to be presi- dent of one of those organizations, the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, not only during the five-sixths of the past year, but from the very first organization of that order in January, 1887, it seems to me appropriate that I too deliver you an address. In fact, so very important do I deem the message that I have to impart to you that I offer no apology for its presentation, believing that my famil- iarity with all the past methods of the National Alliance will enable me to point out to you the lessons taught by the critical periods in its his- tory, to give a clear and full conception of the writing between the lines in its present strength and condition, and to suggest certain necessary lines of action worthy of a careful consideration. A further reason for the delivery of this address is that I have, up to this time, been filling a responsible position as editor of your national official organ, the National Economist, and this position has brought me in direct weekly communication with the whole order, which has forcibly impressed me with many of the necessities of the order and shown the great impor- tance of the consideration by this body of several questions which will be the means of outlining a policy for said official organ to be guided by during the coming year. This body, while discussing the . situation and deliberating upon the policy to be pursued, should be thoroughly conversant with the history of the past efforts and the present condition of the order, and possibly suggestions as to the future by those who have filled executive offices may be of service. They are, at least, offered for consideration. In 1886 the Alliance movement of the South was confined principally to the State of Texas. The State Alliance of that State had chartered a few Sub-Alliances in Indian Territory, and a small number in the State of Alabama. The report of the State secretary at the regular annual meeting of that year showed that the order had grown from about six hundred to over twenty-seven hundred Sub-Alliances during the year that ended in August, 1886. As a natural and unavoidable consequence of such rapid organization, the principles, objects, and methods of the Alliance were very imperfectly understood by the majority of the mem- bership. It was an election year in that State, and partisan feeling ran high. Dissensions within the order were so great that a dissatisfied minority met and organized themselves into an opposition State Alliance, secured a charter from the State of Texas, and elected a corps of State officers. The outlook for the order at that time was indeed unpromis- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 107 ing, and utter dissolution seemed imminent and almost certain. I was at the time chairman of the Executive Committee, and by direction of the president I succeeded in securing a conference between the officers of the State Alliance and the officers of the element that had seceded, the result of which was that the seceders agreed to take no further steps, but hold their charter in abeyance till the next regular meeting of the State Alliance. Immediately after the conference, the president and vice-president resigned, and by virtue of my office I called a meeting of the State Alliance to convene in January, 1887, for the purpose of filling the vacancies and taking such other action as the necessities of the order demanded. I immediately wrote to Hon. A. J. Streeter of Illinois, who was then president of the National Farmers' Alliance, and Hon. J. Bur- rows of Nebraska, who was vice-president of that order, for information in regard to the origin, history, methods, and purposes of the National Alliance ; also to Brother J. A. Tetts of Louisiana, who was prominent in the work of the Louisiana Farmers' Union, asking like information in regard to the Union. The Western Rural was at that time published as the official organ of the National Alliance, and its editor, Mr. Milton George, was the national secretary. I received the Western Rural regu- larly, and preserved the published rulings of the national secretary as to qualifications for membership, and the rules prevailing in the National Alliance governing charters, etc. The Louisiana Union showed by its constitution that it was practically the same organization then existing in Texas as the Farmers' Alliance, and that it diifered only in name ; and as I had notice that Louisiana would have a called meeting just prior to the called meeting in Texas, I appointed Brother Evan Jones a delegate to visit the Louisiana Union and make overtures in behalf of unity. He was well received, and a committee of one from the Union was elected to visit the called meeting of the Texas State Alliance, and empowered to act in behalf of the Union in taking steps for the extension of the work into new fields. All, this may seem like dry detail, but it is neces- sary in order to properly understand the exact conditions that sur- rounded and controlled the formation of the National- Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, when there was already in existence a National Farmers' Alliance in the States farther nprth. It is unques- tionably very necessary to show that the second National Alliance was not instituted in opposition to, or as a rival of, the National Alliance then in existence, if such be the case, and I believe it was. The called meeting of the State Alliance of Texas, held in the city of Waco, in January, 1887, i§ a noted landmark in the history of the Alliance. At that meetmg provision was made for the organization of lo8 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, the National Alliance, and after it was organized its constitution was ratified. There were over four hundred delegates assembled at the meeting, and a more discordant and dissatisfied assemblage of equal size probably never convened ; and yet, after a four-days session, a more harmonious and completely unified body of equal size was perhaps never seen. In my address at the opening of the meeting, I called ; attention to the dissensions and dissatisfaction within the order, much of lit the result of misunderstanding, and some the result of personal ambi- tion and local prejudices. I took the position that if the order was a good thing, it was our duty to spread the light ; that we must be aggres- sive ; that if we considered Texas well enough organized, and concluded to fold our hands and enjoy the expected benefits of the Alliance, we would be doomed to disappointment, because dissensions and conten- tions would soon prove to be effective causes for disintegration and rupture. The very existence and perpetuation of the order demanded that it must take an aggressive position in favor of an overshadowing effort for good in behalf of the membership, that would act as a nucleus and rallying cry, and be of so general a character that it would receive the indorsement of the entire membership. Without this the local issues, developed by local conditions and successfully met by the order, would assume undue proportions, and frequently produce confusion by being mistaken for the chief objects of the order. To prevent a great order that is scattered over a large extent of territory, and embraces people whose habits and occupations have developed a great many different local issues, from breaking up into detachments to each combat a local and fleeting issue, thereby placing it at the mercy of a better organized foe that would decoy each detachment into an ambush where it could be destroyed with ease ; to prevent such dire but certain consequences there must be a general issue to which each detachment will return after having sallied out to demolish a local issue, and in support of which all are agreed and united into a solid phalanx, thereby being able to meet either the detached or combined forces of the opposition. The general aggressive issue decided upon at the called meeting was " Organization of the Cotton Belt of America," and under the purifying and inspiring effects of that philanthropic object local issues and per- sonal prejudices were crowded to the background, and every man took his place in the ranks of the aggressive, shoulder to shoulder, determined to succeed, and to-day we may note the grand result. Less than three years have elapsed since that day, and yet the entire cotton belt is well organized. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. I09 When the question of electing delegates from the Texas State Alli- ance, to meet with delegates from the Louisiana Union, for the purpose of organizing a national order, was pending, I presented to the body all the information in regard to the National Farmers' Alliance that I had received from the columns of the Western Rural and the correspon- dence with Presidents Streeter and Burrows ; a careful consideration of which showed that there were, at that time, at least three reasons why the Texas State Alliance was not willing to join itself to tJiat order. The first was, the National Farmers' Alliance was a non-secret and very loose organization, with neither fees nor dues, and charters seemed to be sent out by the national secretary, Mr. George, to anybody who would request them, on very little evidence as to the qualifications of those applying. Second, the published rulings as to the qualifications of membership made colored persons eligible ; and third, the national secretary published a ruling that any person raised on a farm was con- sidered a practical farmer, and was therefore eligible, regardless of his present occupation. The membership of the Texas State Alliance and the Louisiana Union were at that time unanimously opposed to each of these three methods, and therefore thought it useless to delay organizing a national body that would conform to the genius of the institution they had so grandly com- menced to build. They did not propose to enter the territory of the National Farmers' Alliance, nor to oppose it in any way, but they thought it would be presumption, and perhaps a needless waste of time, to lose a year in order to ask the National Farmers' Alliance to modify its methods that they might join it ; and therefore they organized their own national in their own territory. From the date of the organization of the national, the order grew very rapidly, as the reports from the different State organizations at this meeting show. This rapid growth was largely due to the zeal of a membership, united in an effort thoroughly understood and indorsed by all, exerted at a time when the masses were ripe for the movement. The lines of argument that induced people to join the order are impor- tant and should be carefully considered, because they indicate in some degree what they expect the order to accompHsh in their behalf and by their assistance. After a very careful survey of the work, I find myself unable to avoid the conclusion that the leading and principal arguments used, and especially those that have been to any extent effective, have all had for their object, either directly or indirectly, conditions that would render farming more profitable from a financial standpoint. The methods no AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. offered for acquiring this desirable state of affairs have been numerous, and often very ingenious, sometimes wild and impracticable. Some have held that organization would render farming profitable and pros- perous by the benefits that would naturally flow from the more intimate social exchange of ideas and courtesies at the meeting, where each could learn the methods pursued in the detail of farm work by all the others, and that the dissemination of such practical data would render all more productive, and that, as a consequence, they would be stepping into the ranks of those who have been eulogized for having been able to make two blades of grass grow where only one grew before. It seems to me that more importance and value have been attached to this senti- ment than its merits entitle it to receive. A proof of this is found in the fact that the cereal crops of the United States, in 1867, aggregated about a billion and a quarter bushels, and brought about a billion and a quarter dollars ; and from that time the crop increased till, in 1885, it reached the enormous sum of over three billion bushels, and the whole crop sold for less than a biUion and a quarter dollars. Others have held that organization could render farming profitable by the introduc- tion of better business methods, in which all would unite and co-operate for the purpose of selling our products higher, and purchasing such commodities as we are compelled to buy, cheaper. Those who have made a special study of this feature of the effort realize that the purely technical effort of improving our methods of farming, by which we may possibly increase the amount of products we make in return for a given amount of labor and expense, although it be praiseworthy, desirable, and worthy of encouragement, is not a force or remedy nearly equal to the emergency, and that the influences that tend to depress agriculture and render the pursuit of that occupation unprofitable, have rapidly gained the ascendency over and neutralized the beneficent effects that should have followed the introduction of wise methods and new and improved machinery in the past, whereby the results of productive effort have been increased most wonderfully. It is deemed unwise to depend entirely on a remedy that has proved ineffectual on every occasion. They contend for something more cfTficient, by advocating a better system of handhng and disposing of what we produce, and a more care- ful and economical method of purchasing supplies. This they expect to accomplish by securing, as nearly as possible, a direct sale of our products to those who consume them, thereby gaining the commissions now paid to middlemen that do not appear to be necessary, and increasing the price of the produce sold. They will reduce the price of commodities purchased by encouraging cash transactions on a large THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. Ill scale, thereby eliminating the loss and risk that attend the credit busi- ness, and getting the benefit of wholesale prices. The hope of ultimate success from this line of effort depends upon the ability to enhance the price of what we have to sell, and diminish the price of what we have to buy, thereby increasing the gains. The ability to do this, it is usually argued, depends upon the amount of devotion each member will exer- cise in favor of the object. This line of argument also holds, that if each would be wiUing to make enough sacrifices of prejudice, and time, and money, they would be certain to succeed. And yet if we admit all that is claimed in this direction, we must still realize that there is a limit to the power that can be enforced by these methods. For example, we cannot reduce the price of the commodities we purchase any below what it costs to manufacture them, neither can we raise the price of the produce we have to sell above a certain limit, without a tendency to have the demand supplied from other sources or by substi- tutes. The probabilities of success, therefore, by the business methods alone, will depend upon the power thus wielded being equal to or greater than the tendency to depression that has proved so powerful in the past. Still another method of advocating organization as a means of in- creasing the profits of farming is, that by organization a united effort can be brought to bear upon the authorities that will secure such changes in the regulations that govern the relations between different classes *of citizens as are necessary to secure equal rights, equal privi- leges, and equal chances. Those mentioned, as advocating the second or business line of teaching as the remedy, seem to have drunk a little deeper at the fountain of thought and wisdom than the first class of teachers mentioned ; and those of the third class, now under considera- tion, seem to have pursued the investigation even further than the second class. They recognize the generally known and universally acknowledged maxim of political economists, that a general rise in prices always attends an increase in the volume of the circulating medium of the country, and a general fall in prices always attends a decrease in its volume ; and that the regulations governing the relations between the different classes of citizens in this country empower a certain specified class to issue over one-half of the circulating medium, and permit them to withdraw from circulation any or all of such money at their own pleasure, thereby allowing said class to regulate, as they may choose, the volume of circulating medium in the country, subject to a limit of about forty per cent ; that is to say, should they choose to retire all their circulation, they would reduce the volume of the circu- 112 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. lating medium of the country to forty per cent of its present volume, and as a necessary and unavoidable consequence reduce the price of everything in nearly the same proportion. There is then absolutely no way of avoiding the conclusion that such class possesses the power to produce a general rise or fall of fifty per cent in prices, at pleasure. Those who realize this state of affairs contend that it is a waste of energy for all the farmers in this great land to combine and co-operate to raise the prices of a given product when, if their most sanguine hopes were realized, they would not augment the price over twenty-five per cent, while at the same time representatives of another class of citizens of this country could receive instructions from one office in a single hour which would depress prices fifty per cent. In fact, owing to the inflexible rigidness of such a system, the fluctuation in general prices is very great between the different seasons of the same year, and for the following reasons : Agriculture presents, during the last four months of every year, an actual tangible addition to the wealth of the nation, equal to five times the gross volume of all the money in actual circulation in the country ; and all this agricultural product comes on the market to purchase money for the use of the agriculturist. Now it stands to reason that such an increase in the demand for money, when there is no increase in the supply, must augment its price, — which is its pur- chasing power, — and which means diminished prices for everything else. Now if, in addition to this powerful tendency, a certain class possesses the power to diminish the supply at that season, in the face of the augmented demand, the tendency to a rise in the purchasing power of money becomes certain and irresistible. The experience of every man in the agricultural districts of the West and South has no doubt often shown him a difference of fifty per cent or more in the price of an article during the fall season and the spring. And it is universally known that, in pursuance of the above phenomena, general prices are much lower in the fall than in the spring season. Great respect is due to the teachings of those who contend that the greatest power being exercised to depress agriculture to-day emanates from unjust regulations governing the relations between the different classes of citizens ; and if, by a united effort, we can secure the correction of the evils they point out, we will pave a way for the certain triumph of our business efforts, and the enjoyment of more satisfactory and prosperous social relations. It seems to me that there is much good in the teachings of all three of these methods, and that it will be found a duty of this body to en- courage the effort to improve in farming from a technical standpoint, as a result of the pleasant social reunions enjoyed in the subordinate THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 13 organization. Also, to sustain and assist in every possible manner the efforts made to co-operate for business purposes, by the different county and State organizations, and to provide a plain, simple, and specific demand on the part of the national organization for the proper, just, and equitable regulation of the relations between the different classes of citizens. These three classes of teachings, and modifications of them, have been the principal inducements offered people as reasons why they should join our ranks ; and the fact that they have joined in such vast numbers indicates the necessity for action in the directions pointed out, and is a pledge that they will assist in carrying out such methods. Of the three different methods, that of relief from the business effort has received the most attention, and been by far the most prominent. This is due, probably, to the fact that the technical and social co-operation seems best adapted to the workings of the subordinate body, while the business efforts have demonstrated the necessity of the wider range of co-operation to be secured in the county and State organizations, and the co-operation necessary to secure the proper adjustment of economic relations seems peculiarly within the province of the national organiza- tion, as it is the very foundation upon which the whole class in all the States must depend. The prominence given to the business effort, by the different State organizations, has not been without important results, the full details of which, I suppose, will be reported to you by the different State delegations. They have, in nearly all the States, organized their business with a strong capital stock, ranging from $50 to I5 00,000. Texas has^ a capital stock of |>5 00,000, divided into individual shares of five dollars each. Several States have their capital stock divided into shares of ;^ioo each, and issue them to subordinate bodies only. I think this last method has many advantages, and would particularly recommend the plan gf the exchange of Georgia as one that seems to me wisely prepared. In my message to the last regular session of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, at Meridian, I pointed out the necessity for great caution in the formation of any national plan of co-operation for business purposes. I now desire to reiterate that caution, and say to those who wish to inaugurate a National Farmers' Exchange, that there is danger of such an enterprise being so placed that it cannot accomplish much, and still, when in existence, the people will expect much of it. There may, perhaps, be some plan formulated by which the different State exchanges can co-operate, but I doubt the wisdom of going any further than that, by organizing a national exchange. 114 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. or of incurring much expense on the part of the national for business purposes. It seems that the co-operation for business purposes, in order to be effective and reach its highest development, should be more extensive than can be obtained in the subordinate bodies alone, and that it absolutely requires co-operation between the subordinates in the counties, and co-operation between the counties in the State ; but beyond the State organization there does not seem to be any prominent and conclusive reason for extending so strong and close an organization, in which it would be necessary to lodge so much power and responsibil- ity. Each State is a complete jurisdiction within itself, and usually has different and distinct conditions, customs, usages, and issues. It always comprises territory and business enough to develop all the branches of business, as manufacturers, jobbers, wholesalers, retailers, brokers, com- mission men, etc. From all these reasons, I conclude that while co- operation between the different State business efforts will probably be necessary and beneficial, stronger reasons than I have yet been able to discover should exist before a national exchange organization will be able to do much good. From these considerations, it must now be plain to you that the order has, by means of the consolidation here to be consummated, reached a period of full development that places a responsibility upon it for effi- cient and aggressive action. The three efiftctive Hnes of effort above specified, that have induced this vast army of brethren to espouse the cause and place their shoulders to the wheel, have each a proper field in which to operate. The national organization, by securing a better adjustment of the economic policy of the government, will insure that the regulations governing the relations between the different c*lasses of citizens shall be just, fair, and equitable, and thereby lay a foundation on which the States, in their business efforts, will find it possible to reach complete success, but without which they would, as now, be con- tending with inevitable defeat, and the success of the business effort rendered certain by the exercise of the great powers possessed by tlie State Alliances, when they can be exercised under the just conditions which it is the province of the national to secure, will augment the social benefits and enjoyments that should result from the subordinate organ- izations. Each has its special field, and the success of the national ren- ders success in the State effort possible, and the success of these two contributes to the true benefits which must finally flow to the subordi- nate body. As we have seen, the order has made a most prodigious growth, and its business efforts have reached a high stage of development and useful- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 15 ness. Your attention is now called to the genius of the government of the order. It will be found in the highest sense interesting and pecul- iar. We have had a written law and an unwritten law. Two sets of laws and systems of government have been in force at one and the same time. Every individual member has sustained a dual relation to the order, and yet all have harmonized perfectly, and there has been no conflict or clash. The written law is comprised of the charter from the United States government ; the constitution and legislative enactments of the national order ; the charters, constitutions, and legislative enact- ments of the various State organizations ; and the charters, constitutions, and legislative enactments of the various county and subordinate bodies. The form of government under the written law was democratic, the sub- ordinate bodies each being a simple democracy in which the individual is the sovereign,* and all*members vote on all questions. The State and national bodies were each a confederated form of republican govern- ment, and every step from the people, who are the supreme power, lessened the power of the delegated body. The national only had such powers as were expressly delegated to it by the States, and the State only had such powers as were bestowed upon it by delegates from the subordinate bodies. Its form of government, under the written law, was modelled after, and was very similar to, the form of political govern- ment under which we live. The unwritten law is the secret work, and, like all other secret orders, it has necessitated and depended upon a form of government closely analogous to a Hmited monarchy. Accord- ing to it, all power and authority must emanate from the recognized head, and permeate through the various branches to the individual membership. Under this system of law, this is a supreme body, and under the written law the membership of the subordinate were supreme, because, under the written law the membership could, by the exercise of their constitutional privileges, abolish the national body entirely ; and under the unwritten law the national could, by the exercise of its power, abolish a subordinate body by revoking its charter. This system of dual sources of power and forms of government, that originate at opposite extremities of the order, and encompass it as two parallel bands through- out its entire extent, is wonderfully calculated to add to its strength and efficiency, and furnishes a complete safeguard against any weak point in either system, by always having the strength of the other system present and ready to assist and maintain it. The necessity for this full and complete statement of the genius of the government of the order is two- fold : First, an imperfect conception of these principles has often been the cause of considerable hesitation and embarrassment on the part of Il6 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. State presidents, when called upon to rule on questions upon which the constitutional law was not very explicit ; and second, delegates to the national frequently seem to think that the only way they have of offering new and necessary regulations to the order is by modifying the constitu- tion or offering a resolution. Now the facts are that resolutions should be offered for nothing but as expressions of sentiment or advisory meas- ures recommended to the order or others ; that the constitution should contain nothing but the declaration of purposes of the order, an outline of the different branches of government, an expressed limitation of the powers of each branch and each officer, and such general provisions governing the laws and usages as are of universal application, and will be permanent and require no modification and change. Then, to pro- vide rules for the conduct of the officers, and the carrying out of the provisions of the constitution and render the workings of the order effective and satisfactory, not resolutions, but laws should be passed, the difference being that laws would prescribe certain things while reso- lutions simply recommend them. Every bill should be refused consid- eration unless it commence according to an established form, as, " Be it hereby enacted by the Farmers and Laborers' Union of America," etc., and each bill should have a caption and be numbered. If the laws of the legislative body were expressed in this way, they would soon make a valuable code of statutory laws for the order, that would save much of the time now wasted in discussing resolutions that are simply a repeti- tion of what may have been passed many times before, but is not in a shape to be of record. This will also obviate the necessity for making any changes or additions to the national constitution, which is very desirable, as every possible means should be resorted to that will tend to make the national organic law fixed and permanent ; let it be too sacred to be modified except in cases of the plainest necessity. Observation of the workings of the order in the past leads me to make the following suggestions : — I. There should be an efficient and uniform method of securing reports as to the strength, financial condition, • etc., from the entire order. The national secretary cannot now send out a blank asking for information and get a response that is satisfactory from half of the States, because the blanks used by one State secretary are entirely different from those used by another, and consequently the information they have is of a different character. To make statistics of the order valuable they should all be gathered in response to the same questions, and it seems to me that the best way to secure that end would be for this body to provide for a small but competent committee who should THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. II7 call upon each State secretary to send them a copy of what he finds to be the best blank for subs to report to county organizations, and what for county to report to State organizations upon, and give this com- mittee authority to consider all these forms, adopt the best as the standard for all, and get up the reports to the national, State, and county bodies in a complete system. They can then be printed from plates in large numbers, and thereby reduce the expense. 2. Independent of the secretaries' reports, a system, of crop reports should be inaugurated, that will be mor^ prompt, accurate, and reUable than the estimates made and pubhshed every year by the speculators, who are interested in depressing prices of our produce. This is of the utmost importance ; and yet all efforts made up to this time have been signal failures. I would therefore suggest that the national, State, county, and subordinate bodies each elect a crop statistician, to be paid by the body electing him, and who shall be h^d responsible to make regular reports as required by the officers to whom he is to report, and that the national statistician report monthly to the president of the national body. 3. The national committee on secret work should alone be authorized to print the ritual, and all sub and county charters should emanate from the national, and be issued by the various States. 4. The regular annual meetings of the State bodies should be timed so as to come in rotation, thereby allowing national officers to visit them. 5. All written official documents of the national should bear the impress of the seal, and all printed official documents should have printed on them a fac-simile of the seal. 6. The secretary should be required, on the first of every month, to pay the treasurer all the money he has received, and the treasurer pro- hibited from paying out any money, except on a warrant drawn by the secretary and approved by the president, and the secretary should be prohibited from drawing a warrant on the treasurer, except upon a voucher or account that is audited and approved by such auditing officer as this body may provide. 7. There seems at present a necessity for a national lecturer, and as that necessity may only exist for a year or two, it might be provided for temporarily ; and if it be, the lecturer should be an efficient officer, with probably a larger salary than any other national officer, and be required to do active work during his term. 8. Since education is one of the most potent agents at our command, the national should impress upon the membership the importance of every member reading his State and national organ. 9. The president should be authorized at any time to appoint com- Ii8 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. mittees to confer with any or all other labor organizations, on questions relating to the objects and methods of organized producers, always reserving to this body the right to ratify or reject their action. With these recommendations as to matters within the order, I will leave that feature of the work and call your attention to the relations of the national order to the government and people of this country at large. Our relations, as an organized force, with the people of the United States and with the government have been wonderfully improved during the last year, by the establislfment and publication of your national organ, the National Economist, at the national headquarters. It has been the means of presenting the true, just, and equitable side of the movement to a class of readers who before never saw anything but misrepresentations of the objects of the order. It has fought for our rights from a high, dignified, and indisputable standpoint of right, and as a result we now see leading papers #nd periodicals in the large cities publishing articles in the interest of the masses that a few years ago they would not have allowed to come inside their doors. In fact, our national organ has been so conducted that the entire order has shown unmistakable evidences of the fact that they are proud of it, and that it has been a wonderful educator and benefit to the membership. Nevertheless, the national organ will never reach its highest develop- ment for good until it goes hand in hand with a good, efficient State organ in every State, and the State organs of the various States will not reach their highest development for good without a harmony of effort and concentration of forces. I therefore submit for your consideration the propriety of authorizing the national and State organs to organize themselves into a newspaper alliance for the purpose of, first, lessening their expenses; second, guaranteeing a uniformity of sentiment, offi- cially indorsed by a national supervising committee ; and third, in- creasing their usefulness and efficiency; and that this body make its president ex officio chairman of a committee of three, who shall pass upon and, if approved, place their stamp upon every article expressing editorial opinion as to doctrine which emanates from a central editorial bureau for publication in the various papers of such newspaper alliance. A thoroughly reliable and uniform expression of sentiment can in this way be secured in all parts of the country at the same time. Our State organs are at present doing a great work, and accomplishing much more for the order than is generally supposed. In nearly every State in which the order has a State organ it will be found, on comparison, to be the best farmers' paper in that State, and members who read their State and national organs are always too well posted to waver in their THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, II9 allegiance to the order, on account of any of the arguments or false reports of the opposition. With such an alliance as an auxiliary, when the conflict of the national deepens, the full force and influence of twenty or twenty-five of the best papers in the country could be manipulated with great advantage to the true interests of our cause. This will be by far the most potent agent at our command in the impending struggle, since by it we can keep our own ranks thoroughly posted and unified, and at the same time we can meet the opposition at no disadvantage, in an eflbrt to secure the influence of the great class that now stand comparatively neutral, but will sympathize with and assist us when convinced that our objects are right and our meth- ods fair. In considering our relations to the world at large, I believe it well to call your attention to what, after a long and careful investigation, I believe to be a fact, and that is, that all the evils which afflict agriculture to-day, and especially all which contribute to the present universal depression, arise either directly or indirectly from unjust regulations or privileges enjoyed by other classes under our financial system, or our sys- tem of laws in regard to transportation corporations, or our land system. In the consideration of these prime causes of the many abuses that afflict our class we as a national organization of farmers occupy a peculiar but not unsatisfactory position. It has been the custom for changes in any important feature of governmental regulations to be inserted in partisan platforms, and in this way brought before the masses. We compose at least fifty per cent of the strength of each of the political parties. The two oldest political parties have each had their turn at the administra- tion of affairs, and neither has made a single move toward these ques- tions that are now of more importance to our class than all others. Evidently we have been derelict in our duty to ourselves, because we have not made our influence felt in the party to which we belong. We have, from time to time, at our meetings passed resolutions making various and sundry demands of our law-makers, but up to the present time there are little or no visible results. I believe we have ' scattered too much and tried to cover too much ground, and that we should now concentrate upon the one most essential thing and force it through as an entering wedge to secure our rights. A political party is one thing, and we in our organized capacity are entirely different from it. In fact, we are the exact opposite. Parti sanism is the life of party, and the more bitter it can be made, the more solid the party. We, by the dis- semination of the true principles of economic government, set free the strongest influence for neutralizing partisanism, because if all thoroughly \ 1 20 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. understood perfect political economy, and all were honest, all would agree, and therefore there would be no partisanism or party. We are a complete opposite to a political party. We dissolve preju- dices, neutralize partisanism, and appeal to reason and justice for our rights, and are willing to grant to all other classes the same. Party appeals to prejudice, and depends on partisan hatred for power to per- petuate itself. The strength of a political party is its platform, which, when constructed with the highest modern art, seeks to pander to the prejudices of every section. It must contain a plank for every question that is agitated or discussed, and be expressed in such equivocal terms as to mean one thing to one man and the opposite to another. Now, since we are the very opposite of a political party, and have for our object, not to get control of the chief offices of the government with all their power and responsibility, and do nothing except perpetuate our- selves, but to accomplish some needed reforms in the regulation of the relations between the different classes of citizens, no matter which party furnishes us the servants that may occupy the offices, it must be plain that we would only weaken our cause were we to attempt to con- struct a platform after the custom of political parties. Our strength lies in an entirely different and opposite direction. We should unite every effort on the accomplishment of the one reform first necessary, and the most important, and rest assured that the accomplishment of that will insure us a development of strength sufficient to then carry other necessary reforms in their turn. With these thoughts as to the policy to pursue, let us carefully consider which is the most urgent, most important and necessary reform to be dignified as the battle-cry of the order temporarily, till accompHshed. THIRD DAY. Brother Tracy submitted the following : — Committee appointed to wait upon Hon. Mr. Powderly reported that arrangements had been made to have him address this body at 3.30 p.m., with Messrs. Beaumont and Wright ; which, on motion, was adopted. On motion, the house adjourned to meet at 1.30 p.m. Convention called to order at 1.30 p.m.. President Jones in the chair. The following resolution was read by Brother Patty of Mississippi : — Resolved^ That the National Farmers and Laborers' Union declare in favor of organic union with the National Farmers' Alliance. That a committee of five be appointed to meet a Hke committee on THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 121 the part of the National Farmers' AlHance, to prepare a constitution and plan of consolidation for said organizations. Adopted. The following resolution, relative to taking census, was read and adopted : — Whereas, Statements are often made and the belief is growing, that we are becoming a nation of landlords and tenants, and that the homes and farms of the country are very largely under mortgage ; and Whereas , Exact knowledge on this subject is of great importance in the study of the social and economic questions of the day ; therefore be it resolved by the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, — 1. That Robert P. Porter, superintendent of the eleventh census, be respectfully requested to collect evidence in the next census, what per- centage of the people in this country occupy their own homes and farms, and what proportion are tenants ; and of those who occupy their own homes and farms, what proportion have their property free from debt ; and of the homes and farms which are under mortgage, what percentage of the value is so mortgaged, and also what proportion of such indebted- ness is for purchase money. 2. That if the present law providing for the census enumeration does not include provisions to take a complete census of farm indebtedness, we request the Congress of the United States to so amend the present law as to provide for the above enumeration, and further that the publi- cation setting forth the above facts shall be the first report given to the public. 3. That the secretary forward a copy of the above resolutions to the superintendent of the census and each member of Congress and Senate. FOURTH DAY. The report on constitution was read and accepted ; after which the following officers were elected for the ensuing year : — L. L. Polk of North Carolina was elected President ; B. H. Clover of Kansas, Vice-President ; J. H. Turner of Georgia, Secretary ; H. W. Hickman of Missouri, Treasurer ; Ben Terrell of Texas, Lecturer. On motion, a committee from the Northwestern Alliance was received, and considerable time given to a conference with this body. Brother Polk was asked to take the chair to receive the committee. Adjourned to meet at 7.30 p.m. Convention called to order at 7.30 p.m., President L. L. Polk in the chair. 122 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. On motion, the body proceeded with the completion of the organiza- tion. The election of three judges resulted as follows : R. C. Patty of Mis- sissippi, for a term of three years ; Isaac McCracken of Arkansas, two years ; Evan Jones of Texas, one year. The Committee on Demands made the following report on confedera- tion with the Knights of Labor. Adopted. Report of Committee on Demands. St. Louis, Missouri, December 6, 1889. Agreement made this day by and between the undersigned committee representing the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union on the one part, and the undersigned committee representing the Knights of Labor on the other part, witnesseth : The undersigned committee representing the Knights of Labor, having read the demands of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, which are embodied in this agreement, hereby indorse the same on behalf of the Knights of Labor, and for the purpose of giving practical effect to the demands herein set forth, the legislative committees of both organizations will act in concert before Congress for the purpose of securing the enactment of laws in harmony with the demands mutually agreed. And it is further agreed, in order to carry out these objects, we will support for office only such men as can be depended upon to enact these principles in statute law, uninfluenced by party caucus. /'* The demands hereinbefore referred to are as follows : — 1. That we demand the abolition of national banks, and the substitu- tion of legal tender treasury notes in heu of national bank notes, issued in sufficient volume to do the business of the country on a cash system ; regulating the amount needed on a per capita basis, as the business interests of the country expand ; and that all money issued by the gov- ernment shall be legal tender in payment of all debts, both public and private. 2. That we demand that Congress shall pass such laws as shall effec- tually prevent the dealing in futures of all agricultural and mechanical productions ; preserving a stringent system of procedure in trials as shall secure the prompt conviction, and imposing such penalties as shall secure the most perfect compliance with the law. 3. That we demand the free and unlimited coinage of silver. 4. That we demand the passage of laws prohibiting the alien owner- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 123 ship of land, and that Congress take early steps to devise some plan to obtain all lands now owned by aliens and foreign syndicates ; and that all lands now held by railroad and other corporations, in excess of such as is actually used and needed by them, be reclaimed by the govern- ment and held for actual settlers only. 5. BeUeving in the doctrine of " Equal rights to all and special privi- leges to none," we demand that taxation, national or State, shall not be used to build up one interest or class at the expense of another. We believe that the money of the country should be kept as much as possible in the hands of the people, and hence we demand that all reve- nues, national. State, or county, shall be limited to the necessary expenses of the government, economically and honestly administered. 6. That Congress issue a sufficient amount of fractional paper cur- rency to facilitate exchange through the medium of the United States mail. 7. We demand that the means of communication and transportation shall be owned by and operated in the interest^ of the people, as is the United States postal system. For the better protection of the interests of the . two organizations, it is mutually agreed that such seals or emblems as the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union of America may adopt, will be recognized and protected in transit or otherwise by the Knights of Labor, and that all seals and labels of the Knights of Labor will in like manner be recog- nized by the members of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union of America. S. B. Erwin, Chairman^ J. D. Hatfield, N. S. Hall, Secretary ^ S. B. Alexander, J. D. Hammonds, D. K. Norris, F. M. Blunt, H. S. P. Ashby, B. H. Clover, R. F. Peck, M. Page, R. C. Betty, J. R. Miles, W. S. Morgan, W. H. Barton, J. W. Turner, N. a. Dunning, A. S. Mann, S. M. Adams, Conwiittee on Deniatids of the National Earmers^ Aliia?ice and Industrial Union. T. V. Powderly, Ralph Beaumont, A. W. Wright, Committee representing the Order of the Knights of Labor. 124 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. FIFTH DAY. St. Louis, Missouri, December 7, 1889. Committee appointed to wait on the Kansas delegation reported that delegation in waiting to be admitted. On motion they were admitted at once. The delegation was escorted to the platform, and reported that they were ready to consolidate. After much enthusiasm the following resolution was unanimously adopted : — Resolved, That the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union hereby approve and ratify the consolidation of the Farmers' Alliance and Farmers and Laborers' Union of the State of Kansas. That J. M. Mor- ris, G. Bosher, L. V. Herlosker, Perry Daniels, T. J. McLean, and Henry Shapscott be received and seated as delegates from said State, and that a charter for the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union of the State of Kansas be issued to B. H. Clover and S. M. Morris and their associates. Committee on Constitution reported on the monetary system, which, after an animated discussion, was adopted by a large majority. We, your committee on the monetary system, beg to submit the following report, and recommend that 50,000 copies of this report, with complete arguments in support of the same, be published and dis- tributed to the members of our order and to the country, under the supervision of the National Economist^ provided the printing and distri- bution shall be done at actual cost by said journal, to be paid on the 20th day of November, 1890. C. W. Macune, L. L. Polk, L. F. Livingston, W. S. Morgan, H. S. P. ASHBY. Report of the Committee on the Monetary System. The financial policy of the general government seems to-day to be peculiarly adapted to further the interests of the speculating class, at the expense and to the manifest detriment of the productive class ; and while there are many forms of relief offered, there has, up to the present time, been no true remedy presented, which has secured a support uni- versal enough to render its adoption probable. Neither of the political parties offers a remedy adequate to our necessities, and the two parties THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 25 that have been in power since the war have pursued practically the same financial policy. The situation is this : The most desirable and neces- sary reform is one that will adjust the financial system of the general government so that its provisions cannot be utilized by a class, which thereby becomes privileged and is in consequence contrary to the genius of our government, and which is to-day the principal cause of the depressed condition of agriculture. Regardless of all this, the poHtical parties utterly ignore these great evils and refuse to remove their cause, and the importunities of the privileged class have no doubt often led the executive and legislative branches of the government to believe that the masses were passive and reconciled to the existence of this system, whereby a privileged class can, by means of the power of money to oppress, exact from labor all that it produces except a bare subsistence. Since, then, it is the most necessary of all reforms, and receives no atten- tion from any of the prominent political parties, it is highly appropriate and important that our efforts be concentrated to secure the needed reform in this direction, provided all can agree upon such measures. Such action will in nowise connect this movement to any partisan effort, as it can be applied to the party to which each member belongs. In seeking a true and practical remedy for the evils that now flow from the imperfections in our financial system, let us first consider what is the greatest evil, and on what it depends. The greatest evil, the one that outstrips all others so far that it is instantly recognized as the chief, and known with certainty to be more oppressive to the productive inter- ests of the country than any other influence, is that which delegates to a certain class the power to fix the price of all kinds of produce and of all commodities. This power is not delegated directly, but it is dele- gated indirectly by allowing such class to issue a large per cent of the money used as the circulating medium of the country, and having the balance of such circulating medium, which is issued by the government, a fixed quantity that is not augmented to correspond with the necessi- ties of the times. In consequence of this, the money issued by the privileged class, \yhich they are at liberty to withdraw at pleasure, can be, and is, so manipulated as to control the volume of circulating medium in the country sufficiently to produce fluctuations in general prices at their pleasure. It may be likened unto a simple illustration in philosophy : the inflexible volume of the government issue is the ful- crum ; the volume of the bank issue is the lever power ; and price is the point at which power is applied, and it is either raised or lowered with great certainty, to correspond with the volume of bank issue. Any mechanic will instantly recognize the fact that the quickest and surest 126 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, way of destroying the power of the lever to raise or lower price, is to remove the resistance offered -by the fulcrum — the inflexible volume of government issue. The power to regulate the volume of money so as to control price is so manipulated as to develop and apply a potent force, for which we have in the English language no name ; but it is the power of money to oppress, and is demonstrated as follows : In the last four months of the year, the agricultural products of the whole year having been harvested, they are placed on the market to* buy money. The amount of money necessary to supply this demand is equal to many times the actual amount in circulation. Nevertheless, the class that controls the volume of the circulating medium desires to purchase these agricultural products for speculative purposes ; so they reduce the volume of money by hoarding, in the face of the augmented demand, and thereby advance the exchangeable value of the then inadequate volume of money, which is equivalent to reducing the price of the agri- cultural products. True agriculturists should hold their products and not sell at these ruinously low prices. And no doubt they would if they could; but to prevent that, practically all debts, taxes, and interest are made to mature at that time, and they being forced to have money at a certain season when they have the product of their labor to sell, the power of money to oppress by its scarcity is applied until it makes them turn loose their products so low that their labor expended does not average them fifty cents per day. This illustrates the power of money to oppress ; the remedy, as before, lies in removing the power of the fulcrum — the inflexible government issue — and sup- plying a government issue, the volume of which shall be increased to correspond with the actual addition to the wealth of the nation pre- sented by agriculture at harvest time, and diminished as such agricul- tural products are consumed. Such a flexibility of volume would guarantee a stability of price, based on cost of production, which would be compelled to reckon the pay for agricultural labor at the same rates as other employment. Such flexibility would rob money of its most potent power — the power to oppress — and place a premium on pro- ductive effort. But how may so desirable a result be secured ? Let us see. By applying the same principles now in force in the monetary system of the United States, with only slight modification in the detail of their execution. The government and the people of this country realize that the amount of gold and silver, and the certificates based on these metals, do not comprise a volume of money sufficient to supply the wants of the country ; and in order to increase the volume, the gov- ernment allows individuals to associate themselves into a body corporate. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 127 and deposit with the government bonds which represent national indebtedness, which the government holds in trust, and issues to such corporation paper money equal to ninety per cent of the value of the bonds, and charges said corporation interest at the rate of one per cent per annum for the use of said paper money. This allows the issue of paper money to increase the volume of the circulating medium on a perfectly safe basis, because the margin is a guarantee that the banks will redeem the bonds before they mature. But now we find that the circulation secured by this method is still not adequate ; or, to take a very conservative position, if we admit that it is adequate on the aver- age, we know that the fact of its being entirely inadequate for half the year makes its inflexibility an engine of oppression, because a season in which it is inadequate must be followed by one of superabundance in order to bring about the average, and such a range in volume means great fluctuations in prices, which cut against the producer, both in buy- ing and selling, because he must sell at a season when produce is low, and buy when commodities are high. This system, now in vogue by the United States government, of supplementing its circulating medium by a safe and redeemable paper money, should be pushed a little further, and conducted in such a manner as to secure a certain augmentation of supply at the season of the year in which the agricultural additions to' the wealth of the nation demand money, and a diminution in such supply of money as said agricultural products are consumed. It is not an average adequate amount that is needed, because under it the great- est abuses may prevail; but a certain adequate amount that adjusts itself to the wants of the country at all seasons. For this purpose, let us demand that the United States government modify its present finan- cial system, — 1. So as to allow the free and unhmited coinage of silver, or the issue of silver certificates against an unlimited deposit of bullion. 2. That the system of using certain banks as United States deposi- tories be abolished, and in place of said system, establish in every county in each of the States that offers for sale during the one year ^500,000 worth of farm products, — including wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, rice, tobacco, cotton, wool, and sugar, all together, — a sub-treasury office, which shall have in connection with it such warehouses or elevators as are necessary for carefully storing and preserving such agricultural prod- ucts as are offered it for storage ; and it should be the duty of such sub-treasury department to receive such agricultural products as are offered for storage, and make a careful examination of such products, and class same as to quality, and give a certificate of the deposit show- 128 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. ing the amount and quality, and that United States legal tender paper money equal to eighty per cent of the local current value of the products deposited has been advanced on same, on interest at the rate of one per cent per annum, on the condition that the owner, or such other person as he may authorize, will redeem the agricultural product within twelve months from date of the certificate, or the trustee will sell same at pub- lic auction to the highest bidder, for the purpose of satisfying the debt. Besides the one per cent interest, the sub-treasurer should be allowed to charge a trifle for handling and storage, and a reasonable amount for insurance, but the premises necessary for conducting this business should be secured by the various counties donating to the general government the land, and the government building the very best modern buildings, fire-proof and substantial. With this method in vogue, the farmer, when his produce was harvested, would place it in storage where it would be perfectly safe, and he would secure four-fifths of its value to supply his pressing necessity for money, at one per cent per annum. He would negotiate and sell his warehouse or elevator certificates when- ever the current price suited him, receiving from the person to whom he sold, only the difference between the price agreed upon and the amount already paid by the sub-treasurer. When, however, these storage cer- tificates reached the hand of the miller or factory, or other consumer, he, to get the product, would have to return to the sub-treasurer the sum of money advanced, together with the interest on same and the storage and insurance charges on the product. This is no new or untried scheme ; it is safe and conservative ; it harmonizes and carries out the system already in vogue on a really safer plan, because the products of the country, that must be consumed every year, are really the very best security in the world, and with more justice to society at large. For a precedent, attention is called to the following : — In December, 1848, the London Times announced the inevitable fail- ure of the French republic and disintegration of French society in the near future ; but so wise was the administration of the statesmen of that nation that two months later it was forced to eat its own words — saying in its columns, February 16, 1849 : — " As a mere commercial speculation with the assets which the bank held in hand, it might then have stopped payment and liquidated its affairs with every probability that a very few weeks would enable it to clear off its habihties. But this idea was not for a moment entertained by M, D'Argout, and he resolved to make every effort to keep alive what may be termed the circulation of the life-blood of the community. The task was overwhelming. Money was to be found to meet not only THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 29 the demands on the bank, but the necessities, both public and private, of every rank in society. It was essential to enable the manufacturers to work, lest their workmen, driven to desperation, should fling them- selves amongst the most violent enemies of public order. It was essen- tial to provide money for the food of Paris, for the pay of troops, and for the daily support of the industrial establishments of the nation. A failure on any one point would have led to a fresh convulsion, but the panic had been followed by so great a scarcity of the metallic currency, that a few days later, out of a payment of 26,000,000 fallen due, only 47,000 francs could be recorded in silver. " In this extremity, when the bank alone retained any available sums of money, the government came to the rescue, and on the night of the 15 th of March, the notes of the bank were, by a decree, made a legal tender, the issue of these notes being limited in all to 350,000,000, but the amount of the lowest of them reduced for the public convenience to 100 francs. One of the great difficulties mentioned in the report was to print these loo-franc notes fast enough for the public consumption. In ten days the amount issued in this form had reached 80,000,000 francs. "To enable the manufacturing interests to weather the storm at a moment when all the sales were interrupted, a decree of the National Assembly had directed warehouses to be opened for the reception of all kinds of goods, and provided that the registered invoice of the goods so deposited should be made negotiable by indorsement. The bank of France discounted these receipts. In Havre alone eighteen millions were thus advanced on colonial produce, and in Paris fourteen millions on merchandise ; in all, sixty millions were made available for the pur- poses of trade. Thus, the great institution had placed itself, as it were, in direct contact with every interest of the community, from the minis- ter of the Treasury down to the trader in a distant outport. Like a huge hydraulic machine, it employed its colossal powers to pump a fresh stream into the exhausted arteries of trade to sustain credit, and preserve the circulation from complete collapse." — Fro7n the Bank Charter Act, and the Rate of Interest^ London, i8yj. This is proof positive, and a clear demonstration, in 1848, what this system could accomphsh when a necessity existed for resorting to it. But since that time every conceivable change has tended toward render- ing such a system easier managed and more necessary. The various means of rapid transportation, and the facilities for the instantaneous transmission of intelligence, make it no disadvantage for the produce of a country to be stored at home until demanded for consumption, and the great saving that will follow the abolition of local shipments shows 130 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. what great economy such a system is. In this day and time, no one will for a moment deny that all the conditions for purchase and sale will attach to the government certificates showing amount, quality, and running charges that attach to the product. The arguments sustaining this system will present themselves to your minds as you ponder over the subject. The one fact stands out in bold relief, prominent, grand, and worthy the best effort of our hearts and hands, and that is, " This system will emancipate productive labor from the power of money to oppress," with speed and certainty. Could any object be more worthy? Surely not; and none could be devised that would more enlist your sympathies. Our forefathers fought in the Revolutionary War, making sacrifices that will forever perpetuate their names in history, to emancipate productive labor from the power of a monarch to oppress. Their battle-cry was, " Liberty." Our monarch is a false, unjust, and statutory power given to money, which calls for a conflict on our part to emancipate produc- tive labor from the power of money to oppress. Let the watchword again be, " Liberty ! " Delegation from. Farmers' Alliance of the State of Dakota were admitted, and the following communication was received and unani- mously adopted : — St. Louis, Missouri, December 7, 1889. To the Farmers aiid Laborers^ Union of America : In pursuance of the joint action of the National Farmers' Alliance and the Farmers and Laborers' Union, pro^^iding for an organic union between the two bodies, the conditions being that when the new consti- tution should be jointly proposed, approved, and ratified by said Farm- ers and Laborers' Union, and by two-thirds of the State Alliances composing the National Farmers' Alliance, then by proclamation of the presidents of the two bodies the union should be declared com- pleted, we the delegates from the State Alliance of South Dakota, by authority reposed in us, do hereby accept and ratify said constitution, as amended and agreed upon by the National Farmers' Alliance and the Farmers and Laborers' Union, to take effect upon acceptance and s-ati- fication of said constitution by two-thirds of the State AUiances com- posing the National Farmers' Alliance. Attest: C. V. Gardner, Chairman of Delegation, A. Wardall, Secretary of Delegation. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 131 Resolved, That C. V. Gardner, F. F. B. Coffin, A. N. Van Dorn, E. B. Cummings, Alonzo Wardall, and Mrs. Elizabeth Wardall be received and seated as delegates from South Dakota, and that a charter for the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union of South Dakota be issued to said persons and their associates. That Walter Muir be received and seated as a fraternal delegate from the State of North Dakota. Adopted unanimously. On motion, the city of Jacksonville, Florida, was selected as the place of holding the next regular session. Committee on Land made the following report, which was adopted : — Your committee on land submit the following report : — The total number of farms in the United States is about 5,000,000 ; 1,280,000 are rented. Since 1880 there has been an increase in farm renting to the extent of twenty-five per cent. It is evident to the most ordinary observer that the farms are passing out of the hands of those who cultivate them. It cannot be urged that this is the result of incom- petency or idleness on the part of the tillers of the soil, for statistics show that the wealth of the country has, during the past twenty-five years, increased more than one hundred per cent. No other nation has ever shown such an enormous increase of wealth in the same length of time. All this increase of wealth is the result of the active energies of the producers. It is a peculiar condition, that the producers of all this wealth have gradually grown poorer ; but still the cold, hard fact stares them in the face that they are not only not living as well as they should, but their farms are gradually slipping from their grasp. The natural and inevitable result of this accumulation of wealth into the hands of the capitalists, and at the expense of the producers, is the establishment of a land aristocracy on the one hand, and tenant farmers on the other ; such a system as has obtained in many of the European countries. Your committee have had neither the time nor the facilities to pre- pare as extensive a report as the importance of the subject demands. From the best and most reliable authority we can obtain, the amount of mortgaged indebtedness resting upon the farms and homes of the peo- ple is not less than $16,000,000,000. The interest on this vast sum, at eight per cent per annum, is ;^ 1,2 80,000,000. This is the annual tribute which the farmers of this country are paying to Shylocks. The im- mensity of this vast sum can the more readily be realized when we con- sider that it exceeds the value of the entire wheat, corn, and cotton crops of the United States for one year. Nor is this all. Other forms 132 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. of indebtedness, both public and private, swell the above sum to more than $30,000,000,000. When we consider the fact that the annual in- crease of all agricultural interests is less than three per cent, it does not take more than an ordinary observer to realize that it is only a matter of time when the eight per cent annual tribute will absorb all the land in the country, as it has certainly done in other parts of the world. Statistics show that more than 200,000,000 acres of land have been granted to various railroad companies. Foreign syndicates own more than 20,000,000 acres. In addition to this, the comparative statistics show that there is a tendency to increase the number of large farms in the United States, and that the number of small farms is growing less each year. We recommend to this body that they take immediate action to fur- nish some relief to the many thousands of farmers whose only hope in being able to lift the mortgages from their homes and farms is through the early action of Congress, to devise some method to protect their interests and give to them the fruits of their labor. J. F. Tillman, Chairman^ S. B. Erwin, W. H. Barton, B. J. Kendrick. The following resolutions were read and adopted : — Whereas, The National Econotnist, our adopted official national organ, has so boldly and fearlessly advocated our cause and defended our principles ; therefore be it Resolved by this national body, That we heartily approve of the course it has pursued, and recommend that every member of the order should subscribe and read the paper, as one of the best means of education in the way of industrial freedom. The Committee on Secret Work reported and exemplified the secret work. The meeting adjourned at 6 p.m., to meet the first Tuesday in Decem- ber, 1890, at Jacksonville, Florida. CHAPTER VI. HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE COIlcluded, It was both hoped and expected that the Alliance of the Northwest would consolidate with the National Farmers' Alli- ance and Industrial Union, as had the Union and Wheel, and form one grand agricultural organization. All efforts in that direction proved futile, through the persistent opposition of a few men who have since been relegated to obscurity. Much disappointment was manifested, and considerable ill-feeling was engendered over the failure of consolidation. A careful analysis* of the causes which conspired to bring about this result dis- closed the fact that sectionalism, that old enemy of national organized labor, was the controlling factor. The members of the order rapidly sized up the situation, and the matter of con- solidation was soon lost sight of in the vigorous effort to push the organization into new territory. The agreement made with the Knights of Labor added much strength to the movement, and gave it a standing among a class of people who had hereto- fore been inclined to doubt its motives and methods. This compact has stood the assaults of both old political parties, and is the rallying cry of labor in production at the present time. Immediately after this meeting. President L. L. Polk and Secretary J. H. Turner opened offices in Washington, District of Columbia, the Grand Council having provided for such action. Active, aggressive work was begun at once. Brother C. W. Macune, Chairman of the Executive Board, called the balance of the board, Brothers A. Wardall of South Dakota and J. F. Tillman of Tennessee, to Washington, for consultation. At this meeting the whole situation was thoroughly discussed with President Polk. A plan of campaign was agreed upon, and an agreement made to push the work vigorously. The now famous sub-treasury bill was drawn up and introduced into both houses of Congress, and arrangements were made to send out literature and secure petitions. Brother Macune being at the head of the 134 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, • ■ Legislative Committee, also did some grand work for the order in that direction. Believing in direct methods, and at the same time being conservative and consistent, his efforts were soon felt in Congress, and the effects were seen- throughout the whole country. President Polk soon had organizers at work in nearly every North and Northwestern State, and the fruits ^f their labors began to appear. As the result of such efforts, the States of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Cali- fornia were added to the organization, with other States well under way. The little difficulties in Texas and Missouri were met and overcome by the prompt action of the national officers, and the whole order was put on the high road of prosperity. The vitality of the order was disclosed by the manner in which •it withstood the shock of a hotly contested political campaign. In this contest the Alliance was no passive factor. It made itself both known and felt in many States. Its methods differed somewhat in different sections, but the one idea of a change of conditions obtained all through the contest. In the South, the Alliance directed its efforts to the primaries, while in the North and West it made the fight at the polls. In the South, the new Alliance principle, known as the sub-treasury plan, furnished the basis for nearly all contention. The Alliance stood squarely upon that measure, and made its provisions the gauge of fealty. Congressman after Congressman, who could not stand the test, was deposed, and a tried Alliance man put in his place. In the West, the St. Louis demands, or compact, were made the basis of operations. The history of politics furnishes no parallel to the campaign in the West, especially in Kansas and Dakota. Independent candidates were nominated, and a square fight was made between the reform element and the old political parties. As the cam- paign advanced, the feeling became more bitter and intense. An idea prevailed among the members of the order that a fail- ure would prove the destruction of the Alliance, and result in the complete bankruptcy of nearly all its members. Because of this belief, the struggle became fierce and strong. Past affili- ations were forgotten ; party ties were broken ; and an entirely new political alignment was effected. The two old parties aided THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 35 each other where it was possible, and the entire power of par- tisan machinery was worked to its utmost capacity. Opposition simply provoked increased efforts, and political trickery increased watchfulness, and the effective work of the independents con- tinued amid it all. Education on economic lines had been doing its perfect work, and the people were filled with a desire to obtain further information. As a result of this, these reform meetings were the largest political gatherings ever seen on this continent. When the end came, and the smoke of battle had cleared away, the ground was found thickly strewn with the political corpses of the candidates of both old parties. In the South, the States of Georgia and North and South Carolina made the best showing ; while in the West, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas led the others. The effect of this political contest will go down to future generations. It marked an epoch in the history of American politics. It was a deserved rebuke to old party methods, and a rugged notice that conditions must be changed. The lessons taught by this campaign will not soon be forgotten ; neither will the power and advantage gained by the people soon be relinquished. During the summer and through the political canvass, vile and vicious attacks were made by the old parties upon the organization as a body, and its national officers in particular, Brothers Polk and Macune coming in for the largest share. Through all this the membership stood firm, with but here and there an exception. Of course the excitement incident to a political campaign retarded, to some extent, the work of organ- izing ; but the seed sown during this time was destined to bring forth a rich harvest of new recruits, which is now being gathered. The success of this campaign increased the interest of the pub- lic generally, and the politicians in particular, in the national meeting that was to be held in December of that year. Taken as a whole, the year's work had proven very satisfactory indeed. President Polk had visited nearly every State in person, and had contributed his full share toward the ultimate success attained. The reform press had been strengthened and encouraged, and was doing a truly wonderful work in the line of education. The wisdom of having the national organ of the order located at Washington was clearly shown by the great benefit derived 136 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. by the entire brotherhood from the National Economist, This paper, under the guidance of Brother C. W. Macune, exerted a wide-spread influence for good throughout the entire nation, and demonstrated the fact that reform papers, in order to obtain and retain a standing among intelligent people, must take a dig- nified, conservative position. Education being the foundation stone of the order, everything possible was done to make prog- ress in that direction. Newspapers, pamphlets, tracts, etc., were sent out in great numbers, and eagerly read by the breth- ren. The new principle of government loans direct to the peo- ple was thoroughly and intelligently discussed. The result has demonstrated the fact that the people, as a rule, are willing to learn the truth, and when once learned, are quite apt to act accordingly. This wave of education on economic questions spread with great rapidity, and its effects have been truly won- derful. The Sub-Alliances, through the discussion of financial and other matters, have brought men and women to public notice who are destined to fill important positions in the future conduct of this nation. The reform press is filled with letters from members of these subordinate Alliances, which are not only sound in principle, but full of good sense and practical ideas. Men and methods are no longer taken for granted, but must first pass through the ordeal of a thorough analysis in the Alli- ance. By this means, the trickster is discovered, the demagogue exposed, and the scoundrel avoided. During the entire year, nothing but educational methods were considered. Every point in this regard was strengthened, and all undertakings encouraged. The national officers were continually at work endeavoring to show the people the necessity of under- standing their own situation. The result was highly satisfac- tory to all concerned. The order grew rapidly during the year, in numbers and importance. It became more unified and accus- tomed to the methods and usages of organization. The necessity for united action became more apparent each day, and a general desire to work harmoniously for the good of all seemed to per- vade the entire order. The success at the elections disclosed the power of united action, and gave universal encouragement. The year began with a large organization, with untried ma- chinery, considerable differences of opinion, and in some cases THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 137 a fear of the result. It ended with a much larger membership, with an almost complete system of organization working smoothly, nearly all differences eliminated, and a record of triumphs all along the line. Such was the year 1890. Long will it be remem- bered by the brotherhood. As the time for the annual meeting approached. President Polk gave up lecturing and speaking, and took a general survey of the situation, preparatory to making his report. He found nothing but success and improvement on every hand. He had the proud satisfaction of giving to the brethren of the national meeting a most satisfactory account of his stewardship. While it had been to him a year of unremit- ting toil and anxiety, it had been to the order one of prosperity and rapid advancement. At the St. Louis meeting, Brother Macune brought forward the sub-treasury plan, and the meeting indorsed it by an over- whelming majority. In fact, there were but seven votes against it. This measure, which has been fully explained in another part of this work, soon became the rallying cry of the order. By common consent, it was accepted as the one great principle of the Alliance, and it proved to be the greatest educator yet brought to notice. During the winter of 1890 a bill embodying its principles was introduced into both houses of Congress, and the contest at once began. The old party papers antagonized it, and the politicians went wild with rage over the innovation, as they termed it. Amidst it all, Alliance members and papers continued to argue in its favor ; precedents and matters of legis- lation were gathered from every possible source, until all oppo- sition was confused and confounded. Petitions by the thousands were poured into Congress, as well as letters and resolutions, until both the old parties became thoroughly alarmed at the out- look. Congress continued in session very late, and when the politicians finally reached home, they found the Alliance thor- oughly entrenched and working for its principles. It is the sub-treasury plan, and the vivifying effects which followed its investigation, and the senseless ridicule of the opposition, that concentrated the hosts of the Alliance and brought substantial victories in the South ; and the same may be said, but in a some- what less degree, of the Northwest. As the time for the Ocala meeting approached, the interest 138 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. of the politicians became apparent. Every possible effort was made to break down the Alliance, by dividing it upon the sub- treasury plan. A few political aspirants were found in the Alliance, ready to serve any power that proijiised, political pre- ferment. The recognized method of such was to oppose the sub-treasury plan. Of course there were a few wha^- honestly considered the sub-treasury plan as wrong in principle, and that it would do harm in practice. Such were the exception, and not the rule. Under these conditions the annual meeting was held. The annual meeting at St. Louis adjourned to meet at Jack- sonville, Florida, but the citizens of that place failed to realize its importance, and neglected to make any provision for the session. Taking advantage of this apathy, the bright little town of Ocala, many miles in the interior, made such flattering prop- ositions that the executive committee changed the place of meeting. As a consequence, the National Council of the Na- tional Farmers' AUiance and Industrial Union met at Ocala, December 2, 1890. A synopsis of the proceedings is given below. FIRST DAY. Council called to order by the President, L. L. Polk, at 1 2 m., sharp, and opened in due form. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. Isom P. Langley of Arkansas. ^^ The following officers were appointed by the chair : Isom P. Langley of Arkansas, Chaplain; A. E. Cole of Michigan, Assistant Lecturer; H. M. Gilbert of Indiana, Doorkeeper; T. J. Guice of Louisiana, Assistant Doorkeeper; J. C. A. Hiller of Missouri and W. B. James of Kansas, Sergeants- at- Arms. Moved by R. F. Rogers of Florida that an invitation be extended to Governor Flemming and other leading citizens of the State, to the meet- ing this afternoon, which shall be for the public generally. Carried. On motion of S. B. Erwin of Kentucky, a committee of five was appointed on credentials : W. J. Talbert of South Carolina, Chairman ; W. L. Peek of Georgia ; M. D. Davie of Kentticky ; G. T, Barbee of Virginia ; P. B. Maxson of Kansas. Afternoon Session. Convention called to order at two o'clock. Brother Rogers introduced Francis P. Flemming, governor of Florida, who delivered the address of welcome. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. I 39 Mr. J. F. Dunn of Florida was then introduced by Brother Rogers. Mr. Dunn made a telling talk, -and gave words of encouragement and cheer to the farmers of America. H. L. Loucks of North Dakota responded to the addresses of Governor Flemming and Hon. J. F. Dunn. The annual message of the President was then read by the President, Hon. L. L. Polk, as follows : — To the National Fanne?'s' Alliance and Industrial Union : Congratulating you, and through you the great organization you repre- sent, on the hopeful and encouraging auspices under which you have this day assembled, I beg to submit for your earnest consideration such thoughts and suggestions, affecting the present and future of our great order, as may conduce to the successful prosecution of its noble and patriotic purposes. Profoundly impressed with the magnitude of this great revolution for reform, involving issues momentous and stupendous in their character, as affecting the present and future welfare of the people; the pubhc mind is naturally directed to this meeting with anxious interest, if not soHcitude, and you cannot be unmindful of the importance and responsi- bility that attach to your action as representatives. Coming, as you do, from States and localities remote from each other, and differing widely from each other in their material and physiological characteristics, and marked by those social and political differences which must necessarily arise under our form of government, it is your gracious privilege, as it shall be your crowning honor, to prove to the world, by your harmonious action and thoroughly fraternal co-operation, that your supreme purpose is to meet the demands of patriotic duty in the spirit of equity and justice. The great and universal depression under which the agricultural interests of these United States are suffering, is, in view of our surround- ings and conditions, an anomaly to the students of industrial progress. No country or people in all history has been so favored and blessed with opportunity and favorable conditions for the successful and profitable prosecution of agricultural industries. With soils, climate, and seasons admirably adapted to the successful growth of all the great staple crops demanded by commerce ; with a people justly noted for their industry, frugality, and progressive enterprise, and characterized by an aggressive- ness in material development which has no parallel in history; with transportation faciUties, inland and upon the seas, equal to the produc- tive power of the country ; with a development in railroad and manu- I40 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. facturing enterprise, and in the growth of villages, towns, and cities — marvellous in its expansion ; with the rapid accumulation of colossal for- tunes in the hands of the few ; — why, instead of the happy song of peace, contentment, and plenty, which should bless the homes of the farmer and laborer of the country, should we hear the constant and universal wail of " hard times "? To solve this significant and vital question in the light of equity, justice, and truth, is the underlying principle, the holy mission and inspiration, of this, the greatest industrial revolution of the ages. To restore and maintain that equipoise between the great industrial interests of the country, which is absolutely essential to a healthful prog- ress and to the development of our civilization, is a task which should enHst the minds and energies of all patriotic people — a task as stupen- dous as its accomplishment shall be grand and glorious. The pathway of human governments is strewn with mournful wrecks of republics, whose ruin was wrought by and through the subordination and degradation of some one or more of their essential elements of civiliza- tion. It has been truly said that agriculture is the basis of all wealth, and important and indispensable as it is in this relation, yet its higher char- acter and function as the basis of all life, of all progress, and of all higher civilization, can be measured only by human capability and aspiration to reach the highest perfection of society and government. Standing as it does, by far the most important of our great industrial interests, and related as it is, in such important connection, with every individual and every conceivable interest in our country, its prosperity means the better- ment of all — its decline means the decline of all. Retrogression in American agriculture means national decay and utter and inevitable ruin. Powerful and promising as is this young giant republic, yet its power and glory cannot survive the degradation of the American farmer. Never, perhaps, in the history of the world has industrial and economical thought been more intensely engaged than for the past two years, in this country, in the investigation of the causes which have conspired to place agriculture so far in the rear in the race of material progress. This investigation, earnest, sincere, and searching, has led to the general, if not universal conviction, that it is due in large measure and in most part to partial, discriminating, and grossly unjust national legis- lation. Were it due to false or imperfect systems of farm economy, we would be graciously allowed and liberally advised to apply the remedy by improved systems of our own devising ; but thanks to the founders of THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 141 our government for the power and privilege of going beyond the domain of the farm to correct the evils that afflict us. This great organization, whose jurisdiction now extends to thirty-five States of this Union, and whose membership and co-workers number millions of American freemen — united by a common interest, confronted by common dangers, impelled by a common purpose, devoted to a com- mon country, standing for a common destiny, and guided by the dictates of an exalted patriotism, will, in the exercise of conservative poHtical action, strive to secure " equal rights for all and special privileges to none," and secure indeed a " government of the people, for the people, and by the people." No patriot can view, but with feelings of gravest apprehension and alarm, the growing tendency, under the fostering care of our pohtico- economic systems, to the centralization of money power and the upbuild- ing of monopolies. Centralized capital, allied to irresponsible corporate power, stands to-day as a formidable menace to individual rights and popular government. This power is felt in our halls of legislation. State and national ; in our popular conventions, at the ballot box, and in our temples of justice ; and it arrogantly lays its unholy hand on that greatest and most powerful lever of modern thought and action, — the press of our country. Emboldened by the rapid growth of its power, it has levied tribute on the great political parties of the country, which must be paid in servile party subserviency to its greedy demands. High places in politics and in government have been intrusted to its chosen servants and suborned leaders, who scorn the will and the interests of the people ; so that reflecting, patriotic men are confronted with the question whether this is really a popular government founded "on the consent of the gov- erned," and whose " powers are vested in and derived from the people," or whether it is a party government, whose powers are vested in and derived from arrogant and unfaithful party leaders. We are rapidly drifting from the moorings of our fathers, and stand to-day in the crucial era of our free institutions, of our free form of gov- ernment, and of our Christian civilization. To rescue these inestimable blessings and interests from the impending peril should be the self- imposed duty of all patriots throughout the land. Since our last annual meeting in the city of St. Louis, the States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, California, Colorado, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma have been added to the roll call of our Supreme Council. Organizers are at work in the States of Wash- ington, Oregon, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Arizona. And in 142 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. all these States the fields are ripe unto the harvest, but the laborers are few. I cannot too earnestly urge upon you the importance of devising means and methods for the prompt occupation of these and other States, with competent and active organizers. During the year I have visited officially twenty-four States, and everywhere I found a zealous interest and harmonious spirit among the brotherhood. Indeed, the order was never in finer spirit or more united in purpose than it is to-day. If asked what is the greatest and most essential need of our order, as contributing most to its ultimate and triumphant success, I should unhes- itatingly answer, and in one word — Education ; education in the mutual relations and reciprocal duties between each other, as brethren, as neigh- bors, as members of society ; education, in the most responsible duties of citizenship ; education, in the science of economical government ; education, for higher aspiration, higher thought, and higher manhood among the masses ; education, in a broad patriotism, which should bind the great conservative masses of the country in the strongest ties of fra- ternity and union. Hence I urgently commend to your most favorable consideration the importance of providing at once a plan by which competent lecturers can be actively employed and maintained in the field. Zealous, faithful, and untiring, as has been your national lecturer, Brother Terrell, yet the service rendered by him was not a tithe of what is urgently demanded from all sections of our territory. I commend to your consideration the policy of employing lecturers at fixed salaries, to be paid from the national treasury, or treasuries of the States in which they shall be employed, or from both, jointly, whose entire time shall be devoted to the work, and in sufficient number that the whole field may be canvassed during the year. Selected for their peculiar fitness, and employing their whole time, they would give us a service which, for effi- ciency, could be secured in no other way. In most of the States com- prising this council, the entire service of at least two good lecturers could and should be constandy employed, even should it require the temporary abandonment of local or State enterprises. Never, perhaps, in the history of this order has there been, or will there be, a period when the demand for this indispensable service will be so great as now ; and never can the expenditure of money, if wisely directed, be so effectual and so profitable to our order. In view of its great importance and the urgent demand for it, I trust you will pardon me, if I most earnestly insist that this department of our work shall have your most deliberate and earnest consideration. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 43 By far the most potent and influential power underlying this great revolution of industrial and economic thought has been the reform press. At the earhest moment practicable, the Supreme Council should digest and inaugurate a plan which ultimately will give to every family in our order a thoroughly reliable paper, devoted to the principles of the order. We have a national organ of high order, and several of the States have organs which are doing noble service in the cause ; but as an order, we cannot claim to be properly "equipped, nor need we hope for zeal, fra- ternity, and unity, so essential to success, until each State in our juris- diction shall have at least one paper to represent us, whose dignity, and character, and power shall command the support of our members and the respect of our enemies. Let us place our aims, purposes, and prin- ciples at the hearthstones of our laboring millions, and thus arouse to activity the dormant brain power of the masses, that they may grasp the grand possibihties and duties of their existence. Educate the people in the science of true economical government, and in the great principles of civil and religious freedom, and keep them informed as to the dangers which threaten these inestimable blessings, and we establish a safeguard for the liberties of the people. I respect- fully suggest for your consideration the advisability and expediency of placing the ownership of the national organ with the national order, and the ownership of State organs with their State organizations, respectively. This plan would secure harmonious co-operation and a uniform policy through all the leading organs of the order, and would avoid any possible conflict arising from personal interest. Then the will of the order would be the law of. the organ and its rule of action. If the Supreme Council shall inaugurate plans or measures for the dissemination and inculcation of true Alliance principles among the people, its existence and power will be firmly established. Let the peo- ple read and hear the truth as we understand it. Many of the State organizations have adopted business systems which are being operated with varying success. Some of them are eminently satisfactory and have made large savings to the membership. Existing conditions in the different States vary so widely as to preclude the adop- tion of any uniform system for the transaction of business, but I would respectfully suggest that this department of Alliance work could be materially aided through the investigations of a committee, appointed for the purpose, who shall examine the most successful methods now in operation, and present their conclusions in printed form, outlining their general features for the guidance of new State organizations, and as suggestive of improvements on the systems which have been found less 144 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. successful. A matter of such importance to our financial well-being should receive your careful and generous attention. It is the fixed purpose of this organization to secure, if possible, certain needed legislative reforms. However urgent and emphatic may be our demands, experience teaches us 'that they are of no avail unless supported and enforced by such practical methods as will convince the law-making power of our determination and ability to prosecute them to a successful issue. Let this Supreme Council, representing all parts of the country, and that great interest that pays over eighty per cent of all taxes of the coun- try, assert and maintain its dignity and its solemn purpose to protect and advance the interests of its constituency, by declaring their legislative needs, and by showing to the American Congress that when its demands on paper are ignored, it can and will vindicate and maintain its claims at the ballot box. Our recent experience with that body, as well as with the leaders of the two great political parties of the country, should admonish us that the time has arrived when this great organization should take bold and determined action. To this end, I respectfully recommend that this council authorize the organization of a body to be known as the National Legislative Council of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, to whom shall be committed the charge of such legislative reforms as may be indicated by your body. I would respectfully suggest that the Legislative Council be composed of your national president, who shall be ex officio chairman, and the presidents of all States represented in the Supreme Council ; and that this body shall hold its annual meeting within sixty days after the adjournment of the Supreme Council, at such time and place as may be indicated by the national president ; and that it be empowered and authorized to appoint such legislative committees as in its judgment may be wise ; and that it be required to transmit to each of the States, in printed form, through the national secretary, for distribution to the reform press, lecturers, and membership of the order, all measures or bills (together with the arguments in their favor), as they may decide should be enacted into laws. Let it be required, further, that the Legis- lative Council shall keep a correct record of all its proceedings, which shall be submitted through its chairman to the next annual meeting of the Supreme Council. This body composed, as it would be, of presumably the best and wisest men of our order, and coming fresh from the people of each State, and being thoroughly coaversant with the measures of legislation proposed, and acting in harmonious concert on all questions for the com- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 1 45 mon good, without regard to sectional or geographical divisions, would wield a moral power which would enforce the respect of any legislative body to whom it would appeal, and enlist the earnest sympathy and co-operation of the great mass of the people whom it would represent. Not only would its service in this direction be potential for good in securing harmony and unity of action among the people, and by crys- tallizing and concentrating that action upon any desired measure of reform, but the natural and harmonious blending of the moral force of such a body, with the influence of the reform press throughout the States, would establish and solidify a power which could not fail to- exercise a most beneficent effect on public affairs. We have reached that point in the development of our organization when we must address ourselves to the important and indispensable work of organizing and systematizing these various departments of our effort, to which I have briefly adverted. Organize your lecture system so that we may have able and competent men constantly employed in advocating our principles and purposes throughout all the States within your jurisdiction ; organize and establish a system through which we may reach the people through the columns of an able representative reform press ; aid the membership, as far as we may be able, in devising and establishing the best possible system for conducting their business through county and State agencies ; and place our demands for legislation, as an organization, in the hands of an able body of men representing each of the States, and no power, nor combination of powers, can prevent or thwart our ultimate and tri- umphant success. 1. I respectfully call your attention to the necessity of a change in Section 2, Article V., of our constitution, defining the relative powers and duties of the judiciary and executive departments, in the matter of offi- cial rulings by the president. The requirement that the president shall submit promptly all official rulings to the judicial department for con- sideration and action, is unnecessary and often impracticable. In cases of importance, the delay thus enforced, especially should the judiciary fail to concur in the ruHng of the president, might work great injustice and incalculable damage. I suggest, respectfully, the expediency of so amending the section referred to as to authorize appeals to the judiciary from the rulings of the president — the decisions of the judiciary on such appeals to be the final construction of the law until the next meet- ing of the Supreme Council. 2. Section 2, Article VIII. , of the constitution makes it the duty of the Supreme Council to enact a uniform eligibiUty clause for the various 146 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. State constitutions ; also to enact laws defining " the eligibility of persons of mixed or unusual occupation or residence, subject to all the limita- tions of this article." In pursuance of this requirement, Section 20 of the statutory laws enacted at the last session of the Supreme Council, says, " That the question of eligibility be left to each State, subject to the limitations of the constitution." This conflict between the organic and statutory laws has caused confusion and embarrassment throughout the States. I recommend that Section 20 of the statutory laws be repealed, and that the Supreme Council enact a law in conformity to Section 2, Article VIII., of the constitution. I further recommend that the Supreme Council determine and fix definitely the question of the eligibility of mechanics living in cities and incorporated towns. Much confusion and irregularity has grown out of the ambiguity of the law on the eligibility of this particular class of our citizens, and it is important to the good of the order that the matter should be definitely settled. 3. Under Sections 17 and 18 of the statutory laws, the office of crop statistician is created and his duties defined. The functions and powers of this officer and his subordinates are so indefinite, and the machinery through which this service is to be performed is so imperfect, that I beg to direct your attention to it. The importance and magnitude of this work, if undertaken at all, require an expenditure of money and labor much beyond the scope contemplated by the law as it now stands. The value of the information sought depends upon its accuracy, and the promptness, often, with which it is disseminated to the membership. To secure this would require the constant service and entire time of the head of the department, and much of the time and service of his subor- dinates throughout the States. It will be observed that neither the chief officer nor any of his subordinates are required to give any specified time to the work, nor are they allowed any compensation for their services, nor any appropriation to defray expenses of printing, etc. Under existing laws this service must necessarily be voluntary and imper- fect, and hence of little value ; and I would therefore recommend that means and measures be adopted to render it effective and of practical value to the order, or that it be abolished. 4. I recommend, if it be practicable and expedient, that the office and duties of treasurer be transferred and merged into that of the secretary. 5. I respectfully suggest to your body the expediency and advisability of requiring any officer of your body who may be nominated or ap- pointed to any civil office, to tender the resignation of his office promptly upon his acceptance of such nomination or appointment. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 47 For a statement of the work and duties performed in the various departments, you are respectfully referred to the reports, respectively, of the officers in charge. And in this connection, I recommend, with the concurrence of all the officers concerned, the appointment of a compe- tent committee, early in your session, who shall, with your national secretary, examine carefully and thoroughly the records of all receipts and disbursements, and report thereon before your adjournment. It affords me pleasure to testify to the fidelity and efficient labor of all the officers connected with your national office. An intelligent conception and comprehension of the relations and reciprocal obligations between the citizen and the government is one of the highest attributes of American citizenship ; and under our form of government, one of the most important and responsible duties devolving upon the citizen is the attainment of this knowledge. Hence, first and foremost in our " declaration of principles," we announce that we are " to labor for the education of the agricultural classes in the science of economical government, in a strictly non-partisan spirit, and to bring about a more perfect union of said classes." Were it the design of the framers of our organic law to impress our membership with the responsible and patriotic duty of reaching that exalted standard in citizenship to which all American freemen should aspire, and to assert that our organization was political in the highest sense of that term, they were fortunate in adopting the language used in this declaration. But while our organization is political, it cannot be partisan or sectional in its action. In support of this declaration, we proudly point to our whole past record and to the recent popular elec- tion, and particularly to the noble and patriotic bearing of the brother- hood in the States of Kansas and South Carolina. It is as needless as it would be criminal to attempt to disguise the fact that, as an organization, we have reached a critical period in our existence. Insidious and powerful influences are seeking to divert us from the high purposes and grand objects for which we were organized. Flushed and elated with success, — marvellous in many of its aspects, and the most remarkable in the political history of this country, — let us not impair its prestige and power by indifference or inactivity on the one hand, or by grasping for the impracticable or unattainable on the other. Strong as we are and strong as we must become, — strong enough, if united, to render our lines impregnable to any open or opposing force, — yet we are not strong enough, nor can we be, to withstand the intrigue and treachery of foes within. Our principles must find their " city of 148 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. refuge," and our cause its citadel of safety, in the loyal hearts of a devoted membership. Let our primary bodies barricade their doors against unworthy and designing men ; and if such be found already within the gates, let them at once be furnished a safe and speedy exit to the camp of the enemy. Let these primary bodies — standing as sentinels at the outer gates — be constantly on the alert, and watch with ceaseless vigilance, lest they admit dangerous emissaries from corporations, or political or monopolis- tic combinations. Let us, as an order, adopt as our rule of action the inflexible test of loyalty to Alliance principles, as the first and most essential prerequisite to membership and to our confidence. Apply this test in the selection of officers, from the steward of a primary body to the president of your national body. Apply this test rigidly to all men who aspire to represent us in any capacity, and especially to those — whether of high or low degree — who are to be intrusted with the duties and powers of legislation. And if, in the faithful and impartial applica- tion of this test, any reasonable doubt should arise, do not hesitate to give our cause the full benefit of such doubt. Place no man on guard who is not a loyal and faithful friend to our cause. Herein lie our strength and our safety. Let us stand unitedly and unflinchingly by the great principles enun- ciated at our St. Louis meeting. In the light of our recent experience, the important work of discussing and elucidating these principles must devolve upon us. In Congress, on the hustings, in conventions, and in the partisan press of the country, there was a significant silence on these principles, except and only in cases where we forced their discussion. All propositions presented by us, looking to financial reform, and notably the measure known as the sub-treasury plan, were ignored by Con- gress, and even the discussion of this plan was suppressed, notwithstand- ing the petitions of hundreds of thousands of our members for financial relief in this direction. Neither of the great political parties of the country, nor indeed did the leaders' of these parties, indicate a favorable inclination to heed the demands of these milHons of oppressed and long- suffering farmers. A careful review of financial legislation by Congress, for the past quar- ter of a century, together with the disregard manifested by that body to the just and urgent demands of the people for financial relief, has fixed upon the public mind the alarming apprehension that the seductive hand of monopolistic and corporate power has lifted the American Congress to that dangerous eminence from which they can no longer hear the cry of the people. But the decree has gone forth that this dangerous and THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 149 threatening state of things cannot much longer exist. Congress must come nearer to the people, or the people will get nearer to Congress. Let us not be diverted, through the machinations of political intrigue, from the great and paramount issue now before the American people — financial reform. Let this be the slogan and the rallying cry of the peo- ple until relief shall come. We cannot hope for rehef if we accept the financial policy adopted and practised for a quarter of a century by the two great political parties of the country. Never in the political history of the country was there such universal interest among the people, and such urgent demand on the political par- ties for financial reform, as characterized the recent campaign ; and yet the great effort of the leaders of each of these parties and of the partisan press, was to give overshadowing prominence to questions and issues partaking largely of a partisan character to the exclusion of the one great vital, living issue — financial reform. Indeed, the evasion of this great issue has been prominently characteristic of the two great parties for the past twenty-five years. The great absorbing question, let me repeat, before the American people, is not whether the Democratic or the Republican party, with their evident subserviency to the will of corporate and money power, shall be in the ascendency ; but the question is, whether under our re- publican form of government the citizen or the dollar shall be the sov- ereign. Thoroughly imbued with the magnitude and importance of this issue, the people who constitute the parties revolted against the designs and dictation of suborned leadership in the recent election. A system of finance which recognizes and secures to every citizen of this country an equitable, fair, and just right to share its benefits, and which will furnish a volume of circulating medium adequate to the legiti- mate demands of the country, at a low rate of interest, is the greatest and most urgent need of the times. Let the people here represented continue to reiterate, and with increased emphasis demand : — 1. That silver shall be restored to its dignity and place as a money metal, with all the rights of coinage and all the qualities of legal tender which gold possesses. 2. That the currency of the country shall be issued direct to the peo- ple, at a low rate of interest and without discrimination, and shall be a legal tender for all debts, public and private. 3. That taxation shall be more nearly equalized, by requiring that all property shall bear a just proportion of its burdens. 4. That alien ownership of land should be resisted and prohibited. I50 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. 5. That public transportation should be owned and controlled by the government. 6. That no class or interest should be taxed to build up any other class or interest. 7. That public revenues should be limited to an honestly and eco- nomically administered government. And for the further security of the public welfare, let them demand : — 8. A just and equitable system of graduated taxation on incomes. 9. The election of United States senators by a direct vote of the people. These demands are the necessary and legitimate outgrowth of our rapidly advancing civilization, and the highest considerations for the public weal and safety should impel us to earnest and persistent endeavor to engraft them upon our governmental policy. In all the broad field of our noble endeavor as an order, there is no purpose grander in design, more patriotic in conception, or more benef- icent in its possible results, to the whole country and to posterity, than the one in which we declare to the world that henceforth there shall be no sectional lines across Alliance territory. Failing in all else we may undertake as an organization, if we shall accomplish only a restoration of fraternity and unity, and .obliterate the unnatural estrange- ment which has unfortunately so long divided the people of this country, the Alliance will have won for itself immortal glory and honor. In the spirit of a broad and liberal patriotism, it recognizes but one flag and one country. Confronted by a common danger, afflicted with a com- mon evil, impelled by a common hope, the people of Kansas and Virginia, of Pennsylvania and Texas, of Michigan and South Carolina, make common cause in a common interest. It recognizes the im- portant truth, that the evils which oppress the agricultural interests of the country are national in their character, and that they cannot be corrected by sectional effort or sectional remedies. It recognizes the fact that the war ended in 1865 ; that chattel slavery is gone, and that the prejudices and divisions, born of its existence, should go with it. Community of interests between the great States of the middle, southern, and western sections, is the mighty natural force which will draw them together in solid array in the impending struggle between the people and plutocratic power. Causes other than political (potent. and effective as the latter have been) have conspired to propagate and perpetuate sectionalism. The rich, powerful, and densely populated East must needs have an out- let for its aggressive enterprise, its rapidly accumulating wealth, and THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 151 its growing population. The dense forests and fertile plains of the magnificent and inviting West were transformed into rich and powerful States. Lines of immigration and enterprise, of wealth and of general development, were pushed forward with marvellous rapidity and success to the shores of the Pacific. Along these lines were transplanted from the East the prejudices and animosities engendered for a half-century. The South, traversed by no transcontinental line of communication, sullen and humiliated in her great and crushing losses, and by defeat in war, most naturally nursed the sectional animosities and prejudices of the past. What an inviting condition was thus presented for wicked sectional agitators ; and how assiduously they utilized it, let the shameful sectionalism of the past quarter of a century answer. But the people of the awakening South and the people of the great agricultural West, aroused and inspired by a common danger, have locked their hands and shields in a common cause, the cause of a common country. The lines of sectionalism have been cut in twain. The Alliance has planted its banner, on which is inscribed in characters of golden light, " Equal rights to all and special favors to none," from the State of New York on the east to the golden gates of the Pacific on the west ; from the Gulf on the south to the Great Lakes on the north, embrac- ing within its territory the great staple crops of the country, — the centre of population and the centre of poHtical power. We cannot fail to see the opportunity of the hour ; and recognizing that opportunity, we must not forget that it carries with it corresponding responsibilities. The opportunity is for the great conservative, law- abiding, patriotic masses to assert and establish a perpetual union between the people. The sequent obHgation is, that these great masses must discourage, discountenance, and discard from their councils the wicked demagogical agitators who for the last twenty- five years have sought to foster discord and dissension that they themselves might thrive. Ordinarily they are the men — North and South — who were " invisible in war, and have become invincible in peace." Divided, we stand as a Samson shorn of his locks ; united, we stand a power that is invincible. Cato fired and thrilled the Roman senate with the fierce cry, "Carthage must be, destroyed." Must we, as citizens of this great republic, emulate such a vengeful spirit ? Hanni- bal, while yet a tender youth, was placed by his father on his knees and made to swear eternal vengeance against the Romans. Must we, as Christian parents, entail upon our children the bitter legacy of hate? Hundreds of thousands of noble, aspiring, hopeful, and ardently patriotic young men all over the land are manfully enlisting in the responsible 152 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. duties of American citizenship. Born since the war, — thank God ! — their infant vision was first greeted by the hght of heaven, unobscured by the smoke of battle, and their infant ear first caught the sweet sound of hallowed peace, unmingled with the hoarse thundering of hostile cannon. Shall they be taught to cherish, and foster, and per- petuate that prejudice and animosity, whose fruits are evil, and only evil? " Let the dead past bury its dead " ; and let us, as an organization, with new hope, new aspirations, new zeal, new energy, and new life, turn our faces toward the rising sun of an auspicious and inviting future, and reconsecrate ourselves to the holy purpose of transmitting to our posterity a government " of the people, by the people, and for the people," and which shall be unto all generations the citadel of refuge for civil and religious liberty. Adjourned until 7.30 p.m. Evening Session. Committee on Credentials reported : — Arkansas Alliance : L. H. Moore, J. E. Bryant. Arkansas Farmers and Laborers' Union : D. E. Barker, I. P. Langley. Alabama : H. P. Bone, J. P. R. Beck, B. W. Groce. Louisiana: J. T. W. Hancock, T. S. Adams, A. D. Lafargue, T. J. Guice. Mississippi : J. H. Beeman, Frank Burkett, W. S. McAllister, A. M. Street. Indiana : W. W. Prigg, Thomas W. Force. Illinois : M. L. Crum, H. M. Gilbert. Missouri : J. S. Hall, N. J. Wallard, J. C. A. Hiller, L. Leonard, Ahira Manring, J. W. Gray. Georgia : L. F. Livingston, W. L. Peek, W. A. Broughton, R. A. Wright, T. B. Trammell, W. S. Copeland, A. Q. Moody. North Carolina: M. L. Wood, S. B. Alexander, Elias Carr, George Williamson, R. B. Vance, E. A. Moye. South Carolina : J. W. Stokes, W. J. Talbert, S. C. Latimer, J. E. Jarnigan. Texas : J. M. Perdue', G. L. Clark, Sam. H. Dickson, S. O. Dawes. Colorado : W. S. Starr, E. H. Bruton. Tennessee : J. P. Buchanan, J. H. McDowell, E. B. Wade, W. C. Lightfoot. Maryland : Hugh Michell, J. W. Kerr. Kansas: James Blakeley, Frank McGrath, T. B. Maxson, D. H. Walker, Mrs. B. H. Clover, A. Terrell, J. M. Nevelle, W. B. James. Florida: R. F. Rogers, Thomas Hines, S. S. Harvey. North Dakota : E. M. Sanford, Walter Muir. South Dakota : H. L. Loucks, C. L. Hinckley, A. V. Vandorn. Kentucky: S. B. Irwin, M. D. Davie, W. T. Winn, P. H. Haney. Pennsylvania : A. W. Knepper, H. C. Demming. Michigan : A. E. Cole, A. N. Howe, George Northup. Indian Territory : J. W. Stewart, R. C. Betty. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 53 Virginia : Mann Page, G. T. Barbee, G. Chrisman, Robert Beverley. West Virginia : S. A. Houston, T. R, Carskadon. New York : D. F. Allen. Minnesota: W. E. Fish. California: J. S. Barbee, D. C. Vestal. The report was taken up in sections and adopted seriatim. The report of the Committee on Credentials, where the dues were paid, was adopted as a whole, and said delegates seated. Joseph S. Barbee of California handed in the application and fee for the charter for California State Alliance. SECOND DAY. Resolution by Alonzo Wardall of South Dakota, adopted unani- mously : — Whereas, The National Council of the Colored Farmers' Alliance is now in session in this city ; and whereas we are engaged in a common cause, and our interests are mutual : therefore. Resolved, That a committee of five from this body be appointed to wait upon them with our cordial fraternal greeting, and extend to them our earnest invitation to join us in such action as shall tend to unite our strength in forwarding the cause we love so well. The committee was appointed as follows : Alonzo Wardall, Chairman ; George Chrisman ; W. C. Lightfoot. Resolution by Brother Beverley read and adopted, instructing commit- tee on Constitution to consider the advisability of providing for congres- sional district Alliances. Afternoon Session. The following resolution was adopted : — Whereas, The President of the United States, in his annual message to Congress, recommends and urges the immediate passage of a meas- ure known as the Lodge election bill ; and whereas, the said bill involves a radical revolution in the elective machinery of this Union, both State and national, and its passage will be fatal to the autonomy of the States and to the cherished liberties of the citizens ; and whereas, in the holy war which we have declared against sectionalism, the firesides of the farmers of the North, South, East, and West are the citadels around which the heaviest battles are being fought, and to the end that victory may crown our crusade, let fraternity and unity reign : therefore, be it Resolved, By the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, in 154 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. national convention assembled, That we most solemnly protest against the passage of the said election bill, and we most earnestly petition our senators in Congress to employ all fair and legal means to defeat this unpatriotic measure, which can result in nothing but evil to our common and beloved country. The following telegram was received and read, and response author- ized : — "Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 2. L. L. Polk, President : Our fraternal dele- gates will convey greeting of the Knights of Labor to your convention on Friday, at any hour you designate. "T. V. POWDERLY." Brother Livingston of Georgia arose and spoke to a question of per- sonal privilege. He was followed by C. W. Macune and L. L. Polk, who spoke to the same question. The tenor of their remarks was : That newspapers and persons had circulated reports which reflected on the character and official acts of each. Brother Macune stated that it had been generally reported that charges would be brought against him, and he defied any man to bring any charges or adduce any evidence on which charges could be based. He was not on the defensive, and could not be put on the defensive. All three agreed in demanding a thorough and complete investigation, by a committee composed of one from each State. This was granted, and the following committee of investigation appointed : McDowell of Tennessee, Allen of New York, Demming of Pennsylvania, Mitchell of Maryland, Beverley of Virginia, Vance of North Carolina, Latimer of South Carolina, Wright of Georgia, Hine of Florida, Bone of Alabama, Burkett of Mississippi, Adams of Louisiana, Jones of Texas, Barker of Arkansas, McGrath of Kansas, Hall of Missouri, Winn of Kentucky, Crum of Illinois, Force of Indiana, Howe of Michigan, Hous- ton of West Virginia, Vestal of California, Starr of Colorado, Stewart of Indian Territory, Sanford of North Dakota, Van Doren of 6outh Dakota. THIRD DAY. Report of State business agents read and referred to a special com- mittee of five. Resolution by Sister B. F. Clover of Kansas adopted : — In view of the mountain of mortgage debt heaped upon our people through the unjust financial system enacted during and since our unfor- tunate civil strife, and the notorious unreliability of the United States census concerning the amount of that indebtedness ; be it THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 155 Resolved, That this National Council of the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union recommend to all County Alliances throughout the Union the appointment of a competent committee to examine the mortgage records of each county, and compile accurate statistics upon this subject, for information of the people. Afternoon Session. • Brother Pickler of South Dakota was invited to address the meeting. He said he visited the National Council to ascertain what legislation the farmers would urge in the present and next Congress, and that he was ready to serve them. He stated that the sub-treasury plan was in the hands of the Ways and Means Committee of the House and of the Finance Committee of the Senate, and he believed action would be taken when urged by this body or legislative committee. The sub- treasury plan was the best for the distribution of money yet proposed. Resolution unanimously adopted expressing thanks to Brother Rogers for his untiring energy, zeal, and success in providing for the comfort and happiness of the delegates and visitors. Also, thanks to the city of Ocala for its bounteous hospitality and many courtesies so freely and fully bestowed on this large assembly. FOURTH DAY. Report of Committee on Confederation, making the following recom- mendations, was adopted : — 1. A confederation. 2. A joint committee on confederation, of five from each organiza- tion, which shall represent this confederation. 3. Each organization shall be entitled to as many votes as it has members who are legal voters in State or national elections. 4. The St. Louis platform shall be the basis. 5. Each shall stand pledged to assist when possible in all local efforts to better the condition of our people. 6. Fraternal delegates or correspondence shall never be denied the one by the other, so long as the confederation exists. 7. The joint committee on confederation shall have the power, by a majority vote, to admit other organizations with similar objects, upon application. 8. When plans are agreed, upon by the joint committee on confeder- ation for mutual co-operation, each organization shall be bound to support saM plans fully and cheerfully. 156 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, 9. Expenses accruing on account of the joint committee on confed- eration shall be defrayed by their respective organizations, as they may be incurred by each. 10. The joint committee on confederation shall have power to adopt such by-laws for the government of the joint committee as they deem best. L. F. Livingston offered a resolution indorsing the St. Louis platform, and said : " I believe the people can stand on this platform forever. This platform is a declaration of our Supreme Council, and our enemies are stumping the States, declaring that it has not the following of the Alliance people, and I desire the platform read and a vote taken by States, so there will be no mistake as to how we stand." Mr. Stelle, of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, said : " I wish to state that'the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association can stand squarely on the St. Louis platform." Following are the resolutions : — 1. Resolved^ That this National Convention of the Farmers* Alliance and Industrial Union do hereby most earnestly and emphatically indorse the St. Louis platform adopted last December, and with equal sincerity and persistency demand that all subordinate bodies connected with this organization shall not only align themselves therewith, but co-operate with this national organization and sustain the same. The vote on this was as follows : — Alabama voted yes ; Arkansas Alliance, yes ; Arkansas Farmers and La- borers' Union, yes ; Colorado, yes ; North Carolina, yes ; South Carolina, yes ; North Dakota, yes ; South Dakota, yes ; Florida, yes ; Georgia, yes ; Illinois, yes ; Indiana, yes ; Kansas, yes ; Kentucky, yes ; Louisiana, yes ; Missouri, yes ; Mississippi, yes ; Maryland, yes, with privilege of amend- ing if colleague dissents ; Michigan, yes ; Pennsylvania, yes ; Texas, yes ; Tennessee, no, because the Committee on Demands are now considering this question ; Virginia, yes ; West Virginia, yes ; California, yes. 2. That any national officer, or organ either State or national, that shall not conform fully with the foregoing resolution shall be suspended by the national president ; and furthermore, we advise our people not to vote for any candidate for a place in our national Congress who does not pledge himself or themselves to the St. Louis platform. 3. That we demand that there shall be a rigid and just national and State governmental control of the means of communication and transportation. And if this does not cure existing abuses, we demand that the government own and control said lines of communication and transportation. i THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 57 Report of the Executive Committee read by the chairman : — Brethren : We, your Executive Board, hereby submit our annual report as follows : — The first duty of your board, after the adjournment of the Supreme Council last year, was to secure bonds from the secretary and treas- urer, and to start the officers in the execution of their duties in the city of Washington. The secretary. Brother Turner, made bond in the sum of $10,000, which was approved as good and deemed suffi- cient under the rules made by this board ; that the secretary should promptly every day deposit all money received in the Second National Bank, in Washington, District of Columbia, which bank received such money under instructions not to pay out any portion of it, except on warrants signed by the secretary, approved by the president, and bear- ing the imprint of the seal of the order. With this careful method of handling the funds, a bond of ;^ 10,000 was considered amply suffi- cient for the secretary to give. The treasurer, Brother Hickman, promptly made a good and suffi- cient bond, but the sureties having failed to make oath as to their solvency, it was returned to him for correction, and owing to the satisfactory working as to the present system of keeping the funds in bank, this board has not insisted on the bond being made by the treas- urer. He was ready to give all the bond required, but the money coming in during the year has not exceeded the amounts necessary to meet the running expenses, and it would have been both troublesome and expensive to pay it into a treasury in Missouri, when it was imme- diately necessary to pay it out again in Washington. For these reasons the treasurer has not been required to perform the duties of his office, but the Supreme Council, at its last session, voted to that officer a sal- ary of $500 per year. He has presented no claim for the salary and performed none of the duties. Your board desires instructions as to whether the salary shall be allowed him or not. The gross amount of salaries voted by the last Supreme Council to the officers of the order, aggregated ;^ 10,500. The expenditure for delegates to the St. Louis meeting has amounted to 1^2687.94. The sum of $1000 was voted to the officers of the previous year, and the president-elect was allowed $900 for a stenographer and office and travelling expenses. The secretary was allowed office expenses ; the lecturer, travelling expenses ; the members of the Executive Board, travelling expenses ; and the national crop statistician, printing and postage expenses. All these obligations were incurred by the Supreme 158 ' AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. Council, and no provision was made for funds with which to discharge them as they became due. In this emergency, the chairman of this Executive Board appHed to the president for a ruhng as to whether the per capita dues were payable in advance or not. He ruled that they were, but the Judiciary Committee refused to concur in the ruling, and according to the constitution that question has been held in abeyance to be decided at this session of the Supreme Council. The result has been great confusion. Eleven States, namely, Kansas, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas Alliance, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Ala- bama, Florida, Louisiana, and Maryland, reported their number of active members according to their strength on the first day of October, 1889, and paid on them for the year ending October i, 1890. These pay- ments were scattered throughout the year, and ten States, namely, Mis- sissippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas Farmers and Laborers' Union, Colorado, and New Mexico, had not reported and paid in full on the first day of November, as the constitution expressly provides shall be done. Six States, namely, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas Farmers and Laborers' Union, and New Mexico, had not reported or paid anything on the 25th day of November, at which date this board examined the books of the secretary. The gross expense for the year, including every item author- ized by the Supreme Council, and all the running and incidental expenses necessary to carry on the work, has been ^19,55 1 .65. The gross receipts from the per capita dues for the year ending October i, 1890, have been $11,231.27. The gain upon supplies sold by the national secretary was $1380.33, and the amount of fees and dues received from un(Ji-ganized States was $918.95 ; making the gross receipts for the year ending Octo- ber I, 1890, $13,530.55, and leaving a deficiency of $6021.10. This deficiency has been reduced to $2862.75 by the use of $3158.35, which has been received on the per capita dues for the year ending October i, 1891. The net deficiency, therefore, for the year, as shown by the sec- retary's books on the 25th day of November, was $2862.75. In view of these facts, your board respectfully makes the following recom- mendations : — 1. The salaries and expenses should be reduced to the very smallest possible amount on which the business can be conducted, and must be reduced until the expenditures do not exceed the income. 2. There exists no necessity for requiring the national president or the chairman of the Executive Board to live at the national head- quarters, because they can attend to the business just as well and live at home, where they will require less salary and incur less expense. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 159 3. The salary of the president should be reduced to not over ^1000 per year, and he should not be allowed an assistant, because the busi- ness of the office does not require it. The salaries of the chairman and members of the Executive Board and the treasurer should be abolished, and for such time and travel as may be found necessary each should be allowed mileage and per diem. 4. The Executive Board should have authority to curtail the expenses authorized by the Supreme Council, whenever the condition of the ex- chequer makes such curtailment necessary. With such a system of rigid economy inaugurated, the treasury would soon be in possession of funds that would enable effective work in the educational field. 5. The system of collecting per capita dues should be improved by having a stated time of year in which all State organizations should collect same. A State with a membership of 40,000, that is increasing at the rate of twenty-five per cent per year, would have ;^2000 to pay if it paid in advance ; but should it defer the payment to the end of the year, it would have ^2500 to pay on account of the accessions to membership ; but on the other hand, if the State be decreasing in membership, it would be cheaper for them to pay at the close of the year. To avoid these fluctuations and establish the fairest and most uniform method, would be for all States to enumerate and pay at the expiration of the first six months of the year. To do this, it would be necessary for the subordinate bodies to report their active membership and pay five cents per capita dues with their April report to the county secretary. The county secretaries would have it all in and make their report and remittance to the State secretary in July, accompanying their regular reports to the State secretary, who would have plenty of time to receive and compile same by the first day of September, at which date the report and remittance from the State secretaries should be due, with the distinct understanding that the first day of November would be the last day of grace, and that all States which violated the constitution by not having made both report and remittance on or before that date, would have no right to demand representation in the Supreme Council. This board has held three sessions during the year, the first in Feb- ruary, at the beginning of the year, for the purpose of establishing the work, approving bonds, etc. The second was in May, immediately after the expiration of the first half of the year. This meeting was called by the chairman, for the purpose of examining the secretary's books, and to see if the expenses could not be curtailed so as not to exceed the receipts. After a careful examination of the condition l6o AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. of affairs, in connection with the president, it was decided that this board had no authority to curtail expenses expressly prescribed by the Supreme Council. A short summary of the condition was sent to each State organization then about to convene, showing that there would probably be a deficiency of nearly $6000, and calling their attention to the constitutional provisions requiring them to report and pay on the first day of November, in order to be entitled to representa- tion. The prediction then made as to a probable deficiency has been verified, but the prompt response of the States has reduced the same very materially, and should the balance of the States pay their indebted- ness, all obligations can be discharged, the expenses of this session met, and funds left in the treasury for the expenditures of the coming year on the economical basis herein recommended by this board ; but other- wise it will not be sufficient. The third and last session of this board was held on the 25 th of November, for the purpose of examining the books and closing up the business of the year. The secretary has made a very ample and complete report, one that reflects credit upon himself, and will be appreciated by you on account of its simplicity and the readiness with which you can understand it and prove its correctness. A copy of the same is submitted with this report, and your attention is called to the various vouchers for the expense account of the secretary and other officers, by which you will see that economy has been the rule, and that no display or luxury has been indulged ; also to the bill of printing, and supplies of books sold by the secretary, which will show the great help the national organ has been, by having facilities which enabled it to do the printing much cheaper than it could be procured elsewhere. Much credit is due your secretary for the efficient manner in which he has discharged his duties, and the economy with which he has conducted the work. Dur- ing a large part of the time his wife has been compelled to assist him, and they have performed all the work pertaining to the office, with the help of a boy, made necessary by the large amount of packing and shipping of outfits and supplies. The gain arising from the sale of supplies has more than paid all the expenses of the office, except the salary. C. W. Macune, Chairman^ A. WaRDALL, J. F. TlLLM.\N. The chairman of the Executive Board then, as ex officio chairman of the Legislative Committee, continued his report, saying that the Legislative Committee had, at the beginning of the year, commenced work without THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, l6l instructions and without a precedent ; that they had been cautious and conservative ; that the work had required a vast amount of work and expense, all of which had been paid by the chairman from his own salary ; and that the growth of sentiment in Congress was the most forcible testimonial of the efficient work of this committee. He cautioned the order as to the great responsibility resting upon this body at this time, as to what action it takes in regard to the political situation. The order could never participate in any partisan political effort, and in the South it was opposed to giving its sanction to any independent or third party move on the part of the members, while in the West and Northwest the delegates claim that the order will retrograde if such sanction is not given. In this emergency he thought he had a compro- mise to offer that would meet the case exactly, and that was for this body to hereby say that it gives its sanction and call for a meeting to be held about February, 1892, to be composed of delegates from all organizations of producers, upon a fair basis of representation, for the purpose of a general and thorough conference upon the demands of each, and to the end that all may agree upon a joint set of demands just prior to the next national campaign, and agree upon the proper methods for enforcing such demands. If the people by delegates com- ing direct from them agree that a third party move is necessary, it need not be feared ; and that the next session of this Supreme Council elect delegates from this order to represent it in said national conference of productive organizations, for political purposes. Motion of Livingston of Georgia duly seconded and carried, that all of the above report be adopted, except such parts as modify the con- stitution, and that they be referred to Committee on Constitution. Afternoon Session. , On motion, special order was suspended to hear the report from the Investigating Committee, which was made by the chairman, as fol- lows : — Your committee appointed to investigate the rumors and reports pub- lished implicating the character, integrity, and fidelity to duty of the president of this organization, the chairman of the Executive Board, and the president of the Georgia State AUiance, and this at the earnest solici- tude of the brethren named, state that they have discharged the duty assigned them to the fullest of their abihty, and respectfully report — I. That they have been unable to ascertain a single fact implicating in any way, shape, or form, the high character and standing and per- 1 62 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. sonal and official reputation of our worthy president, L. L. Polk ; but we regret the writing of the Norwood letter. 2. That as to Brother Livingston, president of the Georgia State Alli- ance, we do not find anything derogatory of his personal or official high standing or integrity, but your committee is not quite prepared to indorse the course of Brother Livingston in the Georgia senatorial contest. 3. That in the case of Brother Macune nothing has been found, after the most rigid investigation, to lessen our confidence in his personal integrity and loyalty to the order ; however, we regret his official con- nection with the Georgia senatorial contest. Adopted. Election of Officers. L. L. Polk was elected President ; B. H. Clover was elected Vice- President ; J. H. Turner was elected National Secretaf^. IVfoved that the election of Treasurer be deferred until a report from the Committee on Constitution is received. Carried. J. H. Willits of Kansas was elected Lecturer; J. Fount. Tillman was elected to fill vacancy on Executive Board ; A. E. Cole of Michigan was elected member of Judiciary Board. The following were elected to constitute the Committee of Confedera- tion with the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, and other organiza- tions : Ben Terrell, L. F. Livingston, R. F. Rogers, H. L. Loucks, W. J. Talbert. FIFTH DAY. Afternoon Session. Various amendments to the constitution were offered and adopted. Resolved, That this Supreme Council reindorse the National Econ- omist, and actions of Brother C. W. Macune and his associates in said paper, and will do all we can to urge them onward in the good work of education. Adopted unanimously, by rising vote. Report of Committee on Salutation and Fraternal Relations between the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union and Colored Farmers' National AUiance and Co-operative Union : — Your committee on above beg leave to report that we visited the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Co-operative Union committee, and were received with the utmost cordiality, and after careful consulta- tion it was mutually and unanimously agreed to unite our orders upon the basis adopted December 5, 1890, a basis between the National THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 163 Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union and the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association; to adopt the St. Louis platform as a common basis, and pledge our orders to work faithfully and earnestly for the election of legislators, State and national, who will enact the laws to carry out the demands of said platform, and to more effectually carry it into effect, recommend the selection of five men from each national body, two of whom shall be the president and secretary, respectively, who shall, with similar committees from other labor organizations, form a Supreme Exec- utive Board, who shall meet as often as may be deemed necessary, and upon the joint call of a majority of the presidents of the bodies joining the confederation, and when so assembled, after electing a chairman and secretary, shall be empowered to do such things for the mutual benefit of the various orders they represent, as shall be deemed expedient ; and shall, when officialUy promulgated to the national officers, be binding upon their bodies until reversed by the action of the national assembUes themselves — political, educational, and commercial ; and hereby pledge ourselves to stand faithfully by each other in the great battle for the enfranchisement of labor and the laborers, from the control of corporate and poUtical rings. Each order to bear its own members' expense on the Supreme Council, and be entitled to as many votes as they have legal voters in their organization. We recommend and urge that equal facili- ties, educational, commercial, and political, be demanded for colored and white Alliance men alike, competency considered, and that a free ballot and a fair count will be insisted upon and had for colored and white alike, by every true Alliance man in America. We further recom- mend that a plan of District Alliances, to conform to District Alliances provided for in this body, be adopted by every order in confederation, with a district lecturer and County Alliances organized in every county possible, and that the lecturers and officers of said district and counties co-operate with each other in conventional, business, educational, com- mercial, and political matters. Adopted, with understanding that joint Committee on Confedera4ion should act for this order. SIXTH DAY. Report of the Committee on Demands : — Section i. We demand the abolition of national banks, and that the government shall establish sub-treasuries, or depositories, in the several States ; which sub-treasuries shall loan money to the people on approved security at a low rate of interest, not to exceed two per cent per annum : Provided, That real estate and non-perishable farm products shall be 1 64 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. considered approved security; and that the circulating medium be increased to at least ^50 per capita, keeping the volume equal to the demand. For this the following substitute was adopted, to which Wade of Ten- nessee had his name withdrawn from this portion of the report : — \.a. We demand the abolition of national banks. b. We demand that the government shall establish sub-treasuries or depositories in the several States, which shall loan money direct to the people at a low rate of interest, not to exceed two per cent per annum, on non-perishable farm products, and also upon real estate, with proper limitations upon the quantity of land and amount of money. c. We demand that the amount of the circulating medium be speedily increased to not less than $50 per capita. The vote by States, on the first proposition, was as follows : — Yes. No. Alabama 4 Arkansas Alliance 2 Arkansas Union 2 Indian Territory 2 Florida 3 North Dakota 2 South Dakota 3 Kentucky 4 Pennsylvania, not voting. Michigan 3 Louisiana 4 Mississippi 2 i Indiana 1. . 2 Illinois 2 Missouri 2 4 Georgia 7 North Carolina 4 Yes. No. Virginia 4 West Virginia 2 New York i Kansas 8 South Carolina 4 Texas 4 Colorado, not voting. Tennessee i 3 Maryland 2 California 2 L. L. Polk, President .... I B. H. Clover, Vice-President . i J. H. Turner, Secretary . . . i C. W. Macune, Chr. Ex. ... i E. Jones, Judiciary Com. . . . Absent. A. Wardall i Tennessee, in voting i aye and 3 no, explained that they would have voted 4 aye on the section as it came from the committee before it was amended. 2. That we demand that Congress shall pass such laws as will effectu- ally prevent the dealing in futures of all agricultural and mechanical productions ; providing a stringent system of procedure in trials that will secure the prompt conviction, and imposing such penalties as shall secure the most perfect compliance with the law. Adopted. 3. We condemn the silver bill recently passed by Congress, and demand in lieu thereof the free and unlimited coinage of silver. Adopted. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 65 4. We demand the passage of laws prohibiting alien ownership of land, and that Congress take prompt action to devise some plan to obtain all lands now owned by aliens and foreign syndicates ; and that all lands now held by railroads and other corporations, in excess of such as is actually used and needed by them, be reclaimed by the government, and held for actual settlers only. Adopted. 5. Believing in 'the doctrine of equal rights to all, and special privi- leges to none, weMemand — a. That our national legislation shall be so framed in the future as not to build up one industry at the expense of another. b. We further demand a removal of the existing heavy tariff tax from the necessities of life that the poor of our land must have. c. We further demand a just and equitable system of graduated tax on incomes. d. We believe that the money of the country should be kept as much as possible in the hands of the people, and hence we demand that all national and State revenues shall be limited to the necessary expenses of the government, economically and honestly administered. Adopted. 6. We demarKi the most rigid, honest, and just State and national governmental control and supervision of the means of public communi- cation and transportation ; and if this control and supervision does not remove the abuse now existing, we demand the government ownership of such means of communication and transportation. Adopted. 7. We demand that the Congress of the United States submit an amendment to the Constitution, providing for the election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people of each State. Adopted. Moved by Brother Livingston, that the report be adopted as a whole. Carried. By Brother Davie of Kentucky : — Whereas, There is now a bill known as the sub-treasury bill in the hands of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representa- tives, which should have been reported and acted upon at the last ses- sion, and which if enacted into law would bring the financial relief so much needed by all classes and industries : therefore, be it Resolved, That this national convention of the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union do most respectfully and earnestly ask that said bill be enacted into law as soon as possible, or some other measure that will carry out these principles and meet the necessities of the toiling masses. Adopted by a rising vote, four votes being cast against it. 1 66 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. Evening Session. Resolution of Brother Guice ; referred to general joint Committee on Confederation : — Whereas, We have already adopted the report of the chairman of the Executive Board in part ; and whereas, said report did recommend that this body authorize a call for a convention of all labor organizations to be held in February, 1892 ; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That this body elect a committee composed of one from each State here represented, to be known as the National Executive Com- mittee, for the special purpose of conferring with like committees from other organizations, and deciding questions as to time and place of meeting, basis of representation, and to submit to their respective States the demands of all such other labor organizations as will probably be represented at such labor conference, each member to be ex officio chairman in his State, and to have authority to appoint congressional district chairmen, who in turn shall appoint county chairmen, for the purpose of bringing our demands and those of the other labor organiza- tions squarely before the people during the coming year, and secure an expression from them as to what concessions they will make in order to secure general co-operation, and what methods they will adopt to secure the same. Resolution of Brother Guice ; read and adopted : — Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the chair, whose duty it shall be to report on the practicability of the use of the small bale of cotton over that of the large bale, at the next annual meeting of this body. Resolution of Brother Demming on summer encampment ; read and unanimously adopted : — That the president be requested to appoint a committee of three, with full power to act, to take into consideration the holding of a grand sum- mer encampment : Provided, That in no event shall this organization be liable for any expense connected therewith. Committee on Summer Encampment appointed as follows : H. C. Demming, Beverly of Virginia, and Mitchell of Maryland. Moved, by Brother Wardall, that the matter of fire insurance be referred to the Executive Board for the purpose of formulating a mutual and feasible plan of fire insurance, and have it ready for report at the next meeting of the Supreme Council. Adopted. Report of Committee on Insurance : — Your Committee on Insurance report that we have carefully examined THR NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 167 the life plan of the Alliance Aid Association of Huron, South Dakota, and believe it will be a benefit to the order, and recommend its adop- tion. On fire insurance, we recommend that it be referred to the Exec- utive Committee to prepare a feasible plan for mutual insurance, publish it in our official papers, and present it at our next annual meeting. Laid on the table. Resolution by Brother Cole ; adopted unanimously : — That, in connection with the post-office, the government should organize financial exchanges, safe deposits, and facilities for deposit of savings of the people in small sums. Supreme Council then adjourned. The following is the amended constitution of the order : — CONSTITUTION. DECLARATION OF PURPOSES. Whereas^ The general condition of our country imperatively demands unity of action on the part of the laboring classes, reformation in econ- omy, and the dissemination of principles best calculated to encourage and foster agricultural and mechanical pursuits, encouraging the toiling masses — leading them in the road to prosperity, and providing a just and fair remuneration for labor, a just exchange for our commodities, and the best means of securing to the laboring classes the greatest amount of good ; we hold to the principle that all monopolies are dan- gerous to the best interests of our country, tending to enslave a free people and subvert and finally overthrow the great principles purchased to the fathers of American liberty. We therefore adopt the following as our declaration of principles : — 1 68 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. 1. To labor for the education of the agricultural classes in the science of economical government, in a strictly non-partisan spirit, and to bring about a more perfect union of said classes. 2. That we demand equal rights to all and special favors to none. 3. To indorse the motto, "In things essential, unity; and in all things, charity." 4. To develop a better state mentally, morally, socially, and financially. 5. To constantly strive to secure entire harmony and good will to all mankind and brotherly love among ourselves. 6. To suppress personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices ; all unhealthful rivalry and all selfish ambition. 7. The brightest jewels which it garners are the tears of the widows and orphans, and its imperative commands are to visit the homes where lacerated hearts are bleeding ; to assuage the sufferings of a brother or sister ; bury the dead, care for the widows, and educate the orphans ; to exercise charity toward offenders, to construe words and deeds in their most favorable light, granting honesty of purpose and good intentions to others, and to protect the principles of the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union until death. Its laws are reason and equity, its car- dinal doctrines inspire purity of thought and life, its intention is, " On earth, peace, and good will to man." Article I. NAME AND POWERS. Section i. This organization shall be known as the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. Sec. 2. This organization possesses and shall exercise such powers as are delegated to it by charter from the government of the United States, and such further powers as are herein expressed. Article II. DIVISION OF powers. Section i. The powers of this organization shall be divided into three branches, to wit : A legislative, an executive, and a judicial depart- ment. Sec. 2. The Legislative Department shall be supreme in authority, and its sessions shall be known as the Supreme Council of the order. Sec. 3. The Executive and Judicial Departments shall be of equal power and authority, and subordinate only to the legislative, THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 1 69 Article III. MEETINGS. The regular annual meetings of the Supreme Council shall be on the third Tuesday in November in each year. Article IV. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. Section i. It shall be the duty of the Supreme Council to make laws, rules, and regulations to govern its meetings and usages. Sec. 2. The Supreme Council shall be composed of the officers of the organization and delegates from the various State organizations elected by the States upon such basis of representation as the Supreme Council may prescribe. It shall be the duty of the Supreme Council to adopt rules governing such representation : Provided, That the delegates to the Supreme Council shall not be less than twenty-one years of age ; and the basis of representation shall not allow more than two delegates from each State and one additional member for each 10,000 active members or' majority fraction thereof. Active members under this section are such members only as have paid the regular- yearly dues of five cents each. Sec. 3. The Supreme Council shall elect at each regular annual ses- sion the following officers, who shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified : A president, a vice-president, and a secretary- treasurer. Sec. 4. The president shall be presiding officer of the Supreme Council and the official head of the Executive Department. Sec. 5 . The Supreme Council shall provide laws and rules prescribing the powers, duties, and methods of the officers, and may Hmit the term of office, fix salaries, etc. Article V. executive department. Section i. The president shall be the chief executive officer; he shall have power to direct and instruct all executive officers and all executive work in this department, subject to the laws and regulations made by the Supreme Council. ^ Sec. 2. The president shall have authority to interpret and construe the meaning of the laws of the national order by official rulings, and such rulings shall have the force and effect of laws until the next meet- 170 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. ing of the Supreme Council : Provided^ Appeals may be taken from the interpretation and rulings of the president to the Judiciary Department, whose decisions shall be final. Sec. 3. The president shall be the custodian of the secret work, and shall provide for its exemplification and dissemination. He shall be authorized to issue special dispensations and held responsible for the same, all of which shall be matters of record. Article VI. JUDICIARY. Section i. The Judiciary Department shall be composed of three judges, one of whom shall after the first year be elected annually by the Supreme Council. Three judges shall be elected the first year, one of whom shall be for a term of one year, one for two, and one for three years. Sec. 2. The regular term of office f(3r the judges of the Judiciary Department shall be three years. Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to office as judge in the Judiciary Department who is under thirty years of age. Sec. 4. The senior judge shall be called the chairman, and shall be the presiding officer of the court. Sec. 5. The Judiciary shall have authority to act upon the rulings of the president ; to try and decide grievances and appeals affecting the officers or members of the Supreme Council ; to try appeals from the State bodies. Sec. 6. The decisions and findings of the Supreme Judiciary shall be a matter, of record, and shall be preserved in the archives of the order, a careful report of which shall be made to the regular annual sessions of the Supreme Council. Sec. 7. For the purpose of carrying out the above provisions and rendering the workings of the Judiciary Department effective, the Supreme Council shall provide rules and regulations. Article VII. Section i. The Supreme Council shall fix such salaries for officers as may be a fair remuneration for services required, and for such expen- ditures of the various departments as may be consistent with strict economy. Sec. 2. A per capita tax of five cents shall be paid for each male member into the national treasury by each State organization, on or before the first day of November of each year. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 171 Sec. 3. The Supreme Council shall at each session fix the mileage and per diem to be paid the actual delegates to the body, subject to a Umitation of not over three cents per mile each way by the nearest and most direct travelled route, and not over three dollars per day for such days as are spent in actual attendance at the session. Article VIII. Section i. No person shall be admitted as a member of this order except a white person, over sixteen years of age, who is a behever in the existence of a Supreme Being, and has resided in the State more than six months, and is, either : First, a farmer, or a farm laborer ; second, a country mechanic, a country preacher, a country school teacher, or a country doctor ; third, an editor of a paper which supports all national demands, and the demands of the State Alliance under whose jurisdiction he may live : Provided, That no Sub- Alliance shall initiate an editor until the county president and secretary shall indorse and the State president approve the application. Provided further^ The State president may suspend any editor from membership for using or permitting his paper to be used against the Alliance until the next meeting of the State Alliance, when said Alliance may reinstate or expel him from the order. Provided, That each State and Territory shall have the right to pre- scribe the eligibility of applicants for membership, in reference to color, within the Hmits of the same. Provided further, That none but white men shall be elected as delegates to the Supreme Council. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the Supreme Council to enact a uniform eligibility clause for the various State constitutions ; also, to enact laws defining the eligibiHty of persons of mixed or unusual occu- pations or residence, subject to all the limitations of this article. Article IX. STATE BODIES. Section i. A State organization may be chartered by the president in any State having as many as seven county organizations, provided that any State containing less than seven counties may be chartered when one-third of its territory is organized. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the president to issue a charter to any State organization qualified under section one of this article, when they shall file evidence that they have, first, adopted a constitution that does not conflict with this constitution ; second, that they adopt the secret ii 172 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. work, and acknowledge the supremacy of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. Article X. RESERVATION OF POWERS. Section i. All rights and powers, not herein expressly delegated, are reserved to the State organizations severally. Article XI. AMENDMENTS. Section i. This constitution cannot be altered or amended, except upon a written resolution clearly setting forth the changes or additions to be made, which must be read in open session on at least two separate days, and adopted by two-thirds majority. Statutory Laws. 1. The basis of representation of the State organizations in the Supreme Council shall be as follows : Two delegates from each State, and one additional delegate for each 20,000 active members, or majority fraction thereof. 2. Delegates to the Supreme Council will not be entitled to seats in the body unless settlement of the national per capita dues of five cents for each male member has been made by the State secretary, accompanied by the proper amount of money to the national secretary, and State secretaries shall make such remittance, and report promptly on or before the first day of November. 3. The annual election of officers by the Supreme Council shall be by ballot. 4. The president shall appoint from the actual delegates to the ses- sion pf the Supreme Council, a chaplain, assistant lecturer, doorkeeper, assistant doorkeeper, sergeant-at-arms, and such other executive officers as the business of the session may require. The term of office for such officers shall expire at the close of the session ; such appointed officers to receive nqthing in addition to mileage and per diem as delegates. 5. The president shall be the presiding officer of the Supreme Coun- cil, and shall conduct the business according to the accepted rules of parliamentary usage and the requirements of the ritual. 6. The president shall have authority to call upon any executive officer or committee to make report and showing of the business intrusted to him, at such time as in his judgment it seems best. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 73 7. The president may, when notified of any dereUction of duty or violation of the rules of the order, suspend any officer or committee, and summon them to appear before the judiciary committee to make showing to the chairman, either by oral or written evidence, as to their guilt or innocence of the charges. 8. The president shall have full authority to enforce order and deco- rum during the sessions of the Supreme Council. 9. The president shall have power to call a meeting of the Supreme Council at such time and place as in his judgment is for the benefit of the order. When petitioned by one-fourth of the State presidents in the jurisdiction of this order, he shall call a meeting of the Supreme Council. He shall state in the call specifically for what purpose the meeting is convened. 10. The vice-president's duties shall be to assist the president, and in his absence to perform his duty. 11. The order of succession in vacancy shall be — president to vice- president, and vice-president to chairman of the Executive Board. 12. The secretary- treasurer's duty shall be to keep a record of the proceedings of the Supreme Council, conduct its correspondence, to receive all money of the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, and account for the same, to read all communications, reports, and petitions in open Supreme Council when necessary, to affix the seal of the Farmers' AUiance and Industrial Union to all documents requiring the same, to prepare for publication a copy of the proceedings of each annual or called session immediately after adjournment. He shall have charge of the seal, books, and papers of the Farmers' Alliance and Indus- trial Union. His books shall at all times be open to the inspection of the president, or any committee appointed by the president to inspect the same, to keep a correct account between each State and the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. He shall furnish the secre- taries of each State Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union with a blank book properly ruled, with suitable column heads for classifying and recording the contents of the reports from the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. Also suitable blanks for making reports to his office and to the chairman of the executive committee. He shall also make a list of all the officers, standing and special committees of the Supreme Council, with name and post-office address, which list shall be a part of the printed proceedings of the Supreme Council. 13. It shall be the duty of the lecturer to visit each State in the juris- diction at least once a year, and to hold himself in readiness at all times to visit such locaUties and perform such duties as may be designated by the president. 174 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. 14. There shall be elected by the Supreme Council an Executive Board composed of three members, who shall be an advisory board of the president, and shall represent the Supreme Council during recess. The chairman of the Executive Board shall be located at the official headquarters of the order in the city of Washington. 15. It shall be the duty of the Executive Board to require and pass upon the bonds of the secretary-treasurer, to audit all bills and accounts, to examine and audit the secretary's books, and in a general way per- form detail of executive work. 16. The regular term of office for members of the Executive Board shall be three years, but of the board first elected, one shall be for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, and thereafter one shall be elected each year. 1 7. All persons who are ineligible for membership, who make applica- tion, should be notified of the facts in the case, and no ballot or action taken. When members of the order engage in an occupation that would have rendered them ineligible before initiation, they shall, upon sufficient evidence, be immediately dismissed by motion of the president in open lodge. 18. Each Supreme Council shall, when convened, fix the mileage and per diem of its members, subject to the restrictions of the constitution. 19. The salary of the president of this organization shall be $3000, office and travelling expenses, and $900 dollars for a clerk, with head- quarters at Washington, District of Columbia. 20. The salary of the secretary-treasurer shall be ^2250 and office expenses. 21. The salary of the lecturer shall be ^2000 and actual travelling expenses. 22. The remuneration of the members of the Executive Board shall be three cents per mile each way for actual necessary travel, and five dollars per day for actual time employed. 23. No State organization or members of this order shall under any circumstances be allowed to print or distribute the rituals of the order, except as the Executive Board shall cause them to be, and they shall be distributed as the president may direct. 24. All charters for State, county, or subordinate bodies in unorgan- ized States must emanate from and contain the signature of the national president, and those for bodies under State jurisdiction shall be issued by the president and secretary of the State body having jurisdiction over them. 25. It shall be the duty of the Executive Board to secure from each THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 1 75 of the States copies of their forms of reporting from sub, county, and State secretaries, and endeavor to secure a uniform system of quarterly reports throughout the entire order. 26. All resolutions that shall be adopted by this National Council shall be laws governing the membership of the order, and shall be codi- fied and added to the existing laws of the order. 27. The Executive Board shall require the heads of the various departments to give them an estimate of their expenses for the ensuing year, and shall allow each department such an appropriation as they deem just : Provided, That at least one-fourth of the annual revenue shall be appropriated to the lecture department. (The chairman of the Committee on Constitution reports that the committee intended the above clause to be advisory, and not mandatory.) 28. The per capita dues shall be five cents, due annually in advance on the first day of November, with the last day of grace February first following. 29. It is hereby enacted by the National Supreme Council that, within sixty days of the adjournment of the Supreme Council, a meeting of all presidents of States composing the Supreme Council, together with the national president, who shall be ex officio chairman, and shall be held at such time and place as may be designated by the national presi- dent, and the meeting thus constituted shall be known as the National Legislative Council of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, and one-fourth of the membership shall constitute a quorum. § 2. That it shall be the duty of the said National Legislative Coun- cil to formulate measures and devise such necessary methods in con- formity with the principles, purposes, and acts of the Supreme Council, as may secure the enactment of such laws as may be indicated by the Supreme Council. § 3. It shall be the duty of the president of the National Legislative Council to keep in substantial form a correct record of the proceedings of each legislative council, to be presented to the Supreme Council of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union at its next meeting. § 4. It shall be the duty of the Legislative Council to cause to be printed any measures, bills, resolutions, or petitions which it may decide to present to Congress, and cause the same to be transmitted by the national secretary -to all subordinate bodies in each of the States under the jurisdiction of the order, together with such other arguments or other information as in the judgment of the council should be given to the membership. § 5. It may appoint a national legislative committee consisting of not 176 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. more than three members, to be chosen from its own body, and require said committee to give such personal service as may in the judgment of the council be necessary to a proper presentation for the measures before Congress. Each member shall receive such compensation as may be provided by his State Alliance out of its treasury. The per diem and mileage of the legislative committee shall be fixed by the National Legislative Council, to be paid out of the national treasury upon the warrant of the national president. 30. Delegates from a majority of the States organized shall constitute a quorum of the Supreme Council. 31. There shall be a standing committee, consisting of the State business agents from the States composing the National Farmers' AUi- ance and Industrial Union, provided that each State exchange or State Alliance shall defray the expenses of said agent. 32. All measures presented for consideration may be discussed fairly, fully, honestly, and thoroughly, and when the action of a majority has been had, all who participate in the meeting are pledged to support such action. It is the duty of every member where the body has spoken to stand as a unit before the world. 33. No officer or member of the Supreme Council shall absent him- self from the meetings unless excused by the president, under penalty of the forfeiture of all his mileage and per diem. 34. The following rules shall govern the confederation with the / Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, the National Colored Farmers' j Alliance and Co-operative Union, and such other organizations as may / be admitted to same : — / § I. A confederation. ^ § 2. A joint committee on confederation of five from each organiza- tion, which shall represent this confederation. § 3. Each organization shall be entitled to as many votes as it has members who are legal voters in State or national elections. § 4. The St. Louis platform shall be the basis. § 5. Each shall stand pledged to assist when possible in all local efforts to better the condition of our people. § 6. Fraternal delegates or correspondence shall never be denied the one by the other so long as the confederation exists. § 7. The joint committee on confederation shall have the power by a majority vote to admit other organizations with similar objects, upon application. § 8. When plans are agreed upon by the joint committee on confed- eration for mutual co-operation, each organization shall be bound to support said plans fully and cheerfully. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 77 § 9. Expenses accruing on account of the joint committee on con- federation shall be defrayed by their respective organizations as they may be incurred by each. § 10. The joint committee on confederation shall have power to adopt such by-laws for the government of the joint committee as they deem best. 35. The indebtedness of the various organizations which consolidated on the first day of October, 1889, to form the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, shall in no case be a debt of the consoHdated order, unless by special act of the Supreme Council. Order of Business. 1. Calling the roll. 2. Reading the minutes. 3. Application for membership. 4. Report of investigating committees. 5 . Balloting. 6. Initiations. 7. Is there any member sick or in distress? 8. Reports of standing committees. 9. Report of special committees. 10. Unfinished business. 11. New members. 12. Business with the County Alliance. 13. Business with the State Alliance. 14. Lecturing. This was doubtless one of the most important gatherings, in many respects, that was ever held on American soil. Repre- sentatives from thirty-one State and Territorial Alliances were present, besides a large number of both friends and enemies of the order. Following, as it did, immediately after the close of a political campaign of remarkable surprises, it was compelled to bear a burden of pressure from both the old parties — one being driven by disaster to the verge of despair, and the other elated by success to the point of dictatorial assumption. The Republican party hoped that the meeting would result in certain indiscretions which would break the power of the Alliance, and permit that party to regain its waning strength. The Demo- cratic party was anxious to have the Alliance recede from its 1 73 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. advanced position on economic questions, in order to make co-operation more probable. Again, there was a strong element from the West demanding independent action, and at the same time showing, as the result of such a movement, the fruits of the last election. This was met by a conservative force largely from the South, but really from nearly all the States represented, which considered it unwise and untimely. The wily politician was there also, and as usual dangerous to all honest purposes ; the traitor and breeder of discord was not wanting ; and the coward could be occasionally met with. All this tended to distract the brethren and destroy that continuity of action with- out which the results of the meeting would have been disastrous. Under such unfavorable circumstances the delegates began their work. For weeks and months certain newspapers and individuals had been poisoning the minds of the brotherhood with slanderous assaults upon certain members of the order, whose downfall would best serve the purposes of the politicians of either party, and prepare the way for the overthrow of the order, if possible. These attacks were so bold and brutal that an investigation was at once demanded by some of the victims. This investigation disclosed the viciousness of the plot and the entire innocence of the accused. The message of the president was temperate, well considered, and enthusiastically received. It was full of encouragement, and seemed to crystallize the scattered forces and bring the delegates together. The report of the secretary was thorough and complete, and inspired confidence in that officer. The report of the lecturer disclosed a year of hard work, and the addition of a large number of States to the order was proof of the efficacy of his labor. The report of the Executive Com- mittee was thoughtful and logical, and contained much that was worthy of consideration. Taken altogether, the national officers made a splendid showing of the year's work, and the brethren were highly pleased. The real labor of the meeting was begun in earnest, and with the determination to do that which was best for the interest of the order, honestly and fearlessly. The old officers were re-elected, with the exception of Brother Willits of Kansas being chosen national lecturer in the place of Brother Terrell, who had held that position for the past four THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. I 79 years, and Brother Cole of Michigan being selected as a mem- ber of the Judiciary Committee. The salaries were changed in some particulars, and the membership confined strictly to the country. A Legislative Council was instituted, consisting of the national president and the president of each State Alliance. An understanding was arrived at concerning the duties of Alliance papers in the discussion of Alliance principles, which will no doubt be of great benefit to the order. A platform or declaration of principles was adopted that will stand as the crowning glory of the meeting. It will warm the hearts of all true Alliance members, inspire them with confidence, and nerve them to renewed action. The schemes of the slanderer failed, the plans of the traitors were destroyed, and the plots of the politicians disclosed, and the Alliance came out of the ordeal purified, stronger than ever, more united than ever, and more determined than ever to push on the work so grandly and ear- nestly begun. Such, in brief, was the important work of the meeting. To restrict its membership in future to the country was wise, and served to eliminate many annoying conditions, and at the same time made room for other fraternal orders to work without unpleasant complications. The declaration of demands adopted at the meeting will challenge the admiration of every candid, thinking man through- out the entire nation. Its demands are simple, plain, practical, and entirely within the provisions of the constitution. There is nothing revolutionary in their character, and they could be easily and cheaply administered. These demands are limited almost entirely to the three great questions, — land, transporta- tion, and currency. Upon these it speaks with no uncertain sound. No backward step has been taken, but a long stride in advance has been made. The sub-treasury plan has been reaf- firmed, with the addition of loans upon real estate. This makes the financial proposition complete, and will tend to greatly strengthen the whole. With loans direct to the people, upon land as the basis for a permanent addition to the circulation, and loans upon products to furnish that flexibility which all just systems of finance should possess, the Alliance can meet any and all objections with the most convincing arguments. The i8o AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. demands in regard to the means of transportation and commu- nication have been strengthened by explicitly stating, in terms not to be misunderstood, the ultimatum. It is a platform upon which every honest man can stand. It is a demand for reforms that all candid men will indorse, and, as a whole, it constitutes a declaration of purposes that will lead the people out of their distress, and in the end bring peace and prosperity. Here ends the history of the Farmers' Alliance at the pres- ent time. Upon this history it must stand or fall. What its future may be, God alone can tell. It was born of necessity, nurtured amid want and distress, and stands to-day as the cham- pion of the down-trodden of earth. It is not properly an organ- ization — it is a growth ; and they who would prophesy of its future must first know the wants and woes of the human family. Such a beginning, such years of probation, such opportunities for good, and such triumphs ! He who holds the destinies of nations in his keeping, and does all things well, will never suffer to be brought to naught. The Farmers' Alliance has a mission to fulfil that even those who are its leaders know not of. It has battles to fight, con- quests to make, and victories to gain, that will fill the earth. It is the last, grand, peaceable assault by labor in production upon the intrenchments of plutocracy. It is the last appeal for justice, for ** equal rights to all, and special privileges to none," that will be made through education and the ballot box. As well might we undertake to blot out the stars of heaven as to prevent the final triumph of this great movement. In some manner, and in the immediate future, labor in production is going to be free. The shackles it has worn so long will be stricken off, and the bands that have bound it to the chariot wheels of the oppressors will surely be loosened. The Alliance will yet prove the Moses that will lead the people out of their bondage and up to that condition which a kind Providence has v^ouchsafed to us all. It is sure to be the strong man who, at the appointed time, will proclaim, in thunder tones, reaching from ocean to ocean : "It is finished. Let the people go free." The methods of the Alliance are based upon education, and are therefore conservative. They appeal to an intelligent sense of justice, and are therefore all the more potent. Every de- THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. l8l mand is founded upon the full knowledge of an outraged equity, and every proposition cemented with the logic that comes through practical application. It is the conservative element of society, the long-suffering, slowly aroused portion, that is now in rebellion against the methods of plutocracy. It is a protest against that which is widening the gulf between Dives and Lazarus, which in the end, if not checked, will engulf the liberties of the people. There is nothing sensational or emotional about it. It is a deliberate conclusion, based upon study and reflection. It is not a theory ; it is a condition, and one that must be met in the same spirit in which it is presented, or the end of the rule of the majority has been reached. Let no one be deceived in this matter. Let no one think the Alliance is the creature of a moment. It is here. It has come to stay, until the armies against freedom and humanity are driven without the borders of this fair land. It is the uprising of the hosts of good government. Its purposes are expressed in the words of Lincoln : " That a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, may not perish from off the earth." It makes war on no one ; it demands justice and not charity ; equal rights instead of special privileges ; and stands squarely upon the doctrine of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. It believes with the poet, who said : — " See the sole bliss Heaven could on all bestow ! Which who but feels can taste, but thinks can know : Yet poor with fortune, and with learning blind. The bad must miss ; the good, untaught, will find ; Slave to no sect, who takes no private road, But looks through nature up to nature's God ; Pursues that chain which links the immense design, Joins heaven and earth, and mortal and divine ; Sees that no being any bliss can know. But touches some above, and some below ; Learns from this union of the rising whole, The first, last purpose of the human soul ; And knows where faith, law, morals, all began. All end in Love of God and Love of Man." Founded upon such principles, and grounded in such belief, nothing can prevent the ultimate accomplishment of its pur- l82 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. poses. Here are represented four agricultural organizations in one. This fact alone points to it as a factor of destiny. About the same time, in different localities, four organizations were started in farming communities, — the Farmers' Alliance, in Texas ; the Farmers' Union, in Louisiana ; the Brothers of Freedom, in one part of Arkansas, and the Agricultural Wheel in another. They all began under similar conditions and be- cause of similar reasons, and undertook to accomplish similar objects. The story of their origin and final consolidation reads like a romance. They seem to have been actuated by one motive, continued for one purpose, and held together by one common desire. We see the Brothers of Freedom uniting amicably and peacefully with the Wheel, and thereby increas- ing the power and efficiency of both. Then the Farmers' Union consolidates with the Alliance, for the mutual benefit of both ; and last we find the two great organizations, the Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union and the Agricultural Wheel combining into one great body, under one name and one authority. The success of this consolidation effort has been phenomenal. It has astonished the thinking world, and is growing in wonder daily. The cause is easily found : it is an honest effort to accomplish a legitimate purpose through busi- ness methods. It is the plain result of intelligent organization, based upon a righteous cause, having as its ultimate result the emancipation from the power of corruption and vicious laws of all those who contribute to the production of the wealth of the nation. The farmers are the only class who have not availed them- selves hitherto of the benefits of organization. There seems to be among them a disposition to keep out of organizations them- selves, and find fault with others who join. This comes through a lack of proper education upon that subject. If the farmers of America would organize as intelligently -and solidly as the Standard Oil Company has, and then use the power of such organization as unscrupulously, they would in a few years become the dictators of the world. Nothing could withstand their power. Of course the Alliance and other similar organ- izations are doing a great work in this line of education, but there remains so much yet to be accomplished that the attempt THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 83 looks almost hopeless, even to many who have long been in the movement. But the absolute necessity for organization among farmers is apparent to all thinking people. In the past many attempts have been made to accomplish needed results, but in the main they have all been preparatory. Stern necessity, the great educator of mankind, reaches the farmer last of all. Be- sides this, the agricultural portion of all governments are their conservative elements. They dislike innovation, deprecate a change, and cling to old customs and traditions. But when once aroused, when thoroughly convinced that their rights are being invaded, there is no factor of society more determined, less liable to make mistakes, and better acquainted with the source of difficiilty and the needed remedy, than the farmer. Organization, and that alone, will make these conditions pos- sible, and that alone will save the farmer and his vocation from complete destruction. Is it not, therefore, the duty of every farmer to at once become identified with some organization, and make common cause against the oppression under which he is now suffering.? Let the farmers of the United States organize, stand together, demand better laws, easier conditions, and more liberty. The power to do these things is with them. Let them do it wisely, but firmly. In looking back over the history of the order, we note its first rapid growth from August, 1885, to August, 1886, during which time the order in Texas grew from about six hundred Sub-Alliances to about twenty-seven hundred. Perhaps the most potent argument used by the lecturers during that time was that there were too many merchants, and that the farmers could organize and co-operate, and by concentrating their trade on one, where the custom was to have five or six, they would save the expense of supporting so many. During the rapid growth of the order that year, this was the doctrine taught by the lecturers, and at the end of the year it was discarded as a fallacy, and a different policy, that of bulking the crops, advo- cated for the next year. In spite of this complete change of base, there was no check to the rapid growth of the order ; it kept on growing through every change of public sentiment as to its objects, purposes, and methods. Nor is this all. The men who founded it have not remained in the lead during its l84 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. wonderful growth. Officers have been changed almost every year, and the constitution, the organic law of the order, has been several times completely changed. What are we forced to conclude from all this ? Evidently that the growth of this great order does not depend upon the wisdom and forethought of the men who founded it, or of those who have been put at the head of the column to act as officers ; neither does it depend upon the provisions of the declaration of purposes or the constitution ; and, as we have seen that a gen- eral popular misconception of its purposes, attended with futile and useless action, has in no case retarded its great onward march, we must conclude that it is a higher and a greater power than could possibly emanate from any or all of these sources. The Farmers' Alliance is a God-given institution, that ranks above, and cannot be tied down to, any local or fleeting issue. It is the highest development of material progress, an ever-present and all-powerful influence for good. It is the farm- ers' sinking fund, or savings bank, on which he may draw for help to meet the evils that surround him now, or may surround him in the future. If it could be tied down or limited to the business effort, or to the political effort, or to any other effort of to-day, it would only last until that effort was gained or lost, for success would be as fatal to it as failure, since failure would dis- courage and dishearten its followers, and success would obviate the necessity for its existence. It is, however, on too high and too broad a plane for that. It can never be anchored to any special effort ; it must ever remain a general and powerful influence for good, calculated to meet every emergency; and, as such, its mission will never be accomplished while evil exists or unjust conditions confront the producers, as such a defeat is local and cannot injure, and a victory only opens the way for other fields to conquer. Under this broad, this grand concep- tion of the mission of our noble order, we realize that it is here to stay, and that its existence is not fleeting, that it is worthy of our very best efforts of hand, head, and heart. In the light of this conception of our order, let us apply to this all-healing fountain for the crystal drops of ultimate truth and justice, that shall quench the fires of evil and discrim- ination that surround us to-day. A comparison of the condition f \jr I nc UNIVERSITY \ OF TB£ NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 85 of the farmers of America to-day with that twenty to twenty- five years ago, will forcibly illustrate the fact that there is at this time a depressed condition of agriculture. In spite of the fact that it has been an era of great productiveness and prosper- ity, farmers, on the average, are much poorer now than they were twenty years ago. Improved machinery has added to our power to produce, and the railways have brought the markets of the world to our very doors, and yet we have gone down in the scale of financial prosperity, until it is common to hear men say they would not farm if they could make a living any other way. Think of that ! The noblest calling on earth made the least desirable of any ! It is time we examined carefully into the causes for this condition, and having found them, stand shoulder to shoulder as a unit in demanding conditions that shall reverse this order of things. Production, distribution, consumption, and accumulation con- stitute the four great factors in business. The one governing factor is distribution. Production will take care of itself. It is simply an expression of human nature through a common desire to do something to promote personal gain or pleasure. Natural wants or fancied comforts, together with human frailties, will furnish ample ways and means for consumption. The real dan- ger to be avoided is an excessive accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few people, through an unfair distribution of the products of labor. " We demand equal rights for all, and special favors to none," says the great agricultural and labor organization of America. Such a demand implies the non-existence of these conditions. Equal rights mean an equal chance in the struggle of life ; that no one may be compelled to bear the burden of his neighbor in addition to his own, thereby endangering success and jeopard- izing escape from poverty and dependence. President Lincoln said : " I am here to make of myself the best intellectual, moral, and physical being possible. To do it, I am entitled to generous food, generous clothing, and comfortable shelter, and if any per- son or set of persons lays upon me a burden whereby I am required to use more than reasonable effort to feed, clothe, and shelter myself, the person or set of persons so unreasonably burdening me is an enemy of God, and my murderer." 1 86 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, We may judge both the future and the present by the past. Applying this rule, we at once discover that our rights have not only been invaded, but in many cases absolutely taken from us. We find, on all sides, monsters in the guise of trusts, cor- porations, and monopolies, that not only despoil us of our rights, but grimly resist all efforts to regain them. The conditions of the present are a protest against the laws of the past, and a future invasion of our rights may be justly charged as a crime of the present. Thomas Paine said, many years ago : ** When old men go to the poor-house, and young men to prison, some- thing is wrong with the economic system of the nation." So say I. When one man dies in this country worth one hundred millions of dollars, and his neighbor is buried at public expense, something is wrong with the doctrine of equality before just laws. Nothing but a perversion of our rights could make the vast social differences of the present time. We look about us and find poverty and distress in the midst of plenty ; hunger and nakedness amid bursting granaries and crowded ware- houses. The wails of the starving are wafted into the banquet halls of the oppulent. The cry of the unemployed comes up amid the unused opportunities of God's bounty ; and want and wretchedness confront us at every turn. Prior to the war there were but two millionnaires in this country ; at the present time 31,100 persons own ;^36,25o,ooo,ooo of the wealth of the nation. Estimating the national wealth at sixty billions, we find that these 31,100 persons own three- fifths. Think of 31,100 persons in this republic worth more than one million each, on the average! There are 616,000 miles of telegraph lines in this country, and one man controls it all. There are 156,000 miles of railroad, costing nine billions of dollars, yet seven men dictate its profits. We mine 1 20,000,000 tons of coal, yet five men determine how much we shall pay for it. We produce 6,000,000,000 gallons of coal oil, but one man establishes the price. The above is but a partial record of the past twenty years. During that time prices have declined 6/1 per cent. Debts have increased from less than four billions in 1866 to more than thirty-six billions in 1890. Crime has increased 46 per cent; suicide, 97 per cent ; insanity, 145 per cent ; and bankruptcies. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1 87 from 520 to 12,340. One-half of one per cent of our population own three-fourths of the property of the country, and less than one thousand persons dictate a line of action to more than sixty- three millions. One firm establishes the price for the thousands of millions of pounds of beef and pork produced ; and the board of trade gamblers fix the price on our 500,000,CXX) bushels of wheat, long before it is harvested. The record is not yet complete. The public domain — the/ last hope of a free people — is being rapidly taken from us. The railroads have been given over 177,000,000 acres. Pri- vate parties and corporations own fully 40,000,000 acres more, and, worst of all, alien syndicates have gained possession of 63,000,000 acres of American soil. This wholesale appropria- tion of public lands has continued until there are now remain- ing less than three acres each per capita of population. These* are the economic conditions that confront us at the present time. These are the results of a public policy we are asked to indorse, and are expected to perpetuate. In view of the above, is it necessary to ask if equal rights and privileges have been granted alike to all t Our prisons are filled ; our almshouses are running over ; our streets are swarming with tramps ; and three millions of our citizens are unable to obtain work. Are these the legitimate fruits of over a century of freedom } If they are, the blood of our Revolutionary fathers was shed in vain, the patriotism of 1776 was ill-timed, and the statesman- ship which followed a cruel farce. That these conditions are with us, no one will have the temerity to deny. The reasons for their being with us are evidently subjects for discussion. Various theories are advanced by way of explanation ; mean- while the work of depletion goes on. One popular theory is over-production ; that our economic laws are too perfect ; that, as a nation, we are suffering from a surplus of success, or are the victims of a reckless and persistent industry. If all our people were comfortably fed, housed, and clothed, there would be no over-production. Over-production is that amount of any commodity remaining after every use to which it can be applied has been fully satisfied. A surplus is that which remains unused from any cause whatever. There is no over-pro4uction of wheat or meat where people are hungry ; or of boots and l88 AGRICULTURAL ORGANlZATlom. shoes where they are barefoot ; or of clothes where they are ragged. Neither are there too many homes where people are compelled to live in damp cellars or cold attics, or with nothing but the blue dome of heaven for a shelter. Let us go to the figures and amounts themselves, and ascer- tain how much this alleged over-production has been. Working from the rule that this surplus is sent abroad, we find that, in 1888, we exported in all, of beef, pork, and dairy products, 1,132,000,000 pounds, 120,000,000 bushels of wheat and flour (reduced to bushels), and that our whole exports amounted to ^683,000,000. Had the 65,000,000 of our people consumed each day that year one ounce of meat more than they did con- sume, it would have taken 1,470,000,000 pounds, — 338,000,000 pounds more than was exported. If they had consumed four ounces of flour each day, it would have required 148,280,000 bushels of wheat, — 28,280,000 bushels more than was exported. If they had expended three cents each day for products, in excess of what they did expend, they would have bought 1^711,750,000, — or nearly 1^29,000,000 more than was expended. Does any one doubt that our people could have consumed one ounce of meat or four ounces of flour each day more than they did } Go among the alleys, the by-ways, and almshouses, and be taught better. Could we not have expended three cents each day for the comforts or necessaries of life, more than we did } Stand on the street corner and notice the crowds as they pass by, and receive the answer. Where there is a demand, there is no over-production. Extravagance and want of thrift are given as another expla- nation of the diflficulty. Need I insult your intelligence by asking if you ever worked harder or practised economy more closely } I venture to say that nine-tenths of the people have labored more hours, and economized closer, this past year than ever before. The environment of labor in production, at the present time, defeats all its aims at financial progress. The fault is not in your labor, your calculations, or your saving. It lies in the system under which your efforts are directed. Labor in gross production was never better repaid, and yet in net results it shows a loss. In 1867, 65,636,000 acres in cultivation produced 1,329,729,000 THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, 1 89 bushels of all kinds of grain, which sold for ;^ 1,284,000,000 ; while in 1887, twenty years subsequently, 141,821,000 acres produced 2,660,457,000 bushels, which sold for only ;^ 1,204, 289,- 000. That is, the products of 1867, from less than one-half as many acres and half the amount, brought the farmer ^79,71 1,000 more. Can these figures be explained away by want of thrift or extravagance ? Labor, the architect of all wealth and prosperity, is languish- ing to-day from similar causes. There is no other nation on earth where labor is despoiled as easily as it is in America. In other nations it requires a monarchy, a standing army, and the traditions of a brutal past to effect this robbery ; but here it is accomplished almost by common consent. All economists unite on the proposition that "labor is the sole creator of wealth." If that be true, what agency steps in between the producer and the wealth he creates } In the answer to this question lies the whole labor problem. In the discussion of this point it is nec- essary to examine at least two others. What is labor.-* It is mental or physical exertion. Capital is wealth used in produc- tion, and wealth is the crystaUized labor of the past. Again, while all capital is wealth, all wealth is not necessarily capital. Wealth not used in production is not capital. There are also two kinds of capital, visible and invisible. The first consists in money, tools, merchandise, etc. The latter lies hidden in the brain and brawn of the individual, and is called labor. It would seem that these two factors ought to live peaceably together, and many kind-hearted people insist that they do, that their interests are identical. This, however, is not true ; their interests are diametrically opposed to each other. Instead of living in peace, they are at war ; they have been in the past, and will be in the future, so long as the present system of eco- nomics continues. This contest began with the introduction of a medium of exchange, and has continued ever since. In the primitive state of the race, men labored simply for personal or family wants, and there was neither commerce nor exchanges. Each produced what would satisfy, and each enjoyed the full benefits of his labor. A few conditions of barbarism would be appreciated even now. If a man made a coat, it was his ; he was not obliged to part with it to pay interest, or hide it from I90 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, the tax-gatherer. If he planted a field, he was not compelled to eat the refuse and sell the best to pay rent or to make a payment on the mortgage. If they were without schools, churches, and railroads, it is no less a fact they were wanting in prisons, poor-houses, and tramps. Soon barter, an exchange of commodities, began to take place between individuals and tribes. The fish of one section were exchanged for the fur of another section. It often became diffi- cult to make these exchanges exactly balance. One class of products would possess more labor value than the other. For example, ten pieces of fur would have more labor value than ten fish, but not enough for eleven. This made the bargain unequal and entailed a loss. After a time they began to use shells and beads to represent this difference in labor value. These shells and beads had no value of themselves, but by common consent represented labor value. By and by some one hoarded up enough of these representatives of value to exchange entire for some of the fish or fur. Then the war between capital and labor began, and has continued until the present time. The man with the beads and shells wanted all the fur and fish he could obtain for them, while the hunters and fishermen wanted to give him as little as possible. The self-same struggle is with us to-day. The shells and beads of barbarism are the pro- totypes of the gold and silver of civilization. The owners of these shells and beads of barbarism are identical with the banker and bond-owner of civilization. The form and material have changed. The conditions and circumstances of exchanges have differed since that time. But the old idea of barbarism, the relationship which these representatives of value bear to each other and to all created wealth, has remained the same, has obeyed all these years the same general laws, and has been guided by the same unvarying rules. The same general laws govern the production and distribution of wealth to-day that did when production and distribution began. With an increase of these representatives of value, products are more justly dis- tributed, labor is paid better, and prosperity makes its appear- ance. With a decrease, exactly the reverse of this is effected. This has proven true in all ages of the world, and is proving true at the present time. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 1(^1 As long as this tool of exchange remains the mstniment or incident^ it is in every sense a blessing ; but the moment it becomes the object of exchange, then it becomes the oppressor, as it now is. At this point I desire to direct your attention to two propositions : first, the price or commercial value of products is fixed by the amount of circulating medium. More money, higher price, and better times ; less money, lower price, and harder times. As proof of this I desire to submit a few statistics. While every demand made by the Alliance is founded upon ultimate truth, the necessity and correctness of the one asking for an increase of currency among the people can be at once demonstrated to the entire satisfaction of all candid-thinking individuals. The statistics of the past quarter of a century prove the following propositions beyond a question of doubt : — 1. That the per capita volume of currency has been con- stantly and materially lessened. 2. That bankruptcy and failures have rapidly multiplied in consequence. 3. That the national debt, during this period, has increased instead of being diminished. It now remains for me to substantiate the above statements, which I will undertake to do as briefly and plainly as the facts and space will permit. The question of the amount of currency in circulation is one that necessarily involves a resort to certain estimates, which should be fairly and carefully considered. It has recently, however, become a prime factor in partisan politics and financial duplicity, which subjects it to all the misleading statements and false assumptions that usually accompany a dis- cussion of financial propositions under such conditions. The ordinary reader is many times led to mistake high-sounding phrases and uncommon words for good argument, and, as a result, becomes settled in an opinion without being able to give the shadow of an intelligent reason therefor. Another mistake is frequently made in always considering the deductions drawn by government officials from government statistics as absolutely correct, because the exact reverse has been proven in many instances. If the farmer would apply the same kind of logic when considering the volume of currency that he does to his corn-crib or pork-barrel, approximately correct conclusions would 192 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. be easily obtained. If it was desirable to know how much had been fed to the stock or consumed by the family, it would be hardly fair to ascertain what remained in the crib or barrel, and assume that the difference had been used by the stock or family, especially when more or less had been loaned or sold to others. Just so with the government ; it manufactures under fiat of law certain amounts of money, and when asked to give that portion which is circulating among the people, it subtracts the amount on hand from the quantity manufactured, and declares the differ- ence to be in circulation. The plain fact is either overlooked or ignored, that certain stringent laws are on the statute books, which specifically demand that certain other portions of this cur- rency shall be locked up and held as reserves, and consequently not in any sense in circulation ; that other portions have been lost, destroyed, sent out of the country, or used for other pur- poses. When proper deductions are made to conform to the law, and reasonable allowances given for other factors which conspire to reduce the amount, the following table, with a brief explana- tion, will be found substantially correct: — . Circulation Per Capita. Year. 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 l88q Population. CiRCUI-ATION. Per Capita. 35,819,281 ^1,863,409,216 $52.01 36,269,502 1,350,949.218 37-51 37,016,949 794,756,112 21.47 37,779,800 730,705,638 19-34 38,558.371 691,028,377 18.70 39,750.073 670,344,147 16.89 40,978,607 661,641,363 16.14 42,245,110 652,896,762 1545 43.550,756 632,032,773 14-51 44,896,705 630,427,609 14.04 46,284,344 620,316,970 1340 47,714,829 586,328,074 12.28 48,955.306 549,540,087 11.23 50,155.783 534,424,248 10.65 51,660,456 528,524,267 10.23 52,693,665 610,632,433 II.51 53,747.538 657,404,084 12.23 54,812,488 648,205,895 11.82 55.908,737 591,476,978 10.58 57,016,911 533.405,001 I'^l 58,157,249 470,574,361 8.08 59.320,393 423,452,221 713 60,506,800 398,719,212 6.58 61,717,936 306,999,982 4-97 THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, i93 The above table is corrected to conform to the population given by the recent census. I carefully prepared and published in my book, "The Philosophy of Price," a table from 1866 to 1885. I also made calculations from 1885 to 1889, based upon the increase of the census of 1880. I overestimated the popu- lation, as shown by the late census. This gives a small percent- age of increase in the per capita amount over previous tables. These tables will stand the most searching criticism. As a logical result of such rapid per capita contraction of the circu- lating medium, the following table of business failures is given. While these figures are appalling, they do not give more than one-half or one-third of the actual number or amount. The real estate mortgage failures, the chattel mortgage failures, and the deed of trust failures, cannot be given with any degree of accu- racy, yet they are numbered by tens if not hundreds of thou- sands. Besides these, there are the railroad and corporation receiverships ; the vast amount of compromised indebtedness, and other forms of liquidation which are but different terms for business failures. By comparing this table with the one above, it will be seen that the failures have kept pace with the reduction in the volume of currency, excepting the years which followed 1873 and 1878. At this last date, the year which immediately preceded specie resumption, all values were nearly eliminated and left no room for failures for some time. The failures in the United States from 1865 to 1889 were: — V^EAR. Number. Liabilities. 1865 • . . 520 ;gi 7,625,000 1866 . 632 47,333,000 1867 2,780 96,666,000 1868 2,608 63,694,000 1869 2,799 75,054,000 1870 3.551 88,242,000 I87I 2,915 85,252,000 1872 4,069 121,036,000 1873 5»i83 228,599,000 1874 5.830 155,239,000 1875 7.740 201,000,000 1876 9,092 191,117,000 1877 . 8,872 190,669,000 1878 10,478 234,483,132 Year. 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 Number. Liabilities. 6,658 $98,149,053 4,735 65,752,000 5.582 81,155.932 6,738 102,000,000 9,184 172,874,172 10,968 226,343,427 11,211 267,340,264 12,292 229,288,238 12,042 335.121,888 13,348 247,659,956 13.277 312,496,742 Total . . 161,332 $3,919,394,824 194 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. This table will not agree with Bradstreet's, because a certain per cent is added for failures of a smaller amount than that agency recognizes. After a careful examination of these tables, the question must naturally present itself to every honest man : Was it necessary for 162,000 business men to pass through the horrors of bankruptcy, and suffer the torture which always waits upon such conditions, or that ;^4, 000, 000, 000 of hard-earned property should be unnaturally and wrongfully transferred, because of the power of an inadequate volume of money to oppress ? Has the experiment been a success, and is the nation greater or stronger for having passed through this trying ordeal in order to make United States bonds bear a premium of twenty-five per cent ? Human nature and honest convictions revolt at the plain facts contained in this statement, and the universal verdict must be that conditions which conspire to bring about such results must be unwise and unjust. While the first table given dis- closes "the power of money to oppress," the second table fur- nishes ample proof of its existence. But there is other and stronger evidence of the destructive forces contained in the first table, that cannot be disproved. It is as plain as the noon-day sun, and is found in the increase of the national debt, notwithstanding the vast sums that have been paid as principal, interest, and premium. A careful and thorough analysis of the following statement and table is requested of the reader : — The national debt in 1866 amounted to ;?2, 783,000,000. We have paid on the principal of the public debt 1^1,599,665,312; and as interest on same, ;^2, 540, 726,049 ; and a further sum of ^58,540,000 as premiums on bonds purchased; amounting in all to ^4,198,931,361. Yet we find the debt of the nation has actually increased, if paid in the labor and products of the peo- ple, (any person of ordinary intelligence knows it cannot be paid in anything else) ; that is to say, it will take more labor products to pay what we now owe, at present prices, than it would have taken to pay the entire indebtedness in 1866, at the prices then. As proof of this, the table below is given. In regard to its correctness, reference is called to any authentic price lists of products for the years named. THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 195 Tjtcrease of the National Debt, if Paid in Farm Products. Debt in 1866, ^2,783,000,000. Debt in 1890, ^i,i83,334,( Products Necessary. Amount, 1866. Amount, 1890. Actual Increase, Beef (barrels) . . . . I29,CX50,000 236,666,937 107,666,937 Pork (barrels). . . . 87,000,000 147,916,836 60,916,836 Wheat (bushels) . . . 1,007,000,000 1,972,222,448 965,222,448 Oats (bushels). . . . 3,262,350,000 5.917.773.340 2,755.423,340 Corn (bushels) . . . 2,218,000,000 3,944,448,893 1,726,448,893 Cotton (pounds) . . . 1 7,092,000,000 13,148,162,755 6,056,162,755 Wool (pounds) . . . 4,281,538,451 4,733.338,752 551,800,301 This table clearly shows that, notwithstanding the national debt has been nearly twice paid in principal and interest, the portion which yet remains is larger than the original. This statement will not hold good when mere dollars and cents are considered, but is absolutely true as regards the amount of the products of labor that is necessary to purchase these different sums of money. Thus, had the debt been contracted to be paid in wheat, it would have taken, in 1866, i,cx)7,0CX),C)00 bushels. Bushels. We have paid on the principal 1,786,460,000 As interest 2,823,328,000 As premium on bonds 62,770,000 Total paid 4,652,558,000 We yet owe 1,958,389,084 Had the debt been contracted to be paid in cotton, it would have taken, in 1867, 7,092,000,000 pounds. Pounds. We have paid on the principal 16,077,683,000* As interest 25,407,260,000 As premiums on bonds 565,000,000 Total paid 42,049,943,000 We yet owe 11,752,316,000 When it is remembered that all private indebtedness has gone through the same process ; that a mortgage which was given prior to 1872, and remains half unpaid, is larger and 1 Prices in 1867. 196 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. more burdensome than when first given ; that the man who has worked hard and economized closely during all these years to pay one-half or two-thirds of his indebtedness is no better off, and in nearly every case more in debt than when he first began, measured by the remuneration received for his own efforts, — is there any wonder that wide-spread distress and discontent obtain among the wealth-producers of the country ? In order to show that money has become dear and the prod- ucts of labor cheap during the past twenty-five years, attention is called to the following statement. Two neighbors had each ;^iooo in 1866, which they desired to invest in some kind of speculation. The one bought wheat and stored it, while the other locked up his money and let it remain idle. Each allowed his investment to remain until 1890, when the matter would be about as follows : — 1866. Mr. A, cash $1000 Mr. B, wheat bushels 500 1890. Mr. A, with his $1000, can buy, at 60 cents per bushel, bushels 1666 Mr. B, with 500 bushels of wheat, can buy only ;$300 These two statements present a subject for consideration well worthy the attention of every American citizen. If idle money can increase so alarmingly in its power over the products of labor, what may not money loaned at ruinous rates of interest bring about } Something must be done to even up the condi- tions between those who can command the use of money and those who cannot. This can be done only by unity of action, unity of purposes, and an. unselfish desire to promote the general good. To this end, the Alliance is doing its perfect work. The people are thinking, studying, and investigating. This will soon lead to action, and then, the end. The people are saying : — " Swing outward, oh, gates of the morning ! Swing inward, ye doors of the past. A giant is rousing from slumber ; The people are waking at last." DIVISION II. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. CHAPTER I. KINDRED ORGANIZATIONS. The Agricultural Wheel. —The origin of the Wheel is a matter of plain record, and has been written many times. It was founded in the distress of the people and made rapid growth, both in numbers and importance, because the farmers believed that its teachings were wise and just. The date of its organ- ization, in 1882, was simultaneous with that of the Brothers of Freedom, with which it consolidated a few years later. The Wheel was purely an agricultural organization, with defi- , nite aims and a proper conception of the rights and privileges ; of that class of American citizens. On the 15th day of Febru- ary, 1882, at McBee's School-house, in the town of Des Arc, Prairie County, Arkansas, was held the preliminary meeting that led to its formation. The following persons were present : W. A. Suit, W. T. McBee, J. W. McBee, H. B. Lakey, J. T. Thrasher, J. W. Walls, and W. W. Tedford. These men were all farmers, unused to anything save hard labor ; but all united in the belief that their condition might be improved through some sort of concerted action. A determination was soon formed to make an attempt in that direction. A secret organi- zation was decided upon, and a committee was appointed to draft the constitution, by-laws, and secret work. Their report was presented and adopted at the next meeting. The Original Constitution. 1. This organization shall be known as the Wattensas Farmers' Club. 2. Its objects shall be the improvement of its members in the theory 197 198 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. and practice of agriculture, and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and farming affairs. 3. The members shall consist of such persons as will sign the consti- tution and by-laws, and who are engaged in farming. 4. Its officers shall consist of a President, two Vice-Presidents, Secre- tary, Chaplain, and Treasurer, who shall jointly constitute the Executive Committee, — also the Sentinels, — and shall be elected annually. 5. Its meetings shall be held on the first and third Saturday nights in each month, at McBee's School-house. The secret work was adopted in part at this meeting, and perfected soon afterwards. A ritual was soon added, and the usual secret work of such orders, changed or amended as cir- cumstances and experience demanded. The following preamble to the constitution of the Wheel was adopted by Wheel No. i, sometime during the spring or summer of 1882: — Whereas^ The general condition of our country imperatively demands unity of action on the part of the laboring classes, reformation in econ- omy, and the dissemination of principles best calculated to encourage and foster agricultural and mechanical pursuits, encouraging the toiling masses, leading them in the road to prosperity, and providing a just and fair remuneration for labor, a just exchange of our commodities, and best mode and means of securing to the laboring classes the greatest amount of good ; We hold to the principle^ That all farmers should save their own meat and bread, raise more com, wheat, oats, and the grasses, and less cotton, so as to increase the demand far beyond the actual supply, securing bet- ter prices, and holding the stock of provisions from the greedy paws of merciless speculators. We hold to the principle^ That all monopolies are dangerous to the best interests of our country, tending to enslave a free people, and sub- vert and finally overthrow the great principles purchased by Washington and his glorious compatriots. » We hold to the principle, That the laboring classes have an inherent right to sell and buy when and wherever their best interests are served, and patronize none who dare, by word or action, oppose a just, fair, and equitable exchange of the products of labor. We denounce, As unfair and unjust any set of men who sell at large profits, and gain the advantage over the laboring classes, and obtain the THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL, 199 product of their labor at greatly reduced prices, thus forcing patronage and constituting a hateful monopoly, making free and independent men slaves. Objects of the Order. 1. The objects of this order shall be to unite fraternally all accept-1 able white males who are engaged in the occupation of farming, also- mechanics who are actually engaged in farming. 2. To give all possible moral and material aid in its power to its members, by holding instructive lectures, by encouraging each other in business, and by assis^ting each other in obtaining employment. 3. The improvement of its members in the theory and practice of agriculture, and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and farming affairs. 4. To ameliorate the condition of farmers in every possible manner. Preamble as Amended. We believe^ There is a God, the great Creator of all things, and that He created all men free and equal, and endowed them with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that these rights are a common inheritance, and should be respected by all mankind. We further believe ^ That any power or influence that tends to restrict or circumscribe any class of our citizens in the free exercise of these God-given rights and privileges, is detrimental to the best interests of a free people. While it is an established fact that the laboring classes of mankind are the real producers of wealth, we find that they are gradually becoming oppressed by combination of capital, and the fruits of their toil absorbed by a class who propose, not only to live on the labor of others, but to speedily amass fortunes at their expense. This constitution and declaration of principles, together v^^ith the usual by-laws, constituted the working plan of the initial member of this organization. Little did these men know the solid foundation upon which they built. Little did they realize that their efforts in the line of reform, joined with others, would in so short a space of time bring about the greatest organization in the interest of agricultural freedom that the world has ever seen. It is both just and proper to hand down to posterity their 200 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. names and deeds, and point to them as worthy efforts for emu- lation. There has been considerable speculation as to the real cause for the selection of such a peculiar name for the organization. It is said that several other names were presented, but through some means and for some purpose now unknown, the name " Agri- cultural Wheel " was selected. It has served its purpose well, and no one who has ever been connected with the order need disown it. The officers of the parent Wheel were : W. W. Ted- ford, President ; J. W. Walls and B. F. Slater, Vice-Presidents ; W. C. Hammond, Secretary ; W. T. McBee, Treasurer ; H. B. Lakey and J. B. Thrasher, Sentinels ; N. B. Massey, Chaplain. Other Wheels were soon formed, and the idea of such organ- izations found ready converts among the farmers. Articles of incorporation were drawn up and numerously signed, and a charter, or certificate of incorporation, was granted from the State, in August, 1882. In April, 1883, or within about one year from the first meeting, a State organization was formed, with over 500 members. This State Wheel was perfected at the home of W. T. McBee, one of the original founders, with E. R. McPherson, President, and W. C. Hammond, Secretary. The success of the movement was apparent to all who attended this meeting, and a common desire was manifested to push the work of organization in other parts of the State. This deter- mination was carried out with vigor and success. The State Wheel met semi-annually for a time, or until it became so large that such frequent meetings were considered impracticable. In July, 1883, the State Wheel met at Goff' s Cove, with a little over forty sub-organizations. The old officers were re-elected. At this meeting a move was made in the right direction, and the membership taken from the villages and cities, and relegated strictly to the country. The next meeting was held at Stony Point, January 9, 1884. The order still showed a rapid increase, there being at this meeting representatives from about 1 14 sub-organizations, with a membership of fully 5000. At this meeting provision was made for the formation of County Wheels, and the meeting of the State Wheel was changed from semi-annual to annual. A National Wheel was also the subject of some discussion, THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 20I A resolution was passed, condemning the system of mortgaging stock and growing crops ; also petitioning Congress to prohibit, by statute law, the dealing in futures, and demanding that the State Legislature should enact laws, "granting equal rights to all, without burdening any." It was a grand meeting, and showed the power and judgment that might be brought to bear through an organization of farmers. The next meeting of the State body was held at Sulphur Springs, in July, 1884. Much work of a general character was done at this meeting, including an attempt to formulate some plan to nationalize the movement and extend the organization into other States. The subject of consolidating with the Brothers of Freedom was discussed. John R. Johnson was elected president of the Grand Wheel. The State Wheel met next at Mount Carmel, in July, 1885. This proved to be a very enthusiastic meeting. Many were there from other States, and a general feeling obtained that great things were in store for the order. J. R. Johnson was re-elected President, and R. H. Morehead, Secretary. A thor- ough revision of the secret work, constitution, and by-laws was made at this meeting. A called session of the State Wheel, for the purpose of con- solidating with the Brothers of Freedom, was held at Greenbrier, October 15, 1885. After considerable discussion, the two orders combined, with Isaac McCracken, President, and R. H. More- head, Secretary, the Brothers of Freedom patriotically consent- ing to drop their name. At that time there were 462 Subordinate Wheels, and about 650 organizations of the Brothers of Freedom, making a joint membership of over 40,000. New constitutions, by-laws, and secret work were adopted ; organizations sprang up rapidly throughout the State ; and other States, becoming interested, began to call for organizers also. The organization had now reached the danger line. Educa- tion had done and was doing its perfect work. The member- ship could not refrain from giving expression to their views. And this resulted in the usual abuse and misrepresentation from the partisan press, which had the result of advertising the order, so that it prospered and increased rapidly in numbers, as a con- sequence. At its next meeting, at Litchfield, in July, 1886, 202 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. much work of a solid nature was perfected. Some changes in the constitution were made, one of which, the dropping of the word " white " from the eligibihty clause, caused a spirited debate. A committee was appointed to confer with delegates from other States, to take into consideration the formation of a National Wheel. Regularly chosen delegations were present from the States of Tennessee and Kentucky, who, in connection with the delegates from Arkansas, met in convention, drafted a con- stitution and by-laws for a National Wheel, and elected Isaac McCracken, National President, A. E. Gardner, Secretary-Treas- urer, and Isom P. Langley, Lecturer. The question of eligibility was settled by making provision for separate organizations for the colored members. This action was immediately ratified by the State Wheel of Arkansas, and subsequently by the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. Isaac McCracken was also chosen president of the State, with R. H. Morehead as secretary. The formation of the National Wheel gave renewed impetus to the growth of the order. Soon the States of Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and the Indian Territory were added to the list, while the work had been begun in several others. The first meeting of the National Wheel was held at McKen- zie, Tennessee, on November 8, 1887. It was disclosed at this meeting that the membership numbered fully 500,000, and was increasing with wonderful rapidity. President Isaac McCracken delivered the following address : — Brother Wheelers of the National Organization, and Visiting Brethren : This is indeed an occasion of great pleasure to me, to meet with as large and intelligent a body of Wheelers as I see before me, coming as you do from different States, and representing exclusively an agricultural constituency. I feel and recognize the importance of a gathering together of farmers from the different parts of these United States, with a view to the amelioration of the condition of those following the oldest vocation in the world, and the only one of divine origin. Justly may we feel proud of the rapid strides Wheelerism "has made since the formation of this national organization, less than sixteen months ago. We had, at the organization of the National Agricultural Wheel, but three State Wheels, THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL, 203 We now have seven States organized, and a Territorial Wheel ; and, as president of the national organization, I have appointed and have deputy organizers in the States of Wisconsin, Virginia, Kansas, and also Idaho Territory. And I have appointed others as national organizers, upon the recom- mendation of the presidents of the different State Wheels. I will now attempt to give you a very brief history of the origin of our organization. The Wheel was organized on the 15 th day of February, 1882, in an old log school-house, eight miles southwest of Des Arc, in Prairie County, Arkansas. The causes for organization were monopoly and oppression. At about the same time an organization known as the Brothers of Freedom sprang into existence in the northwest portion of the same State; and in the year 1885 the two organizations were con- solidated, retaining the name of the Agricultural Wheel. Brother W. W. Tedford, one of the charter members of Wheel No. i, gives the numerical strength of- the Agricultural Wheel as follows : On February 7, 1882, there were 7 members; in 1883, 500 members; in 1884, 5000 members; in 1885, 10,000 members; in 1^86, 50,000 members; in 1887, 500,000 members. I will now enumerate some few of the many causes for the formation of the numerous organizations of farmers, since the financial crisis of 1873. One cause is the chartering of so many corporations, which have no souls, and never die, and that have received and are receiving, from both the State and national governments, privileges which indi- viduals do not receive. The Standard Oil Company of the East, and the Cotton Seed Oil Company of the South and West, and other institutions of like nature, are examples. It has been claimed that competition is the life of trade. Competi- tion is the greatest enemy that the American wage-worker has to contend with ; not only competition among themselves, but they have had to compete with foreign labor, the laborers having been landed here by shiploads under contract. And we see the results in some of our large trade-centres, — Chicago, for instance. All honor to those whose in- fluence has put a stop to this pernicious system ! It was supposed, in an early day, that competition would regulate the value of transporta- tion ; but no sooner is the country spanned by railroads, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Lakes on the north to the Gulf on the south, than we next behold the vast system, commonly called pooling, by railroad magnates. Competition has ceased to be a factor with the moneyed men of our land ; but it still continues in full force with the agriculturists and wage-workers. 204 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. In order to make a success of farming, we must necessarily sell more than we buy. The individual, the State, or the nation that buys more than it sells is on the high road to bankruptcy \ or, in other words, if the balance of trade is in our favor, there is no danger of failure. But when one class of our citizens, and that class the largest numerically, produce a commodity, and the surplus of that commodity, which regu- lates the price of the whole amount, is sold in a free-trade country, while the same class of citizens have to buy in a high protectional tariff coun- try, it would seem to me, to say the least, that there is something wrong in our laws. The necessaries of life should be placed on the free list. The value of the cotton alone that was exported in the year 1883, wliich is the last report I had to refer to, was the sum of ^247,328,721, heading the Hst of all farm products exported. The next was bread and breadstuff, $208,040,850 ; provisions of other sorts, $107,388,287; the next is tobacco, which will interest you Ken- tucky brethren, $22,095,229. The sum total of all agricultural prod- ucts was $619,269,449. The value of all exports, other than products of domestic agriculture, was $184,954,183, showing that the exports are the products of the farm, to the extent of 77 per cent. These figures, taken from Report No. 12, of the 48th Congress, show that farm products exceed all other exports by $434,223,632. Who dare say, in the face of these figures, that we as farmers are not a work- ing people ? And as cotton is much the largest of any one farm product exported, and the one the Agricultural Wheelers raise the largest amount of, it would seem to me that there might be some plan devised by our organization, with the assistance and co-operation of other organizations in the South, whereby we might reduce the acreage of cotton, and by so doing receive as much for 4,500,000 bales as we now do for the 6,500,000. Supply and demand in a measure regulate the value of a commodity. We find, by referring to a report of the Commissioners of Agriculture, that wheat declined in price from $1.05 to 77 cents per bushel, as the acreage increased ; and we find that trust companies, which are a corporation of corporations, will allow very valuable plants worth, in some cases, thousands upon thousands of dollars, to remain idle, in order to reduce the output of their product, that the supply should not exceed the demand. We have an illustration of this in the Cotton Seed Oil Trust Company in Arkansas. And instead of increasing the cotton area, as the farmers of the cotton belt did in 1885, about 5 per cent, if they would reduce it about 30 per cent,- there would be fewer mortgages given, and it would then be raised as a surplus crop, and we should be independent, as we by right should be. THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 205 Brother Wheelers, we are debarred, by our organic law, from taking any steps politically as an organization ; and I thank the Giver of all good and perfect gifts that we are, as I firmly believe that, if we were to take any steps as a political organization, our order would soon cease to exist. But it is a self-evident fact to me that the farmers of this broad land have been and are being unjustly dealt with by the law-makers, both State and national. If it were possible for the farmers to get represen- tation according to their numerical strength, I feel satisfied that there would be but very Httle class legislation. With your permission, brethren, I will quote a little from the address of President Macune to the Farmers' Alliance held at Shreveport, Louisi- ana. He says : " We have the two great principles and conceptions as contended for by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as a basis for a division into two great political parties. These should suffice." I would infer that Brother Macune was opposed to a third party move- ment. Now, Brother Wheelers, I am not going to advocate the third party movement ; neither will I tell you that you can have all your wrongs redressed by remaining in either of the two old parties. No man holding the position that I do at this time, and under our laws, has a right to advise or suggest in his annual message anything pertaining to partisan politics. But as politics is the science of government, and it is necessary that every citizen should be well informed upon the eco- nomic questions of the day, in order to vote intelligently, I think it is the duty of this body to elect a committee, to consist of one delegate from each State Wheel, the said committee to be a Committee on Demands ; and, if you elect, I would recommend that you make it their duty to formulate and submit to this body, before its adjournment, such changes in the national laws, if any, as they in their wisdom would deem to the interest of the agriculturists and wage-workers. And if two-thirds of this body can agree upon the said demands, I would most earnestly recommend that it be made the duty of the Executive Committee of each State Wheel to submit the same to the candidates for congres- sional honors in their respective States, whether they be Democrats, RepubHcans, Union Labor, or Prohibitionists. I have come to this conclusion, that the time has arrived for the agriculturists to make their demands, and use every honorable effort to have those demands inserted as a plank in all of the national platforms, if possible. A law that will benefit a Republican farmer will not injure his neighbor farmer, though he be a Democrat or a Union Labor man. 2o6 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. And I woiild most earnestly enjoin upon you the necessity, regardless of what party you may belong to, of sending more farmers to your legis- lative halls, as their interests are your interests. In conclusion, I would recommend some changes in our organic law. Considerable important business was transacted at this meet- ing. The constitution was amended, the Wheel perfected, and the national machinery in a general way prepared for active work. Considerable attention was paid to the question of busi- ness agencies, and the whole field of aggressive work and sure defence was carefully and candidly considered. The National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union had held its annual meeting at Shreveport, Louisiana, in October, — just a month previous, — at which meeting delegates from the different State Wheels were present. Consultation among the delegates of the two organizations showed that their aims and purposes were the same, and that their methods were almost identical. The neces- sity for a union impressed every one, and steps were taken look- ing toward that end. The Alliance system of co-operative trade was examined and approved, and shortly afterward adopted. The report of these delegates was received by the National Wheel with much favor, and after due consideration and con- siderable discussion a resolution was passed, calling the next annual meeting at Meridian, Mississippi, for the purpose of meeting with the Farmers* Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, with a view to consolidation. This project was ob- jected to by some, but the great bulk of the members heartily approved of it. The following demands were adopted by the meeting: — We, the members of the National Agricultural Wheel, in convention assembled, at McKenzie, Tennessee, November, 1887, do hereby demand of our national government such legislation as shall secure to our people freedom from the shameful abuses that the farmers and mechanics are now suffering at the hands of arrogant capitalists, powerful corporations, and the seemingly insatiable greed of Shylocks. We demand : — I. That the public land, the heritage of the people, be reserved for actual settlers only, — not another acre to railroads or speculators, — and that all lands now held for speculative purposes shall be taxed at their full value. THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 207 2. That measures be taken to prevent aliens from acquiring titles to lands in the United States and Territories of America, and to force titles, already acquired by aliens, to be relinquished to the national government by purchase, and retain said domain for the use of actual settlers and citizens of the national States, and that the law be rigidly enforced against all railroad corporations which have not complied with the terms of their contract, by which they have received large grants of land. 3. That we demand the rapid payment of the public debt of the "United States, by operating the mints of the government to their full capacity in coining gold and silver, and the tendering the same without discrimination to the public creditors of the nation, according to con- tract, thus saving the interest on the public debt to the industrial masses. 4. That we demand the abolition of national banks, the substitution of legal tender treasury notes in lieu of national bank notes, issued in sufficient volume to do the business of the country on a cash system ; regulating the amount needed on a per capita basis as the business interests of the country expand, and that all money issued by the gov- ernment shall be a legal tender in payment of all debts, both public and private. 5. That we demand that Congress shall pass such laws as shall effect- ually prevent the (pealing in futures in all agricultural and mechanical productions, preserving a stringent system of procedure in trial that will secure prompt conviction, and imposing such penalties as shall secure the most perfect compliance with the law. 6. That we demand a graduated income tax, as we believe it is the most equitable system of taxation, placing the burden of the government on those who can best afford to pay, instead of laying it on the farmers and mechanics, and exempting millionnaires, bondholders, and corpora- tions. 7. That we demand the strict enforcement of all laws prohibiting the importation of foreign labor under the contract system, and that all con- victs be confined within the prison walls, and that all contract systems be abolished. 8. That we demand the election of all officers of the national govern- ment by a direct vote of the people, and that all wilful violations of the election laws be declared a felony, and a part of the punishment be the prohibition of the party convicted from voting in all future elections. 9. That we demand the repeal of all laws that do not bear equally upon capital and labor, the strict enforcement of all laws, the removal 2o8 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. of all unjust technicalities, delays, and discriminations, in the administra- tion of justice. 10. That we demand the tariff laws be so amended as to remove all import duties on articles entering into our manufactures, and that the duties be levied mainly upon articles of luxuries, not above the import- ing point. 11. That we demand that the government shall protect the Chicka- saws and Choctaws, and other civilized Indians of the Indian Territory, in all their inalienable rights, and shall prevent railroads and other wealthy syndicates from overriding the law and treaties now in existence for their protection. 12. That we are unqualifiedly in favor of the education of the masses by a well regulated system of free schools. 13. That we demand that no patents be renewed after the expiration of the time for which they were originally patented. 14. Resolve dy That this body will not support any man for Congress, of any political party, who will not pledge himself, in writing, to use all his influence for the formation of these demands into laws. The following preamble and constitution were adopted : — Whereas, The general condition of our country imperatively demands unity of action on the part of the laboring classes, reformation in econ- omy, and the dissemination of principles best calculated to encourage and foster agricultural and mechanical pursuits, encouraging the toiling masses, leading them in the road to prosperity, and providing a just and fair remuneration for labor, a just exchange of our commodities, and the best mode and means of securing to the laboring classes the greatest amount of good ; We hold to the principle that all monopolies are dangerous to the best interests of our country, tending to enslave a free people and sub- vert and finally overthrow the great principles purchased by Washington and his glorious compatriots ; We hold to the principle that the laboring classes have an inherent right to buy and sell when and wherever their interests are best served, and patronize none who dare, by word or action, oppose a just, fair, and equitable exchange of the products of our labor ; We denounce as unjust and unfair any set of men who sell at large profits to gain the advantage over the laboring classes, and obtain the product of their labor at greatly reduced prices, thus forcing patronage and constituting a hateful monopoly, making free and independent men slaves ; THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 209 Therefore, we have formed the National Agricultural Wheel of the United States of America for the purpose of organizing and directing the powers of the industrial masses, but not as a political party. In this organization are sentiments and measures for the benefit of the whole people, yet it should be borne in mind, when exercising the right of suffrage, that many of the objects herein set forth can only be obtained through legislation. Article I. NAMES AND POWERS. Section i. This organization shall be known as the National Agricul- tural Wheel of the United States of America. Sec. 2. It shall be the body to which all appeals shall be made, ema- nating from the State Agricultural Wheels. Article II. OBJECTS OF the ORDER. Section i. The objects of the order shall be to unite fraternally all acceptable citizens, male and female, over the age of eighteen years, who are actually engaged in the occupation of farming ; also all mechan- ics who are engaged in the pursuit of their respective trades ; provided that no lawyer, merchant, banker, nor the proprietor of any manufactur- ing establishment who employs more than three hands, shall be eligible to membership : and provided further, that there shall be separate organ- izations for white and colored. Sec. 2. To give all possible moral and material aid in its power to its members, and those depending on its members, by holding instructive lectures, by encouraging each other in business, and by assisting each other to obtain employment. Sec. 3. The improvement of its members in the theory and practice of agriculture, and the dissemination of knowledge relating to rural and farming affairs. Sec. 4. To ameliorate the condition of farmers, in every possible manner. Article III. time and place of meeting. Section i. Its meetings shall be held annually, on the second Wednes- day of October, and at such place as shall be determined by a majority of all of the representatives present in the National Agricultural Wheel. 2IO HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Article IV. MEMBERSHIP. Section i. This national Agricultural Wheel shall be composed of the officers of this body and five representatives from each State Agricultural Wheel, and one additional representative for each fifteen thousand members and majority fraction thereof, to be elected or appointed by each State Agricultural Wheel under the jurisdiction of this body, whose term of office shall expire at the close of the term for which they were elected. Article V. OFFICERS. Section i. The officers shall be a President, a first Vice-President, a second Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer, a Chaplain, one Steward, one Conductor, one Lecturer, one Sentinel ; and the President shall ap- point three Trustees annually. Article VI. ELECTIONS AND INSTALLATIONS. Section i. The officers shall be elected and installed at each annual meeting in each year. Sec. 2. All elections shall be by ballot, where more than one name is ptit in nomination, and a majority of all votes cast shall elect. Article VII. revenue. Section i. The fee for a State charter shall be ^lo. Sec. 2. A per capita tax of five cents shall be paid into the National Agricultural Wheel treasury, by each State Agricultural Wheel, on or before the first day of each annual meeting, to be paid out by direction of the executive board of this body for actual expenses of the National Agricultural Wheel. Article VIII. quorum. Section i. Seven representatives shall constitute a quorum. Article IX. VACANCIES. Section i. All vacancies that may occur by death or otherwise shall be filled by the executive "board. THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 21 1 Article X. PRINTING. Section i. The printing of all State charters, rituals, odes, cards, official receipts, funeral rituals, by-laws, and all other printed matter for the National Agricultural Wheel, belongs exclusively to said body, but the constitution of all State, County, and Subordinate Agricultural Wheels, secret work, and rituals, shall conform to the constitution and laws of the National Agricultural Wheel. Article XI. AMENDMENTS. Section i. The National Agricultural Wheel only has power to change or amend its constitution and by-laws. Sec. 2. This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the National Agricultural Wheel by a vote of two-thirds of all the members present, but all amendments must be presented in writing, and signed by three or more members. Article XII. executive board. Section i. The President and first and second Vice-Presidents shall constitute the Executive Board of the National Agricultural Wheel. Article XIII. expenses of officers and representatives. Section i. The legally elected officers and representatives to the National Agricultural Wheel shall receive as a compensation for their services all actual necessary travelling expenses, to be paid out of the National Agricultural Wheel Treasury at the close of each session. Isaac McCracken was re-elected President, and A. E. Gardner Secretary-Treasurer. The meeting adjourned amid good feeling "and great enthusiasm. The National Wheel met the next term at Meridian, Missis- sippi, December 5, 1888. This meeting was composed of dele- gates from the States of Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and the Indian Territory. According to previous arrangements, the National 2 12 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union met there at the same time. The order had prospered satisfactorily during the year, and the members everywhere were working earnestly for its further success. President McCracken addressed the meet- ing as follows : — Brethren of the National Organization : Again we have convened for the purpose of devising ways and, if possible, providing means to assist our brother farmers throughout the land. I fully believe that one great step in that direction will have been taken when we shall consolidate the farmers' organizations into one grand body, representing, as it will, millions of toilers. United we will be able to wield an influence, as farmers, never before known in the his- tory of the world. One of the objects of this meeting is to unite in still closer bonds the different national organizations that have the same objects in view, and it will be necessary for all to make some concessions, that the greatest good may be done to the greatest number ; and I be- Heve that I voice the sentiments of the Wheel delegates in saying that it will not be our fault if the consolidation is not consummated. A har- monious, organic union of all farmers' organizations is now the watch- word, as union and harmony of purpose on all great questions are of vital importance to the agriculturists of the nation. The moral, industrial, and mtellectual education of the farmers will make co-operation a success. There is now a greater necessity for or- ganized effort on the part of the farmers than ever before, as monopoly in all its various forms is arrayed against the producer. And as Uriah A. Stevens so aptly said, nineteen years ago, at the formation of that noble order, the Knights of Labor, " When bad men combine the good must unite, or else they will fall one by one, a pitiful sacrifice, by the wayside." I will now give you, brethren, a brief statement of my stewardship for the past year : I have issued commissions to nine deputies as national organizers ; two in Georgia, one in Virginia, one in Michigan, three in Illinois, and two in Missouri, and have suspended one indefinitely. * Ik 41: ^ * * * My correspondence has more than doubled. I have had applications from several States for organizers to visit and aid in establishing our order among them, and have been unable to comply, for lack of an ap- propriation for that purpose. But it affords me pleasure to be able to state that the organization is in a growing and healthy condition. We have passed through another political year, a period which I have found THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 213 to be very trying upon labor organizations ; and will say that, in com- pliance with the instructions of the National Agricultural Wheel at its last meeting, I forwarded to Brother CarLee a communication with the National Wheel demands attached thereto (he being then in St. Louis), with the request that he have a sufficient number printed to supply the delegates to both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, the one in St. Louis, and the other at Chicago. Brothers, I feel the importance of all organized labor making de- mands upon our law- makers, 'bdth State and national. The farmers as a class have neglected this very important matter. We have submitted to us, once in every four years, by the different political parties, their respective platforms ; and they contain measures that the formulators of the same promise to have enacted into law. Sometimes they are unable to fulfil their promises, and I think it would be money well spent, on the part of this organization, to have a committee whose business it would be to take up their residence in the city of Washington, and remain there during the session of our National Congress, or as long as the executive board of this body deemed advantageous, the said committee to devote their whole time and energy to the promotion of the interests of the tillers of the soil, and work in conjunction with like committees from other labor organizations, where the same would be to the interest of both parties. I feel that the farmers are being discriminated against by both our \ State and national law- makers, and if we don't look well after our own ; interest you may rest assured others will not do it for us. There will be three great questions discussed by the people during the next four years, land, money, and transportation, and I think that we, as farmers, should give forth no uncertain sound as to our position on these very impor- tant subjects. We, as farmers, should oppose any monopoly of the land, and more especially the holding of vast bodies of it, by foreign syndi- cates, for speculative purposes. I think it is full time that large repre- sentative bodies of farmers, such as I see before me, should make an effort to mould public sentiment, because, in a democratic form of gov- ernment, we can accomplish nothing in the way of a reform movement without public sentiment on our side. You are all aware of the fact that, though a law be enacted by a State legislature, and signed by the proper officers, if the same be not sus- tained by the public it becomes a dead letter on our statutes. Hence the necessity for us, as an organization of producers, to agitate such changes as will be of benefit to us. And, in conclusion, I wish to re- turn my sincere thanks to the officers of the National Agricultural Wheel 2 14 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. for the very able manner in which they have assisted me during the past year in the performance of my duties as president. Below is printed the communication addressed to the differ- ent conventions, to which were attached the demands of the McKenzie meeting : — June 4th, 1888. To the Chairman^ Officers, and Delegates of the National Democratic Convention. ^if^. Gentlemen : We respectfully call your attention to the demands made, and resolution adopted by the National Agricultural Wheel, in Convention assembled, delegations being present from the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Indian Territory, and they recognizing the fact that our interests have been practically ignored in the formation of your party platforms in the past, and also by our representatives in Congress in their law- making capacity, and although as a class we produce over eighty per cent of our exports, yet we are growing poorer yearly, and are plun- dered by trusts and combinations of capital on every side. We desire a straightout approval of the demands ; the ignoring of them will be con- sidered as a rejection. As an agricultural organization, we are non-partisan in politics, hence we make our demands from a non-partisan standpoint. Hoping that severally as delegates, and collectively as a convention, you will give our demands your most careful consideration, we are, Your obedient servants, Isaac McCracken, Pres't N. A. W. of America. R. B. CarLee, Sec'y Executive Comitiittee^ Ark. S. A. W. The principal work of this meeting was to formulate, in con- junction with the Alliance, a basis for consolidation. Differ- ences of opinions had to be adjusted, personal pride and am- bition had to be satisfied, and many other matters had to be reconciled, in order to bring about the much desired consolida- tion. After a number of days spent in earnest deliberation, a plan was adopted upon which both organizations agreed to act. This plan and its details have been given in the history of the Alliance, found in another part of this work. After re-electing the same national officers the meeting adjourned. THE AGRICULTURAL WHEEL. 215 The result was as had been expected. The consolidation was effected and the name of the National Agricultural Wheel was eliminated. To drop the name was an act of patriotism, and should ever be held as such. It will be remembered by those who were present at its birth or assisted in its develop- ment, with loving kindness, and this short history of its rise and progress will no doubt be read with pleasure by its members and friends. It was a grand order, admirably equipped, strong in principles, and effective in its efforts. Hail and farewell to the National Agricultural. Wheel ! CHAPTER II. KINDRED ORGANIZATIONS continued. The Brothers of Freedom. — This organization originated in Arkansas in the year 1882, as the joint production of Isaac McCracken and Marion Farris. The name was suggested by an old revolutionary organization, known as the '* Sons of Free- dom." These two men began the formation of secret organiza- tions among the farmers, for the avowed purpose of enabling them to obtain a just reward for their hard labor, and to incite a proper rivalry among merchants and dealers. The methods adopted were simple and effective. They first organized the farmers into subordinate bodies. These sent representatives to the common council. The common councils in turn sent dele- gates to the county council, and this county council would make contracts with merchants and dealers, in the benefits of which all members participated. A large reduction in the price of goods and merchandise was usually the result. The success of the organization was assured from the start, as it promised aid and protection to a class of producers that was wanting in both friends and advisers. A Grand Council was soon formed, with Isaac McCracken, President, and Dr. James Gray, Secretary. This organization continued to increase in numbers and popularity, until October, 1885, when it consoli- dated with the Agricultural Wheel, another organization having fewer members but working for similar objects. At the time of consolidation, there were 643 subordinate organizations of the Brothers of Freedom that lost their identity and gave up their name in order to secure harmonious co-operation, and thereby push forward more rapidly the great work of reform. Brother McCracken remained president during the existence of the order. But Brother A. J. Nichols served as secretary after the two years in which Dr. Gray acted in that capacity. In this manner has been lost to sight one of the pioneer efforts in the 216 BROTHERS OF FREEDOM. 217 building up of this grand agricultural reform movement. One of the old members, in writing upon this point, feelingly said : " But they who laid the foundation for these vast agricultural organizations knew at the time that they were unfit to adorn the upper stratum. They knew full well that other and abler men would be found to take up the grand work when they were unable to carry it farther, and guide it to ultimate success ; but they also believed that the sturdy workmen who break the soil and lay the foundation stones are just as necessary as those who beautify and adorn the completed structure." It is out of just such pioneer organizations as this that the great Farmers' Alliance of the present has been evolved. The following is the declaration of principles and constitution of the order, which will be read with interest by all, as being among the first of its kind. This constitution was framed by a few men before there was any organization of Brothers of Freedom ; it was read to each applicant for membership, and he ratified the same upon becom- ing a member. Declaration of Principles. We believe there is a God, the great Creator of all things, and that he created all men free and equal, and endowed them with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that these rights are a common inheritance and should be respected by all mankind. We further believe that any power or influence that tends to restrict or circumscribe any class of our citizens in the free exercise of these God-given rights and privileges, is detrimental to the best interests of a free people. While it is an established fact that the laboring classes of mankind are the real producers of wealth, we find that they are gradually becom- ing oppressed by combinations of capital, and the fruits of their toil absorbed by a class who propose not only to live on the labors of others, but to speedily amass fortunes at their expense. Therefore, in order to protect ourselves from the oppression of said combinations of capital, and to secure the co-operation of the laboring classes in obtaining a just reward for the fruits of honest labor, we ordain the following consti- tution, by-laws, and rules of order : — 2l8 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, CONSTITUTION. Article I. Section i . This lodge shall be constituted by at least six members, including a president or vice-president, and shall be known as "The Brothers of Freedom." Sec. 2. The legislative powers of this society shall be vested in a representative body, styled " The Grand Council of Brothers of Free- dom." Sec. 3. The Grand Council shall be composed of delegates from each County Council, to be elected and qualified as hereinafter provided. When deemed prudent, and for the good of the order, one delegate, or a minority of any committee, may be elected from among the brother- hood. The articles which follow are in the usual form, and may be omitted here, for the sake of brevity. The Farmers' Union. — One of the four agricultural organ- izations that formed what is known as the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, was the Farmers' Co-operative Union of Louisiana. The history of this union becomes inter- esting, as showing the condition of the farmers and the methods adopted in their efforts to obtain relief. It also discloses a patriotic willingness to join others in an effort of similar char- acter, even at the sacrifice of relinquishing independent action. It is not only just, but the author considers it a duty, to record for future reference the efforts made by these and other pio- neers in the movement for agricultural reform. The time will certainly come when these men will be honored and their labors duly appreciated. Brother J. A. Tetts of Alexandria, Louisiana, one of the orig- inators of the order, gives the following interesting account of its inception : — To get an idea of the causes and incidents that brought about the formation of the Farmers' Union, it will be necessary to give a brief sketch of an attempt that was made to form such an organization as early as the year 1880. Some time during the spring of 1880 there was a meeting held at D'Arbonne Church in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, for THE FARMERS' UNION, 219 the purpose of cleaning up the graveyard. At this gathering the ques- tion of an organization among the farmers was discussed at some length, in a conversational manner, and, as a result, ten or twelve of those pres- ent agreed to meet in a short time and form what was to be known as a farmers' club. It was the intention at first to make it a secret organization, but there were several who had agreed to come in that were members of the Primitive Baptist Church, which did not permit its members to join secret organizations. In view of this, and with a strong desire to retain them as members, the idea of secrecy connected with the organization was given up. The club grew rapidly, until it numbered forty or more members. It met twice each month, and discussed poHtical, social, and agricultural questions. At these meetings the condition of the farmers and the best method of bettering their condition was a topic of frequent and earnest debate. That something was wrong, and an immediate change necessary, all were compelled to admit ; but as to the best and surest manner of bringing about these needed reforms, there was, as is usually the case, a diversity of opinion. After a time, a want of inter- est in the meetings, or personal business, or some other reasons, caused one member after another to drop out, until the club virtually disbanded, after somewhat over a year's existence." I give [says Brother Tetts] the history of this farmers' club because, from the experience gained during its brief existence, the foundation was laid for the Farmers' Union. Some of the same men who formed this club and remained with it to the end were foremost in the organi- zation of the Farmers' Union. In the fall of 1884 I met Brother Samuel Skinner in the streets of Ruston, Louisiana. He had just sold his short crop of cotton for a short price, and was feeling none the best over the prospect for another year. I had also disposed of my crop, and found that my receipts did not meet my expenses. Brother Skin- ner and I had, on several occasions before, talked over the situatioft, the causes and remedies, and our views as a rule coincided. On this occasion, under such circumstances, we talked of the matter more ear- nestly than ever, and decided to take some steps toward organizing the farmers for mutual protection and assistance. After further discussion, it was agreed to make an effort to organize in Lincoln Parish. Brother Skinner promised to come to my home on Christmas eve, so we could consider carefully all the details and call a meeting for the first of January. For some reason he failed to keep his engagement, and it was not until March following that we met for that purpose. When he came, I furnished him a copy of the constitution 2 20 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. and by-laws of our old farmers' club, of which I had been secretary. These we changed in some respects to better serve the purpose of the proposed new organization. After further consultation a meeting was called for the loth of March, 1885, at Antioch Church, Lincoln Parish. At this meeting there were nine who subscribed to the obligation. Later on the secret work was added to the first, which was simply a few signs, with no ritual. The first organization took in members from a wide territory, and it was not long before we found it necessary to divide up and make our unions more convenient. I rode fifteen miles to attend, until I could work up a favorable sentiment in my own neighborhood, into which I had only lately moved. Our unions began to spring up all over the parish of Lincoln, owing to the enthusiasm of the members and the undoubted necessity for some relief. The first parish mass meeting was held at Vienna in July, and there we organized a central parish organi- zation, with the following officers : J. M. StalHngs, President ; J. A. Tetts, Secretary ; W. J. Spinks, Treasurer ; W. J. Smith, Lecturer ; Samuel Skinner, Assistant Lecturer ; Jesse Gooden, Doorkeeper ; J. W. Simon- ton, Assistant Doorkeeper ; Sim Nobles, Sergeant-at-Arms. At this meeting J. A. Tetts, W. T. Smith, and W. J. Mitchell were appointed to draft a ritual and present it to a meeting to be held again in Vienna, the second week in August, 1885. J. W. Gooden and J. A. Simmons had also been authorized to have a thousand copies of our con- stitution printed. Up to this time each union that had been formed organized under a constitution written with a pen. There had been a copy of the Alliance constitution sent t^ our neighborhood by a Texas friend, and we adopted that with but little change, as it provided for some of the minutice better than the one we had previously been work- ing under. The committee on ritual took the defunct Grange ritual, and so curtailed it as to adapt it to initiation by one degree. This ritual was very impressive, and did much to keep our meetings interesting. At the meeting in August, for the reason that we wanted to more swiftly extend the organization, we formed the first organization of the State Union by voting the officers of the Parish Union to be the officers of the State Union. This was done with only one exception. J. A. Tetts, who was secretary of his subordinate union and secretary of the parish union, claimed that he had already too much of the honor and too much work, considering that he was a farmer and had a large family to support. He resigned, and asked that O. M. Wright, who was teach- ing school, be appointed in his place. This was done. At this meeting the offered ritual was accepted and ordered printed. For a system of THE FARMERS' UNION. 221 organization, every president of a subordinate union was an authorized organizing officer. To faster extend the organization, the office of cor- responding secretary was created, with authority to distribute the consti- tutions as widely as possible, and to correspond with such agricultural papers as would insert his communications. J. A. Tetts was elected to fill this office. No officer was allowed any salary, and only actual ex- penses incurred were paid. Even the organizing of sub-unions was done free of charge and as a labor of love. This first band of union men worked for their love of humanity and the cause they were in, without pay and cheerfully. The State Union adjourned to meet again in October, 1885. At this meeting there were four parishes represented. I had made good use of my pen ; had written communications to Home and Farm, and hun- dreds of private letters to parties inquiring about the order. At the October meeting I presented letters from many who had taken an inter- est in our order, and among others one from Brother Isaac McCracken, President of the Agricultural Wheel. At the close of my report, I was, by resolution, authorized to correspond with other agricultural societies, and try to bring about a consolidation. I had copies of the Alliance constitution of Texas, and on these were printed the names of the offi- cers. I enclosed to Brother Andrew Dunlap a copy of our constitution, and stated the nature of my authority. Some time afterward I received a letter from Brother C. W. Macune, stating that Brother Dunlap and the vice-president of the Alliance of Texas had resigned, and that the correspondence for the president's office had fallen into his hands ; that he saw no reason why the two bodies should not unite and form a national, as I had proposed to Brother Dunlap ; that he had issued a call for the State Alliance to meet at Waco, on the 17th of January, 1 886. I wrote him, asking him to send a delegate to meet with us on (I think) the 6th day of the same month, for the purpose of explaining the nature of the Alliance, and assisting us in arriving at a basis of union. Brother Macune requested Brother Evan Jones to meet us. He did so, and to him I proposed a plan I had previously submitted to our State Union. (Brother Jones did not reach Ruston on the first day of our meeting.) Brother Jones gave us an idea of the condition of affairs in Texas, and informed us that, as his State Alliance had not met, he was unable to act upon the part of the Texas State Alliance. Brother Jones' visit gave the union great encouragement, and it immediately elected me to go to the Waco meeting, on the 1 7th of January, and act for our State organization in the formation of a national organization. At the Waco meeting the State Alliance elected one member from 2 22 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. each congressional district (or perhaps two), to meet with me on the -part of Louisiana, and form a constitution to be submitted to that same meeting for ratification. This constitution, in its general principles, was strictly democratic, guarding and protecting the rights of States to con- trol their own affairs. It also embodied a system of organizing, and, when submitted, was unanimously ratified. Just here set in a boom for the Alliance. It was but a short time until the whole South was organ- ized. Brother Macune was chosen president, being put in nomination by myself. His energy and ability pressed the work, with what result you must be familiar. It will be useless for me to follow the subject further, as it is already history. I will only add that the Farmers' Union dropped its own ritual and secret work and adopted that of the Texas Alliance. The Alliance work became the secret work of the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Order Union. The officers and members of that body honored me with positions of confidence and trust. They elected me first Vice-President at the organization meeting. At the first annual meeting I was placed on the Committee on Secret Work. At the second, when the Farmers and Laborers' Union was formed, I was made chairman of the Committee on Secret Work, and together with the balance of the committee helped form the present secret work of the order. The complete details of the consolidation of the Union and the Alliance will be found in the history of the Alliance, in another part of this book. In this simple, plain statement of Brother Tetts is found the clearest evidence of devotion to the cause of distressed agriculture, and an earnest desire to promote its interest. This conscientious discharge of duty on the part of the pioneers of this movement is the bulwark of its power, and the unwritten source of its success. The members of this Union have always proved true ; ready at any and all times to battle for the right as they saw it. Too much credit cannot be given them for their fidelity to the cause of agriculture. The follow- ing is a copy of the declaration of principles and constitution of the State Farmers' Union of Louisiana : — Constitution and By-Laws of Lincoln Parish Farmers' Club, No. i, Organized in i88i. Art. I. This club shall be constituted of at least ten members, who shall be practical farmers, whose chief interest and dependence for sup- THE FARMERS' UNION. 223 port is in farming, and shall be called Lincoln Parish Farmers' Club, No. I. Art. 2. This club shall hold regular meetings, at least once a month, and not oftener than once a week. Extra meetings may be called by the president at any time, to attend to important business. Art. 3. AppHcations for membership shall be made through a mem- ber of this club, who shall personally vouch for the applicant as being a farmer and of good moral character. The application for membership shall be referred to a committee of three members, which shall report at the next regular meeting, unless further time is requested. If the com- mittee report favorably or unfavorably, a ballot shall be taken, which shall be by depositing a slip of paper bearing the word " yes " or bear- ing the word " no," the former for admitting to membership, the latter for rejecting. If two-thirds of the members shall vote for reception, the applicant shall be declared elected, otherwise rejected. If elected he shall become a member by signing this constitution. Art. 4. The officers of this club shall be a President, a Vice-Presi- dent, a Secretary and Treasurer. The officers shall be elected at the first regular meetings in January and July. Art. 5. At the first regular meeting after election, the president shall appoint the following standing committees, and require them to report whenever their several duties require : First, a finance committee, com- posed of three members, who shall attend to the financial affairs of the club and devise means for bearing its expenses, their plans to be subject to ratification by the club. Second, a query committee, composed of three members, whose duty it shall be to originate and select questions of interest to be discussed by the club. They shall receive and examine all questions presented for their consideration, and if found worthy, they shall be reported and be subjects for discussion by the club. All tem- porary committees shall be appointed as needed, and discharged when they have performed their duties. Art. 6. The objects of this club are : First, to work for the elevation of agriculture to its true position among the industries of our country, by the mental, moral, social, and financial improvement of its members, which can be best effected by frequent meetings and free discussions, cultivating and developing their best talent for business ; by experi- ments, adopting a more rational system of farming, — one guided by the use of more brains, — thereby commanding better returns for the labor expended ; to encourage the practice of the cash system in buying and selling ; to oppose special and class legislation and rebuke misguided and corrupt legislation ; to endeavor to secure the nomination and ^24 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. election of good men to office, and spurn, as dangerous to liberty and economy, all professional politicians ; to denounce and destroy, wher- ever possible, all political rings and defeat all machine candidates. In this club the largest liberty shall be allowed* for the discussion of all questions, political, financial, and domestic, which can possibly interest the real farmers of our country. Art. 7. This club shall work for more favorable agricultural legisla- tion, more equitable taxation, equal rights in transportation, lower rates of interest, cheaper administration of the laws, more respect for the true wants of the people, and especially more thorough representation in the halls of legislation. Art. 8. By-laws not conflicting with this constitution may be made, and any article of this constitution may be amended upon three-fourths of the members voting for the same. Art. 9. Any club or organization of farmers in our parish or State, having a constitution similar to ours, and enforcing the same restrictions in receiving members, will be fraternally recognized by us, and we request their co-operation in the pursuit of all the objects of our or- ganization, and we offer them ours. We also request them to unite with us and assist us to spread and make permanent this organization throughout our State. GRAND CARON OF COLORADO RIVER, ARIZONA. CHAPTER III. KINDRED ORGANIZATIONS — Continued. The Northwestern Alliance. — The Northwestern Alliance, so called to distinguish it from the Alliance which originated in the South, was the result of considerable agitation among the farmers of that section regarding the depressed condition of agriculture. This agitation was forced upon the people by the teachings of the Greenback party, then in its prime, and the hard times which followed specie resumption and the contrac- tion of the currency. This feeling of unrest among the farmers rapidly intensified during the years succeeding 1876, and hast- ened the formation of the organization which is the subjett of this paper. The first Alliance in the West was organized in the office of the Western Rural, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 1880, and named Cook County Alliance, No. i, with G. A. Hauf, Pres- ident ; C. E. Tuerk, Vice-President ; James W. Wilson, Secre- tary ; and Milton George, Treasurer. The national meeting at St. Louis in 1882 was not a success, and the one held in Chicago the year following was almost a failure. At this meeting it was determined that the officers elected should hold their positions until their successors were elected, and that the board of officers be empowered to act in the place of the National Alliance, according to its best judg- ment. In 1884 an attempt was made to hold a national meeting, but it failed. In 1885 no effort was made ; but in November, 1886, a meeting was called at Chicago, which was fairly well attended. Hon. A. J. Streeter was elected President; J. J. Burrows, Vice-President ; Milton George, Secretary ; A. A. Arnold, Treasurer. Minneapolis was selected as the next place of meeting. Strong resolutions were adopted and the meeting adjourned. The seventh annual meeting convened at Minneapolis, Min- nesota, October, 1887. Six States were represented. Although the attendance was small, a feeling obtained that important 225 226 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. questions of public policy, as connected with agriculture, would soon arouse the farmers to greater activity. Since 1887 the order has grown considerably in certain locali- ties. It is not definitely known just how many members it has. A safe estimate would be from 125,000 to 175,000. At the. present time its largest membership is in the States of Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. This order is not necessarily secret, but confines its membership to the agricultural classes. Declaration of Principles of the Northwestern Farmers' Alliance. 1. The free and unlimited coinage of silver. 2. The abolition of national banks and the substitution for their notes of legal treasury notes, and the increase of currency to $^0 per capita. 3. Government ownership of all railroads and telegraphs. 4. The prohibition of alien ownership of land, and of gambling in stocks, options, and futures. 5. The adoption of a constitutional amendment requiring the election of President and Vice-President, and United States Senators, by direct vote of the people. 6. The Australian ballot system. The Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. — The order originated, it seems, in this way: In the fall of 1882 or 1883 (some give one date and some the other), five neighboring farm- ers of Johnson County, Illinois, of more than ordinary deter- mination and independence of character, happened on the same day at their local wheat market, each with a load of wheat. The local buyers refused to take it, claiming that the market was so unsettled they dare not make figures. The farmers believed this was a method agreed upon between the buyers, for the sole purpose of depressing the market and plucking them. After a brief consultation, a committee was quietly sent to the telegraph office, and wired for the city market. The answer came, highly satisfactory, showing the market not only firm but actually rising. They then telegraphed to the railroad authorities to know if they could get a car. There happened to be a car already upon the track, which was not just then to be used, as the regular buyers had stopped buying for the time. THE F. M. B. ASSOCIATION. 227 This the farmers were kindly given the refusal of. Returning to the buyers, the farmers again offered to sell their wheat at the price that had been paid the day before, and were again refused. They then told the buyers that if they (the buyers) would not take it, the farmers would ship it themselves. This incident, of course, became the talk of the neighborhood, and set all the farmers to thinking of shipping their own prod- uce. It was at once seen that, in order to do so, co-opera- tion was necessary, as different persons must necessarily ship together. This led to the formation of clubs. Five such clubs were organized during the winter, very much on the style of the ordinary neighborhood debating society. It very soon became apparent that, if they devised any plans for their mutual benefit, secrecy was an absolute necessity, as they found themselves at once surrounded by prying enemies of their plans. A meeting of the five clubs, or lodges, was called at New Burnside, John- son County, Illinois. At this meeting a constitution and by- laws were adopted, a secret work formulated, the meeting was termed a General Assembly, and the name Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association was chosen for the organization. The five lodges then organized drew lots for the numbers they should bear, from one to five. The General Assembly was to meet every three months, and each lodge was made an organizer to organize other lodges, on petition from a sufficient number to form a new lodge. These new lodges were to be branches of the lodges organizing them, until the General Assembly should meet, when they could send their representatives and be admitted as regular lodges. The branch lodges, however, as soon as organized, could proceed to organize new lodges. No other method of organization was provided for. July 4, 1887, the General Assembly met at Mt. Vernon, Illi- nois. This may be set down as the turning-point in the success and growth of the organization. A committee was appointed to secure a legal incorporation, to revise the constitution and laws, and otherwise place the order on a firm basis, and give it a legal standing and rights in the courts. In October, 1887, the General Assembly met at DuQuoin, Illinois. The Committee on Incorporation reported a general charter, granted under the corporation laws of Illinois, with 228 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. authority to work and charter subordinate lodges in any State or Territory in the United States. The next meeting of the General Assembly was held at Fairfield, Illinois, in December, 1887. The next General Assembly was held at Murphysborough in October, 1888. Several important measures were discussed. ■ A Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association Printing Company was formed, and general satisfaction seemed to prevail over what had been done in the past, and what might be done in the future. The next General Assembly met at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, in November, 1889. Again a rapid and permanent growth was apparent on every side. The order had passed the turning point, and was now on the highway of prosperity. The last meeting of the General Assembly was held at Spring- field, Illinois, November, 1 890. This order sent fraternal dele- gates to the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union at Ocala, in December, 1890. Such, briefly, are the history, aims, and purposes of an organization that has done, and is doing, good and earnest work in the line of reform. The Farmers' Political League. — This organization origi- nated among the farmers of Massachusetts, during their contest with the manufacturers of oleomargarine. For a number of years the farmers h,ad petitioned the legislature for a law to prohibit the coloring of oleo like butter, and, as is usual in such cases, these demands were entirely ignored. Early in the fall of 1889 it was suggested that a Farmers' Political League be organized to carry these reforms squarely into politics, and make them the issue in all primaries, caucuses, and conventions, of all parties. The idea met with instant favor. The Farmers' League of Massachusetts was temporarily organized in October, and there not being time enough to perfect permanent organizations in every township, in season for elections, the plan was adopted of circulating a pledge among the voters in agricultural districts, irrespective of party, whereby they bound themselves " to vote only for such candidates for governor and for the state legisla- ture, as shall pledge themselves to work and vote for a bill to prohibit the coloring of oleo like butter." A State League OF TH-- \ OF / THE FARMERS' POLITICAL LEAGUE. 229 was formed temporarily in October, and permanently some time later, with the following officers : F. A. Putnam of Dudley, President ; G. M. Whitaker of 43 Merchants' Row, Boston, Secretary ; J. C. Poor of North Andover, Treasurer. The League is not a secret organization. It has no ritual, signs, grips, or passwords. It is confined to farmers alone. The method of organization is simple in the extreme. The membership of the League is confined almost exclusively to the States of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsyl- vania, and New York, numbering in all something less than fifty thousand. At present its efforts are directed to the better pro- tection of dairy products against fraudulent imitations. While it may accomplish beneficial results in that line, it is hardly organized with a continuity of purpose, or fixed limits of action, to become either large in numbers or effective in national affairs. However, it is a move in the right direction, and should be encouraged rather than depreciated in its work among the farmers. Any organization that will assist in bringing the farmer to a sense of duty in regard to his own relations to society will do good, no matter in what form it may appear. CHAPTER IV. KINDRED ORGANIZATIONS COHcluded. The Alliance in the State of New York. — After much trouble, I have succeeded in obtaining the following statement regarding the origin of the Alliance in New York. It seems rather strange that the name should have been selected by an organization in Texas in 1873, and in New York in 1875, without one knowing of the existence of the other; yet this appears to have been the case. The history of the Alliance of New York is more interesting when it is known to have been the origin of what is now known as the Northwestern National Alliance, and clears up the early history of that organization. The following statement is kindly given me by Mr. F. P. Root of Brockport, New York : — N. A. Dunning, Esq, Dear Sir, — Your communication of the* 5th inst. came duly to hand. In reply to your inquiries in relation to the early formation of a Farmers' Alliance, I will say : I have not the minutes of the first organization before me, but the proceedings are quite fresh in my memory. You may have noticed an article I communicated to the Albany Culti- vator and Country Gentleman on the subject, published a few weeks since, in which the chief points of the early organization were given. The only published notice I find, is the call for the meeting to organ- ize, which was in February, 1875. In pursuance of that call, the meet- ing of farmers assembled, and the organization was effected. Since the publication of the article in the Cultivator at Albany, I have received a note from Rev. B. T. Roberts of North Chili, this county, saying that he claimed to be the originator of the Alliance ; that he circulated the call for the first meeting, and that he framed the constitution and by- laws adopted. He says he presented the call to me, which I signed, but not without some objections, that such an effort might interfere with the Grange work, which I thought was already organizing farmers with much promise of good. Mr. Roberts says he replied that it would not be so, for he only proposed to take up their cause where the Grange left 230 THE ALLIANCE IN NEW YORK. 23 1 it ; that the Grange forbade all interference in pohtics, and this should be strictly political work, but not party. Our meeting organized at the court-house in Rochester, and a com- mittee was appointed to consider and report name, constitution, and by-laws for a farmers' organization. That committee consisted of the following men : Rev. B. T. Roberts, Prof. A. A. Hopkins, F. P. Root, John R. Garretson, and Jesse Deney. That committee, after considerable discussion, reported the name of Farmers' Alliance, and constitution and by-laws, which were adopted by the meeting. I have not now a copy of the constitution at hand, but know that none but farmers were eligible ; but all who were engaged in any branch of husbandry could become members, by the payment of an annual fee. The officers then elected, were : F. P. Root of Brockport, President ; Mr. Ely of Rochester, Vice-President ; and A. A. Hopkins of Rochester, Secretary and Treasurer. This organization was in February, or the first of March, 1875. I^ embraced only the county of Monroe, but soon after a call was issued for a State meeting at Rochester, to organize a State Alliance. The call was responded to by representative farmers throughout Western New York, and an organization was effected to be known as the New York Farmers' Alliance. The constitution adopted by the Monroe County Alliance was also adopted by the State Alliance. The objects of this organization, as set forth, were to work out reforms in the State laws affecting the farming interest, and to urge an equal representation from our class in the legislation of the State. The course as* most approved, and to which members were pledged, was to attend primary meetings of each political party, to which they were severally connected, and to urge the nomination of such men as were favorable to our interests ; and when each party could succeed in their aim, each would vote their own ticket ; but if one failed and the other succeeded, all should turn in and elect the candidate who favored us ; otherwise, if neither candidate favored our views, an independent candidate should be nominated. The officers elected for the State Alliance were : President, F. P. Root of Brock- port ; Secretary and Treasurer, Prof. A. Dan of Wyoming County. The name of the Vice-President I have lost. The next annual meeting was appointed at Syracuse, New York, which meeting was well attended, and an address was given by the president, and the objects and reforms most sought for were discussed during two days of the session. An election of officers for the ensuing year resulted as follows : President, Hon. Harris Lewis of Herkimer County ; Prof. A. Dan was re-elected Secretary and Treasurer. The next annual meet- 2 32 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. ing was held at Utica, New York. At this meeting a delegation from the Board of Trade and Transportation of New York City was sent, and was accepted in consultation. The officers of the previous year were re-elected. The next annual meeting was held in the city of Rochester, at which Gen. A. Diven of Elmira, Chemung County, was elected Presi- dent, and W. J. Fowler of Monroe County was elected Secretary and Treasurer. General Diven was a man of considerable note, being ex-member of Congress, also ex- vice-president of the Erie Railroad, but he could not afford the time necessary to advance the interests of the Farmers' AUi- ance, though heartily approving its work. He was twice elected Presi- dent, with W. J. Fowler Secretary and Treasurer, but did not maintain the organization after the expiration of their official terms. I did not attend the last two meetings of the Alliance. An organization of farmers, under the name of Farmers' League, was soon after effected, which is still in operation. Some time in the winter of 1880, a notice was issued for a meeting at Chicago for the formation of a National Farmers' Alliance. The purpose was carried out, and the Secretary of our Alliance, W. J. Fowler of Monroe County, New York, was elected President. Whether there were organizations under the head of Farmers' AUiance prior to the Chicago meeting, in any of the Western or Southern States, I am not informed ; or whether the Alliance was anywhere known prior to our movement at Rochester, I do not know ; but the organization was original with us. It was reported that an organization, copied after ours, was inaugurated in Germany, and also in England, previous to the Chicago meeting in 1880 ; but I have no positive knowledge of the fact. This organization died almost, if not completely, out in the State, and is just at the present time being revived. It was never a secret organization, and did not reach a very high position either in effectiveness or utility ; but it did, v^^ithout doubt, lead to the formation of other and stronger organizations, and in this manner became the pioneer in the agricultural alliances of the North. The Grange, or Order of the Patrons of Husbandry. — This order w^as founded in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, on the 4th day of December, 1867. The cir- cumstances virhich led to its formation are as follov^s : In Jan- uary, 1866, Mr. O. H. Kelley, in the Department of Agriculture, was sent on a mission of some sort through the South, by Mr. THE GRANGE, 233 Newton, the then Commissioner of Agriculture. Kelley went as far south as Charleston, South Carolina ; thence to Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, up the Mississippi to Memphis, across the country to Atlanta, and back again to Washington City, by the 2 1 St day of April following. Impressed with the disorganization of that peculiarly agri- cultural section, and grieved at the utter demoralization of its people, whom he found to be intelligent and trustworthy, Mr. Kelley conceived the idea that organization was necessary for the resuscitation of the country, and the recuperation of the farmers, whose wealth and resources had been swept away by the cruel hand of war. This, however, was but a transient thought, as applied to the farmers of the South ; for a moment's reflection convinced him that there was vital need of organiza- tion among the farmers of the entire Union, North as well as South. In his soliloquy he asked himself why farmers should not join in a league peculiar to themselves, to which others should not be admitted. Such a union would be partisan ; and, if partisan, it should be secret ; and, if secret, it must have a ritual to make it effective and attractive. This process of reasoning rapidly brought him to a conclusion, and forthwith he undertook to execute the ritualistic framework of such an organization. The task was, however, beyond his capacity, and he soon found himself sounding in deep water. But Kelley was a man not easily baffled ; so, with ardor una- bated, he resorted to the expedient of advising with counsellors. Mr. J. R. Thompson, an officer in the Treasury Department, and Mr. William M. Ireland, chief clerk in the Finance Division of the Post Office Department, to which bureau Kelley had been transferred in the fall of 1866, were two congenial com- panions, whose acquaintance he had made after his return from the South. Mr. William Saunders, superintendent of the garden and grounds of the Department of Agriculture, was invited to join them, which he did. This quartet, unwilling to pass judgment upon the work of their own minds, invited the Rev. John Trim- ble, then an officer in the Treasury Department, to exercise the privilege of criticising their labors as they progressed. After a season, the Rev. A. B. Grosh, then a clerk in the Agricultural 2 34 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Department, and Mr. F. M, McDowell, a vineyardist of Wayne, New York, were induced to labor with the five, and these seven constituted the founders of the Order of the Patrons of Hus- bandry, though several mutual friends, now unknown to the order, were at sundry times consulted. For nearly two years these seven men wrought, until they completed a well-devised scheme of organization, based upon a ritual of four degrees for men, and four for women. Having framed a constitution, adapted to this ritual, to govern them, these men met on the 4th day of December, 1867, in the little brown building now standing embowered in the trees of Four and a Half Street and Missouri Avenue, in the city of Washington, and then and there constituted themselves the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, with Saunders as Master, Thompson as Lecturer, Ireland as Treasurer, and Kelley as Secretary. The remaining offices were left vacant. The constitution of the order required that every subordinate grange should be composed of at least nine men and four women, and that fifteen such granges might apply for the organization of a State Grange. In accordance with these provisions, a State Grange was organized in Minnesota, on the 23d day of Febru- ary, 1869, and another in Iowa, on the 12th day of January, 1871. On the 3d day of January, 1872, the National Grange met in its fifth annual session, and, as an accession to its members, hailed with a welcome the presence of Dudley W. Adams, the master of the State Grange of Iowa, and the first member of the order who had ever met with the original seven. Anterior to the fifth session of the National Grange, there had been organized, in the several States, about two hundred granges, whose charter fees had partially reimbursed the founders for the money advanced in the cause ; but annual sala- ries had been promised to the master, the secretary, and the treasurer, not a dollar of which could now be paid, for there was, as yet, not a surplus penny in the treasury. During the year 1872, new life was infused into the order, and before its close 1074 granges had been organized, scattered over more than half the States of the Union. The founders continued to work most assiduously, and framed a degree peculiarly suited to the State Grange, and another higher one for the National Grange, THE GRANGE. 235 and still another for those patrons who had served twelve months or longer in the National Grange. They also appointed deputies to do work in the Grange field. In the fall of 1872 the secretary mailed to all the masters of the State Granges, to the deputies, and to others who had labored for the cause, a letter of invitation to convene in George- town, District of Columbia, on the 8th day of January, 1873, in the sixth annual session of the National Grange. Seventeen delegates, in addition to six of the founders of the order (Brother Ireland was absent), representing eleven States, assembled on that day, at the place designated, six of whom were masters of State Granges, and the remainder deputies in the order. In addition to these, four ladies honored the body with their pres- ence ; and now, for the first time in its history, the National Grange began to assume the proportions of a national organiza- tion. Thus the foundation was laid for active, enei^etic, progres- sive work during the succeeding year. The enthusiasm of the founders was imbibed by every delegate present, and each avowed himself a propagandist on his return home. To date (January 12, 1873), there had been organized nearly fourteen hundred granges, more than one-half of which were in the two States of Iowa and South Carohna. The years 1873 and 1874 were marvellously prosperous years for the Grange. In the former, ^66% subordinate granges were organized, and in the latter, 11,941. "Then it was," says a member, "that in our strength we exposed our weakness. Our debts had been paid, and our coffers were full. But we had grown suddenly too rich and powerful. We had leaped from poverty into affluence. From a struggling brotherhood of seven we had developed, with magic growth, into a fraternity of over twenty thousand sub- ordinate granges, averaging a membership of forty, all adults, or well-grown male and female youths, and our members were increasing at the rate of thousands a month. But our ranks lacked discipline. Our leaders were afraid of the multitude, and chaos prevailed to a considerable extent throughout the order." The Grange has been a great educator, and being the pioneer agricultural association, it has been compelled to stand the criti- 236 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, cism which always waits upon preparatory efforts. It has had its seasons of great prosperity, and also its full term of adversity, and is again making headway in its endeavors to benefit the farmer. It is increasing in numbers, and promises to take a prominent part in the reforms which await the future. BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. CHAPTER V. HISTORY OF STATE ALLIANCES. Official Directory of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. — President, L. L. Polk, North Carolina ; Vice-President, B. H. Clover, Kansas ; Secretary-Treasurer, J. H. Turner, Georgia ; Lecturer, J. F. Willetts, Kansas. Executive Board : Chairman, C. W. Macune ; A. Wardall, J. F. Tillman. Judiciary Department : Chairman, H. C. Dem- ming; Isaac McCracken, A. E. Cole. Committee on Confed- eration of National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union : Chairman, Ben Terrell, 239 North Capitol Street, Washington, District of Columbia ; L. F. Livingston of Georgia ; B. F. Rogers of Florida ; W. J. Talbert of South Carolina ; H. L. Loucks of South Dakota. Alabama. — A. T. Jacobs, a member of the Texas Alliance, organized the first Alliance at Beech Grove, Madison County, in March, 1887. Other Alliances were rapidly formed in Lime- stone, Jackson, and Marshall counties. A State organization was formed, with W. J. McKelvey, President, and G. W. Jones, Secretary. Regular organizers had been sent into another part of the State by President Macune, and had done effective work. At the second meeting of the State Alliance, in August, 1887, all were united under one State organization, with S. M. Adams, President, and J. W. Brown, Secretary. Delegates to the National Meeting to be held at Shreveport, Louisiana, in October, 1887, were elected and instructed to apply for admission into the national order, which was granted. The union of the Wheel and Alliance was perfected October 15, 1889. The organization in this State is strong, well organized, and increas- ing in number. It is one of the banner States. Arkansas. — I. W. Baker, William Davenport, and D. B. Hall were commissioned as national organizers for this State, by President Macune, in the spring of 1887. As the Brothers of Freedom and the Agricultural Wheel originated here, and 237 • 238 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, both had strong organizations, the Alliance made but slow progress. Several Sub-Alliances were organized, however, during that year. The complications which have followed an effort to consolidate are numerous and difficult to explain. At one time there were three separate organizations, each oper- ating independently. After much trouble and discussion, the different State bodies met at Little Rock, February 12, 1891, and consolidated into one State organization. California. — In the early part of 1890, Joe S. Barbee was commissioned national organizer for the State of California, and on April 11, 1890, the first Sub- Alliance was organized at Sum- merland, Santa Barbara County, with sixteen members and the following officers : President, H. L. Williams ; Vice-President, Mrs. Agnes S. Williams ; Secretary, C. T. Norcross ; Treasurer, William Wales ; Chaplain, A. C. Doane. The first County Alliance was organized at Santa Barbara, in Santa Barbara County, on May 3, 1890, with President, H. L. Williams, Sum- merland ; Vice-President, S. K. Shilling, Lompoc ; Secretary, H. F. Cook, Cathedral Oak ; Treasurer, H. A. Nelson, Dos Pueblas ; Chaplain, Henry Douglas, Goleta. The State Alli- ance was formed at San Jose, November 21, 1890. Colorado. — The first Alliances were organized in this State in 1888, by R. S. W. Overstreet. On account of the sparsely settled counties, hard times, and land troubles, it was found difficult to push the work. In 1889 the organization took a fresh start. The Northern or Open Alliance had been at work in the State and had secured quite a membership. After care- fully considering the matter, the two Alliances met together in joint convention in December, 1889, and perfected a State organization. The Dakotas. — The Farmers' Alliance was introduced into the Territory of Dakota in the fall of 1884. A number of farm- ers met at Huron, now in South Dakota, on December 19, 1884, and after adopting a series of resolutions adjourned until the 4th of February succeeding. Several Sub-Alliances had been organized prior to this meeting, under a charter from the North- ern or Open Alliance. At the meeting in February, a Ter- ritorial organization was perfected, and the following officers selected : President, J. L. Carlisle ; Vice-President, A. R. Mon- STATE ALLIANCES. 239 tague ; Secretary, W. F. T. Bushnell ; and Treasurer, A. D. Chase. The last meeting of the Territorial organization was held at Aberdeen, South Dakota, November 28, 1889. About nine hundred Sub-Alliances were represented. The Territory- having been divided into two States, the Alliance of South Dakota was organized, with H. L. Loucks, of Clear Lake, Pres- ident ; First Vice-President, C. V. Gardner, Postville ; Second Vice-President, C. A. Soderberg, Hartford; Secretary-Treas- urer, Mrs. Sophia M. Harden, Woonsocket. North Dakota elected President, Walter Muir, Hunter ; First Vice-President, Andrew Slotten, Wahpeton ; Second Vice-Presrdent, James Dobie, Tyner ; Treasurer, S. W. Unkenholz, Mandan ; Lecturer, Ira S. Lampman, Valley City ; Secretary, M. D. Williams, Jamestown. At the national meeting, at St. Louis, in 1889, both of these States joined the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. Since that time they have increased in num- bers rapidly. The same officers have been retained. Delaware. — The Alliance was introduced into this State in the summer of 1889, by Rev. H. G. Cowan. Considerable time was spent in making a start. The first Sub-Alliance was organ- ized in Kent County, in August, 1889, with President, William Johnson, and Secretary, J. W. Mix. Kent was the first county organized, by J. P. Kelley, January 29, 1891, with the following officers : President, J. M. Eisinburg ; Vice-President, Alexander Simpson ; Secretary, F. J. Prettyman ; Treasurer, Robert Raughley; Chaplain, I. W. Poole. A State organization will be formed during the summer of 1891, as the order is spreading rapidly. Florida. — The State Alliance of Florida was organized in August, 1887. Oswald Wilson was sent there by President C. W. Macune, as national organizer, and did his work so thor- oughly that the State was organized at a rapid rate. The first officers were : President, Oswald Wilson ; Vice-President, Wil- liam Gomne ; Secretary, Thomas A. Hall ; Treasurer, I. W. Pooser ; Chaplain, W. A. Bryan ; Lecturer, I. B. Young ; Assis- tant-Lecturer, W. B. Shephard ; Doorkeeper, W. G. Coxwell. The order has prospered since its organization, and is doing well at this time. Georgia. — In the spring of 1887, three national organizers 240 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. were commissioned by the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America, and sent to this State. J. B. Wilkes commenced the work of organization in the Fourth Con- gressional District in March ; and about the same time Brother Bairfield, in the Second Congressional District, and Brother Turner in the Third, began the work. All three of these or- ganizers were from the State of Texas. In March, 1887, Farmers' Alliance No. i was organized by J. B. Wilkes, at Antioch, Troup County, with W. B. Whately, President, and Dr. W. G. Floyd, Secretary. The first County Alliance was organized at Franklin, in Heard County, August 6, 1887, with T. M. Awbrey, President, and J. H, Turner, Secretary. About the first of October, the national President, C. W. Macune, issued his proclamation calling a meeting of delegates of all the organized counties in the State, to convene in the city of Fort Valley, December 20, to organize a State Alliance. Fourteen counties were represented, and the following officers were elected : President, R. H. Jackson, Heard County ; Vice- President, W. C. Glenn, Schley County ; Secretary, R. L. Burks, Harris County; Treasurer, W. B. Daniel, Sumter County; Lecturer, J. T. Green, Carroll County ; and State Organizer, J. H. Turner, Troup County. The order in the State has prospered wonderfully, and is to-day among the first. Idaho. — The Alliance came to this State in the latter part of 1890. The first Sub- Alliance was organized at Silver Creek, Logan County, February 7, 1891, by B. T. Templeton. The following officers were elected : President, L. E. Gannett ; Vice-President, John L. Freeman ; Secretary, B. T. Templeton ; Treasurer, C. W. Catte ; Chaplain, W. H. Loving. There is no County Alliance as yet, but a number of organ- izers have just been started. They report good prospects for future work. Illinois. — The first Sub- Alliance was organized at Noble, Richland County, December 27, 1889 ; F. G. Blood, organizer. The first County Alliance was organized at Clayton, Adams County, April 5, 1890. The State Alliance was organized at Morrison, Whiteside County, July 15, 1890, with a membership of about 3000 ; President, M. L. Crum ; Vice-President, M. H. Gilbert ; Secretary, F. G. Blood ; Treasurer, Geo. H. Lee ; STATE ALLIANCES. 241 Lecturer, C. W. Stevenson. The same officers are serving now. The Alliance in this State is growing rapidly, and promises to be one of the best in the Union. Indiana. — W. W. Wilson began the work of organization in this State in May, 1889. The order of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association had been quite extensively organized in the State previous to this time. The Open Alliance also claimed a considerable membership. The work progressed slowly, and it was not until April, 1890, that a State Alliance was perfected, at the city of Indianapolis. Seven County and about one hun- dred and twenty Sub-Alliances were represented. T. W. Force was elected President, and W. W. Frigg, Secretary. The order is now rapidly increasing in numbers, and the prospects are good for a splendid organization. Indian Territory. — The Alliance was introduced into this Territory in 1886. The organizer went from Texas, but I have been unable to obtain his name. The Alliances formed were chartered under the jurisdiction of Texas. Representatives of the various Alliances met at Brickhouse, in Tishomingo, April 12, 1887, and organized a Territorial AlHance, selecting Z. Gard- ner, President, and M. E. Gough, Secretary. The membership increased rapidly during the succeeding year. At the next meeting of the Territorial Alliance, at Armstrong Academy, in August, 1888, W. Hatchkins was chosen President, and M. E. Gough was again chosen Secretary. At the next meeting of the Territorial body, at Stonewall, in August, 1889, H. C. Ran- dolph was selected as President, and Lyman Friend, Secretary. Iowa. — On the- 26th day of July, 1890, George B. Lang or- ganized South Fork Farmers' Alliance No. i, in Wayne County, Iowa, with seven members, and officers as follows : President, J. A. Duer ; Vice-President, Warren Easley ; Secretary, D. D. Southard ; Treasurer, C. H. Lord ; Chaplain, John Lord. The first County Alliance was organized by Geo. B. Lang, in Wayne County, December 13, 1890, with the following officers : President, Charles Heckthorn; Vice-President, Theodore Wade; Secretary, Robert E. Gwinn; Treasurer, Ellis Shriver; Chap- lain, C. N. Haworth The State Alliance of Iowa was organized at Creston, March 20, 1891. 242 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Kansas. — Some time during the year 1887, a number of Sub- Alliances were formed in Cowley County, through the efforts of a visiting friend from Texas, who was stopping with a farmer in that county. It is from this beginning that the Alliance in Kansas took its start. Later, W. Shires, a regular organizer, came into the State, and started a few more Sub-Alliances. About this time Brother W. P. Brush went to Cowley County, and succeeded in organizing the first County Alliance. Authority was given Brother Brush to organize the State. A meeting was called for that purpose in December, 1888, and an organization was perfected by electing B. H. Clover of Cambridge, President, and J. B. French, Hutchinson, Secretary. The growth of the Alliance in this State has been phenomenal. Kentucky. — The first Farmers' Alliance was organized in Trigg County, by F. T. Rogers, in December, 1886. At first the work progressed very slowly, and was abandoned by some of the first who made the attempt. In February, 1888, Brother B. F. Davis was commissioned for the work, and began in ear- nest the difficult task. He succeeded so well that a State organ- ization was completed at Ezel, Morgan County, June 7, 1888. J. E. Quicksall was chosen President ; J. M. Raney, Vice-Presi- dent ; B. F. Davis, Secretary ; Charles Pack, Treasurer ; and Sherman Pack, Lecturer. August 29, 1889, the Alliance and Wheel consolidated, with S. B. Irwin, President ; J. E. Quicksall, Vice-President ; B. F. Davis, Secretary ; Charles Pack, Treas- urer ; and J. F. Gale, Lecturer. The order has grown rapidly since that date. Louisiana. — The Farmers' Union of this State had been quite extensively organized before the Alliance was introduced. The first Alliance was organized by J. W. DeSpain and J. Groves, in one of the parishes west of Red River. The second Alliance was organized in De Soto Parish, October 8, 1886. After this it spread rapidly throughout this portion of the State. In May, 1887, the Union and the Alliance united, forming the State Union, the Alliances surrendering their charters and taking out others from the Union. From this time on the order has grown rapidly. The first officers of the Consolidated Union were : President, J. M. Stallings, Venice ; Secretary, O. W. Wright, Munnville ; Treasurer, W. J. Spinks ; Lecturer, W. J. Smith ; STATE ALLIANCES. 243 Assistant Lecturer, Samuel Skinner ; Corresponding Secretary, J. A. Tetts. Maryland. — The Alliance was introduced into this State in 1889, by Dr. Joseph A. Mudd. The first Alliance was organized at Piscataway, Prince George's County, February 26, 1889, with the following officers: Presi- dent, Dr. A. L. Middleton ; Vice-President, Dr. J. H. Blanford ; Secretary, James P. Elder. The first County Alliance was organized by Dr. Joseph A. Mudd, at Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, August 28, 1889, with the following officers: President, Dr. W. W. War- ing ; Vice-President, Dr. J. B. Langford ; Secretary, A. T. Brooke ; Treasurer, Geo. W. Brooke ; Lecturer, W. B. (Raggett ; Chaplain, J. B. Perrie. The State was organized September 25, 1889, by Dr. Joseph A, Mudd of Washington, State Organizer, at Upper Marlboro. Michigan. — The Alliance was introdoiced into this State under peculiar circumstances. The Alliance Seittinel v^2i's, started at least three months before there was a member of an Alliance in the State. Even the editor. Brother J. M. Potter, was not a member of the order. Brother N. A. Dunning of Washing- ton, District of Columbia, came to the State for the purpose of introducing the order. The very first night — February 19, 1890 — he organized an AlHance at Pine Lake, Ingham County, with the following officers : President, George Northrop ; Vice- President, Hiram W. Baker; Secretary, Daniel B. Potter; Treasurer, Joseph L Burtraw ; Chaplain, William R. Norton. Every person attending the meeting joined the Alliance, and all expressed entire satisfaction in regard to the aims, objects, and methods of the order as explained. The State was organized at Lansing, September 17, 1890. The following officers were chosen : President, A. E. Cole, of Fowlerville ; Vice-President, T. C. Anthony of Marengo ; Treas- urer, John D. Carlton of Dimondale ; State Lecturer, Luther Ripley of Port Hope ; Chaplain, Mrs. Emma Moore of Delta ; Steward, H. W. Cobb of Perry ; Doorkeeper, A. McKelvey of Delta ; Executive Committee : Chairman, George S. Wilson of Horton ; Thomas Nichols of Sanilac; Martin Smith of Okemos; B. F. McKellim of Bad Axe ; J. W. Ewing of Grand Lodge. 244 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Minnesota. — The Alliance first appeared in this State in the summer of 1890. The first Sub-Alliance was organized about July I, 1890, by A. D. Ferres, at Pipe Stone, Pipe Stone County, with the following officers : President, H. D. Sanford ; Vice- President, John Clark ; Secretary, J. A. Bigelow ; Treasurer, C. C. Goodnow ; Chaplain, W. C. Barber. Pipe Stone County Alliance was organized in January, 1891. Names of officers are not at hand. The order will be pushed during the summer of 1891. Mississippi. — In February, 1887, President C. W. Macune commissioned S. O. Daws and W. F. Price to begin the work of organizing the State of Mississippi. The first Alliance was organized March 3, 1887, at Oak Hall, Carroll County. Others followed rapidly. The State Alliance was organized August 24, 1887. R. T. Love was chosen President, and C. T. Smith- son, Secretary. Since that time the order has grown steadily, and is now among the best. Missouri. — The AlKance appeared in this State in the spring of 1887. President Macune sent a number of organizers into the State, at the urgent request of many of its people. In May following the first Sub-Alliance was organized in Butler County. The order spread with great rapidity that summer, so that a State Alliance was perfected October 4, 1887, at Poplar Bluff, with the following officers : President, A. B. Johnson, Ritchey, Newton County ; Vice-President, W. B. Anthony ; Secretary, Frank Farrell, Mill Spring ; Treasurer, J. N. Tatem ; Chaplain, J. A. Gross ; Lecturer, M. V. B. Page. Since that time the order has grown rapidly. Montana. — The Alliance made its appearance in this State in the latter part of 1890. The first Sub- Alliance was organized at Augusta, Lewis and Clarke County, January 10, 1891. The officers chosen were : President, D. J. Hogan ; Vice-President, J. K. Smith ; Secretary, T. G. Woods ; Treasurer, W. H. War- den ; Chaplain, R. Anchard. Organized by T. G. Wood, tem- porarily, and granted a dispensation until a regular organizer could be obtained. New Jersey. — The first Alliance was organized in this State September 23, 1889, at Centreton, Salem County, with the following officers ; President, W. W. Gilder ; Vice-President, STATE ALLIANCES. 245 Samuel Golder ; Secretary, Jarvis Pedrick ; Treasurer, John B, Cooper ; Lecturer, C. P. Atkinson. The first County AlUance was organized March 13, 1890, at Cohansey, Salem County, by Dr. C. P. Atkinson, with the fol- lowing officers : President, J. M. Hitchman ; Vice-President, E. F. Cook ; Secretary, A. R. Thaup ; Treasurer, L. M. Gar- ram. The prospects are good for an increase of membership. New Mexico. — The first Alliance in this Territory was organized in Lincoln County, in April, 1887, by A. D. Wallace. A few months after, this county was organized, being the first county organization in the Territory. For various reasons the work dragged. One great obstacle was the scattered situation of the settlements, and the difficulty of getting the farmers together. After a hard struggle, a Territorial Alliance was per- fected, at Santa Fe, in July, 1889. J. N. Coe was chosen Presi- dent, and W. L. Bruce, Secretary. The order is doing fairly well. New York. — Early in 1890 D. F. Allen, a farmer from near Allentown, Allegany County, came to Washington City, and was initiated into the Farmers' Alliance. He was at once given a national organizer's commission for New York. April 3, he organized Wirt Farmers' Alliance, No. i, in Allegany County, with sixteen members and the following officers : President, DeWitt Willis ; Vice-President, Marion Keller ; Secretary, Rufus Harwood ; Treasurer, William Saunders ; Chaplain, Chauncy Griffin. The first County Alliance was organized in Allegany County, June 3, 1890, with the following officers : President, M. Spencer ; Vice-President, J. D. Rogers ; Secretary, George A. Scott ; Treasurer, D. C. Willis ; Chaplain, N. R. Miller. The State Alliance was organized at Hornellsville, April 22. North Carolina. — The Alliance in this State has had a wonderful growth. Having had a paper, The Progressive Farmer^ advocating a doctrine similar to that taught by the Alliance, it was easy to organize the State. Colonel L. L. Polk, editor of The Progressive Farmer, entered into the work with earnestness and energy. The first Alliance was organized by M. T. Seely, April 20, 1887. In May J. B. Barry of Texas joined in the work. A State Alliance was formed October 4, 1887, at Rocking- ham, Richmond County, consisting of eight counties and one 246 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. hundred and thirty-two Sub-AlUances. S. B. Alexander was elected President, and L. L. Polk, Secretary. Ohio. — The first Alliance was organized in Gallia County, June 5, 1890, by J. T. Jones, with eleven members and the fol- lowing officers : President, S. H. Shaffer ; Vice-President, M. B. Mala; Secretary, James R. Vires; Treasurer, William H. Van- den; Chaplain, John Leonard. The first County Alliance was organized in Franklin County, near Columbus, October 4, 1890, by J. M. Richardson, with the following officers : President, H. S. Harris ; Vice-President, W. R. Parsons ; Secretary, H. M. Evans ; Treasurer, Thomas Carpenter ; Chaplain, Fred L. Johnson. The State Alliance was organized at Columbus, April 16, 1891. Oklahoma. — January 10, 1890, the first Alliance was organ- ized in this Territory, by George W. Gardenhire, at Stillwater, with eighteen members, and officers as follows ; President, G. W. Puckett ; Secretary, Irvin Whittaker. The first County Alliance was organized by W. H. Barton, in Payne County, on the 20th day of March, 1890, with the fol- lowing officers : President, D. Skinner ; Vice-President, W. H. Hayden ; Secretary, M. A. Hickcox ; Treasurer, L. Gilges ; Chaplain, M. B. Andrews. The Territorial Alliance was organ- ized July 8, 1890, at Guthrie. Oregon. — The Alliance was introduced into this State dur- ing the winter of 1890. There was no organizer, and a meet- ing was held at Independence, Polk County. A temporary organization was effected, and a dispensation was granted to them until they could obtain the secret work from the regular source. The following were the officers : President, Abram Nelson; Vice-President, J. Dorusife ; Secretary, George Roges ; Treasurer, J. W. Haley ; Chaplain, J. Craven. Organized by Thomas C. Wilkin. There is no County Alliance at present. Pennsylvania. — The Alliance was introduced into this State in the spring of 1890, by H. C. Demming, who came to Wash- ington, took the secret work, and organized the first Alliance in his own county of Dauphin. In April following, after meeting with many obstacles. Brother Demming succeeded in organiz- ing a State Alliance at Harrisburg, November 26, 1890. The officers elected were : President, Henry C. Suavely, Lebanon ; STATE ALLIANCES, 247 Vice-President, Curtis S. Clark, Crawford ; Lecturer, J. S. Potts, Indiana County ; Secretary, Henry C. Demming, Dauphin County ; Treasurer, Valentine Hay, Somerset County. South Carolina. — The first Sub- Alliance in this State was organized by M. T. Seely, an organizer from Texas, in October, 1887. The order grew rapidly, so that, in July, 1888, a State Alliance was perfected, with over one hundred and fifty Sub- Alliances and a membership exceeding three thousand. E. T. Stackhouse was elected President, and J. W. Reid, Secretary. The order has had a substantial and steady increase up to the present time, and its success is assured. Tennessee. — J. T. Alsup, a national organizer of the Farmers' Alliance, began work in this State in the winter of 1887. The first Sub-Alliance was organized in Wilson County, in March following. At that time the Agricidtural Wheel was also seek- ing to establish itself in the State ; but by hard work and perse- verance, a State Alliance was organized in March, 1888, with I. P. Buchanan, President. Both orders continued to grow, and at a joint meeting at Nashville, in July, 1889, the two organiza- tions consolidated under the name of National Farmers and Laborers' Union, with L P. Buchanan, President, and E. B. Wade, Secretary. Since then the order has grown rapidly, and is now reckoned among the best. Texas. — The history of this State will be found in the general history of the Alliance. The first Alliance having been formed in Texas, a detailed statement of the organization must contain a full history of the Alliance in the State. Utah and Arizona. — Organizers have been sent into these Territories during the present month (March, 1891), who report that success is absolutely certain ; that the people are ready for organization, and eager to join the Alliance movement. Vermont. — One organizer has been sent to this State, who reports the farmers anxious to organize for common defence. Applications have been received for organizers in the States of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, which will doubtless be met during the present year (1891). The growth of the order has been, and doubtless will be, slow in the New England States. Yet the spirit of agricultural unrest is felt there, as in other parts of the country, and the time is " close at hand when every 248 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. State and Territory of the nation " will become members of this great agricultural organization. Virginia. — The first Sub-Alliance was organized at Ottobine, Rockingham County, in September, 1887, by J. S. Barbee. The following officers were elected : President, L. T. Beall ; Vice- President, William Ervine ; Secretary, St. Andrew Myers ; Treasurer, Mrs. N. E. Ervine ; Chaplain, G. W. Skelton ; Lecturer, Dr. J. P. Coyner. The first County Alliance was organized November 26, 1 887, with the following officers : President, Thomas Bradley ; Vice-President, Isaiah Printz ; Sec- retary, William M. Rosser ; Treasurer, Warfield Yates ; Lec- turer, H. A. W. Holmes. Washington. — Early in 1891 Brother Ahiva Mannering went from the State of Missouri to Washington as a national organizer. The first Sub-Alliance was organized at Garfield, Whitman County, February 14, 1891, with the following offi- cers : President, A. J. Irwin ; Vice-President, Alvin Manning ; Secretary, L. C. Love ; Treasurer, William Lemon ; Chaplain, E. F. Mason. The work is being pushed with vigor, and is increasing rapidly. West Virginia. — The Alliance was introduced into this State in the summer of 1887, by Joe S. Barbee. The first Sub- Alliance was organized by him at Franklin, Pendleton County, October 29, 1887, with the following officers: President, S. P. Priest ; Vice-President, John A. Marshall ; Secretary, J. H. Daugherty ; Treasurer, J. T. Harold. The first County Alliance was organized at Franklin, Pendleton County, July 18, 1889, by G. T. Barber. The following officers were chosen : President, Jacob Henkle ; Vice-President, W. C. Miller ; Secretary, J. H. Daugherty ; Treasurer, Solomon Cunningham ; Chaplain, W. C. Keyser. The State Alliance was organized at Charleston, West Virginia, August 17, 1890. Wisconsin. — The Alliance appeared in this State during the fall of 1890. The first Sub- Alliance was organized under dis- pensation, December 29, 1890, by Haybert Holmes, at River Side, Shawano County, with the following officers : President, Israel L. Pues ; Vice-President, Joseph H. Hillister ; Secre- tary, Lewis Peterson ; Treasurer, John Westgord. There is no County Alliance as yet. COLONEL L L POLK, Pres. N. F. A. and 1. U. CHAPTER VI. SECTIONALISM AND THE ALLIANCE. By Colonel L. L. Polk, President National Farmers' Alliance and Indus- trial Union, AND Editor Progressive Farmer^ Raleigh, North Carolina. The year 1865 witnessed the culmination of the mightiest contest of modern times. The brave and heroic men of the two armies, worn and wearied with war, returned to their homes, and beating " their spears into pruning-hooks, and their swords into ploughshares," addressed themselves, with a faith and a devotion that were sublime, to the solution of problems which would have appalled the hearts of any but those who had been educated in the terrible ordeal through which they had passed. The happy greetings of welcome of the loved ones at the threshold were more thrilling and inspiriting than were the wild shouts of triumph in victorious battle. As a rule, the soldiers of the North and the South were willing and anxious to accept and abide by the result, in good faith. They knew they had fought like men, and they were willing to accept the result like men. Slavery was gone, and all true patriots fondly hoped that the prejudices, animosities, and divisions which were born of its existence would go with it. But the selfish, sectional agitator again appeared upon the scene, and, with unholy purpose, spared not even the sacred dust of the heroic dead that he might inflame and keep alive the bitter recollections and animosities of the past. Social and financial chaos was abroad in the land, and he gloated in the opportunity thus afforded to prosecute his wicked designs. Ordinarily he was the man. North and South, who had failed to see, in four years of war, any opportunity to prove his devotion to his section. Ordinarily he was the man, North and South, who was " invisible in war, and had become invincible in peace." The liberation and enfranchisement of four millions of human beings, the confusion incident to a long-protracted and terrible struggle, pre- sented conditions peculiarly favorable to the propagation and perpet- uation of sectionalism. Even our industrial development and expansion evolved conditions which were made to contribute to this unnatural and unfortunate estrangement between the sections. The rich, powerful, 249 h 250 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. and densely populated East must needs have an outlet for its aggres- sive enterprise, its rapidly accumulating wealth, and its growing popula- tion. The dense forests and fertile plains of the magnificent and inviting West were transformed into rich and powerful States. Lines of immigration and enterprise, of wealth and of general development, were pushed forward with marvellous rapidity and success to the shores of the Pacific. Along these lines were transplanted from the East the prejudices and animosities engendered for a half-century. The South, — traversed by no transcontinental hne of communication, — sullen and humiliated in her great and crushing losses, and by defeat in war, most naturally nursed the sectional animosities and prejudices of the past. Their fields weire devastated, their homes desolate, their household goods destroyed ; without money, without food, without implements with which to work ; their credit gone, their labor utterly destroyed, their industrial systems wiped out, the accumulated wealth of genera- tions swept away as by a breath ; in the shadow of drear desolation and the blackened ruins of once happy homes, they were left friendless and unaided, to depend on those qualities of true manhood which are always evolved by terrible emergencies. Theirs was the noble and heroic task to remove the ghastly wreck which marked the feast of war- gods, who had revelled in their high carnival of blood, of carnage, and of death. What an inviting condition was thus presented for wicked sectional agitators, and how assiduously they utilized it, let the shameful sec- tionalism of the past quarter of a century, with its baneful fruits, tell. Whatever may be said of chattel slavery, with all it^ acknowledged evils, history nowhere records that it ever made a millionnaire. What- ever may have been its effect upon our society and civilization, it pro- duced no tramps. But we have developed another system of slavery, — the slavery of honest labor, — a slavery of sweat, and brawn, and brain, — a slavery more terrible and degrading in its effects than the African ever knew, and the legitimate outgrowth of which has cursed our country with an army of three millions of tramps, and has placed the greater part of the wealth of this great nation in the hands of one two-thousandth part of its population. It has made the eight millions of American farmers — once the proud possessors of the most princely heritage that God ever gave to man — virtually a nation of tenants, whose every possession, and whose every day of toil and labor, is forced to pay tribute to exacting, domineering, legalized monopoly. In all the discriminating partisan legislation which has disgraced the annals of the nation for the last quarter of a century, and in all the machinations SE CTIONALISM. 2 5 1 and intrigues which have conspired to destroy that essential equipoise between the great industries of the country, and which has robbed the many to enrich the few, and thus placed our republic and its institutions in imminent peril, no factor has been more potential than the wicked spirit of sectionalism. We have thus been brought to confront forces, social, industrial, moral, and political, which are dangerous alike to the liberty of the citizen and to the life of the republic; and we stand to-day in the crucial era of our free institutions, of our repubUcan form of government, and of our Christian civilization. Mighty problems confront us, and they must be met in a spirit of fairness, of manliness, of justice, and of equity. The evils under which the great laboring millions of America are suffering are national in their character, and can never be corrected by sectional effort or sectional remedies. In all the broad field of our noble endeavor as an order, there is no purpose grander in its design, more patriotic in its conception, or more beneficent in its possible results/ to the whole country and to posterity, than the one in which we declare to the world that henceforth there shall be no sectional lines acro^ Alliance territory. Failing in all else we may undertake as an organiza- tion, if we shall accomplish only a restoration of fraternity and unity, and obliterate the unnatural estrangement which has unfortunately so long divided the people of this country, the Alliance will have won for itself immortal glory and honor. In the spirit of a broad and liberal patriotism, it recognizes but one flag and one country. Confronted by a common danger, afflicted with a common evil, impelled by a common hope, the people of Kansas and Virginia, of Pennsylvania and Texas, of Michigan and South Carolina, make common cause in a common interest. The order recognizes the fact that the war ended in 1865, that chattel slavery is gone, and that the prejudices and divisions, born of its existence, should go with it. Happily for the country and posterity, the great mass of the' people have become aroused to this truth, and they have severed sectional lines in twain. The ex-slave holder of the South, who beHeved that he held the slaves not only by constitutional but by divine right, and who bravely imperilled his life to defend the institution, to-day stands hand- in-hand with him who was born and reared an abolitionist, and who regarded slavery as an unmitigated evil and curse ; and disregarding sectional folly and madness, they have solemnly pledged their aUiance in a common cause — the cause of a common country. We cannot fail to see the opportunity of the hour ; and, recognizing 252 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. that opportunity, we must not forget that it carries with it corresponding responsibilities. The opportunity is for the great, conservative, law- abiding, patriotic masses to assert and establish a perpetual union between the people. The sequent obligation is, that these great masses must discourage, discountenance, and discard from their councils the wicked, demagogical agitators, who for the last twenty-five years have sought to foster discord and dissension, that they themselves might thrive. We are told in sacred history, that, in the olden time, one Jeroboam was crowned a king in Israel. He conceived the absurd idea that to strengthen his people he should divide them ; that to fraternize them he should destroy their unity ; and he forbade and abolished their annual national meeting at the city of Jerusalem. He erected a golden calf at a place in the north, and one at a place in the south, and directed that the people of the two sections should hold their annual meetings at these places, respectively. We are told that even in that remote age Jeroboam adopted some of the methods of modern politics, in that " he made high priests of the lowest people." The avenging hand of out- raged justice was laid upon him. Does history repeat itself? Sectional- ism, for purposes of greed and gain, decreed that the people of these United States should be divided ; and to perpetuate that division it directed that idols should be erected for the people of the North, and for the people of the South. And has it not " made high priests of the low- est people " ? And shall it not be rebuked and destroyed? Divided, we stand as a Samson shorn of his locks ; united, we stand a power that is invincible. Cato fired and thrilled the Roman Senate with the fierce cry, " Carthage must be destroyed." Must we, as citi- zens of this great republic, emulate such avengeful spirit? Hannibal, while yet a tender youth, was placed by his father on his knees, and made to swear eternal vengeance against the Romans. Must we, as Christian parents, entail upon our children the bitter legacy of hate? Hundreds of thousands of noble, aspiring, and patriotic young men, all over the land, are manfully undertaking the responsible duties of Ameri- can citizenship. Born since the war — thank God ! — their infant vision was first greeted by the light of heaven, unobscured by the smoke of battle, and their infant ear first caught the sweet sound of hallowed peace, unmingled with the hoarse thundering of hostile cannon. Shall they be taught to cherish, foster, and perpetuate that prejudice and animosity, whose fruits are evil, and only evil? " Let the dead past bury its dead," and let us, with new hope, new aspirations, hew zeal, new energy, and new life, turn our faces toward Itp?' HONORABLE B. H. CLOVER, M. C, Third District, Kansas. SECTIONALISM. 253 the rising sun of an auspicious and inviting future, and reconsecrate our- selves to the holy purpose of transmitting to our posterity a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," and which shall be unto all generations the citadel of refuge for civil and religious liberty. SECTIONALISM. By Hon. B. H. Clover, Vice-President National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, and Member of Congress from the Third District of Kansas. " In peace there is nothing so much becomes a man as modest stillness and humility.'' — RiENZI. Following the thought of the famous Roman orator, I would fain maintain a "modest stillness"; but I see in our country a condition that never could have existed but for the false and pernicious teachings of -those who stir up strife and keep alive the fires of sectional hate. Do you ask for what purpose is this ceaseless arraignment of the North against the South, and the South against the North, kept up? One who has been chief in the strife, and loudest in his demands for "a solid North against a solid South," says that they have been "alienated by those who sought to prey upon them." This is surely a frank admission. He further says that "invidious discriminations have robbed them of their substance, and unjust tariffs / have repressed their industries." The objects of sectional agitators can not be more fully and tersely stated. Some of them, possibly by reason of their ignorance, were honest in their belief; but with the great major- ity self-aggrandizement, and the service of an oppressive and unscrupu- lous combination of public robbers, was the sole end in view. So successful have been their efforts that the money power of the world has laid tribute upon honest industry, and the laborer, once king, finds himself a pauper, a wanderer, a homeless, nameless stranger in the land of his fathers. Samson, while listening to the siren song of the party Delilah, was shorn of his locks, of his strength, of his manhood, and virtually of his freedom. But some may say. Has sectionalism done all this ? Gentle reader, let me ask. Could any other thing have kept the people so blinded to their interest, that, having the ballot in their hands, they would have allowed the soul-and-body-destroying, monopolistic influences to wrap their slimy folds around each and every industry, and send the honest toiler shivering to a hovel, and elegant idleness to a palace ? 254 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Sectional hate and its other self, party prejudice, have been the means by which monopoly has been enabled to bind the people ; and a blind subserviency to party and designing party leaders has been the means by which it has accomplished what in other countries it obtained by violence, bloodshed, conquest, and other forms of oppression. The favorite method of those who " toil not neither do they spin," is to array those whom they wish to rob against each other. This once accomplished, the rest is easy. Nor is the robbery of industry and a virtual enslavement of the laboring people all the harm that has come from this the most blighting curse that ever came upon the people of free America. It has arrayed bnother against brother, and made enemies of those who, by every tie that binds men's hearts together, should have been friends. Neither time nor space will allow a detail of methods resorted to by those who " alienate the people only to prey upon them." It is through false politics, and politicians more false and designing, that they seek to accomplish their ends, and they have so far succeeded. All have heard the cry of the campaign howler. I shall not attempt to describe him. He is the bane of civilization, the enemy of liberty and humanity. His mission is to stir up old animosities, engender new strifes, fight over dead issues, and write platforms to be read before election and dis- regarded and forgotten afterwards. He is an " oily " fellow. He has been selected for his fitness for the work he is to perform. With him " it is lawful to' deceive, to hire Hessians, to purchase mercenaries, to kill, to mutilate, to destroy," — anything for success. It makes him exceedingly " weary " should any one suggest that the politics of our country be placed upon a higher plane. He worships no god but his own ambition, and that ambition is to be the "cutest" trickster and slyest deceiver of his party ; for well he knows that those who prey upon the people and wealth producers will see his " transcendent ability" and pay well for his treason to the interests he is supposed to represent, and heap "honors" upon him. There is no sympathy in his heart for the miseries of the millions who, by reason of his infamous schemes, are robbed of home, happiness, and all hope of the future. There is no tear in his eye as the hapless family — the heartbroken father, the sad-faced and weeping mother, and the sorrowing children — find themselves driven from their home to become helpless wanderers up and down the earth. He has never heard the sigh come up from the bosom of his wife as she listens to the reading of the foreclosure summons. Little cares he though tears may fall like rain, though hearts may break, though hope may go out forever from SECTIONALISM. 255 the hearts and homes of his victims. In his mad rush for office and spoils he has forgotten that there is a just God, who has said : " Ven- geance is mine, I will repay." It is indeed a gloomy picture that the past thirty years present, in this so-called free land of America. Designing demagogues, sustained by the money and monopolistic power of the world, have so far suc- ceeded in deceiving the people, and arraying them against one another, and despoiUng them of their homes, the fruits of their labor, and their hope of the future. Liberty, with the great mass, has become an empty farce, and American independence an *' iridescent dream." This for the past ; but what of the future ? The early fathers told us that " eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Have we been vigilant? Do not political sins bring political death, as surely as moral sins bring moral death, or a violation of the laws of health brings on physical dis- ease and death ? The fathers taught us that in unity is strength. Have we as a people obeyed their injunction ? Sectionalism, with its agitators, has stood guard over the bursting vaults of the public plunderer, and if any one raised his voice in protest against the infamous robbery, the "bloody shirt " was brought out on one side, and the " Yankee hireling " howlers split the air on the other ; and the robbery of the people went on. But I wanted to take a peep into the future ; I wanted to write of the time when sectionalism shall be buried deep. Its grave is being dug now. The " great common people " of the South and of the North are realizing their condition and its cause, and they are meeting together, becoming acquainted, and wondering why they ever should have been enemies. The stock in trade of the sectional agitator is going below par. He will soon be a thing of the past. He is now in his dying throes, and while some of them are bowing to the inevitable, others are nerving themselves for a last supreme effort. But their time has come. The people are awaking from their lethargy, and th^fy find themselves made beggars while they slept. They are fast learning the truth. The " alien- ator " is out of a job. The " white rose of peace " is being planted over the grave of sectionalism. It is being watered by the repentant tears of the victims of this hideous monster — sectional strife. The old leaders, who have been responsible for the sectional hate of the past, are being sent into retirement. New blood and new ideas are coming. The people are looking to the future instead of brooding over the past. They know that they have been robbed by infamous legisla- tion, and that righteous legislation will give them back their homes and happiness again. They are refusing to be mere hewers of wood and 256 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, drawers of water for a favored class of money-changers. When the happy time comes that sectionaHsm is dead and buried out of sight, and is remembered only as a hideous nightmare ; when the toiling masses of both North and South shall join hands and remember only that they are brothers, children of a common father, citizens of a common country, with one Hag, one destiny, and that they are " Ameri- cans all " ; and when patriots and not partisans shall rule in legislation, then shall the brotherhood of man be acknowledged, and fraternity, peace, and good-will will come among the people. When I think of the past, and contemplate the present, and anticipate what may be in store for the common people in the future, if they will be friends and act wisely and contend for, instead of against, each other, I am constrained to quote again from the grand Roman, who, when he found his beloved country ruined and desolate, and his fellow-citizens ground down by the heel of oppression, cried out : " Rouse ye, Romans ! • rouse ye, slaves ! our country yet remains." Then he told them of that " elder day," when to be a " Roman was greater than to be a king." Shall not we look back with a patriotic longing to that elder day, when to be an American was greater than to be a king ? Though poor, though crouching at the feet of as arrogant and un- scrupulous oppressors as ever robbed a widow or starved an orphan, let us remember that our country yet remains. Brothers of 'the sunny South, after thirty years, is it not time that the past should be buried? Grant is dead. Lee is no more. Stonewall Jackson and William McPherson gave up their lives on the field of battle, and fill soldiers' graves. Almost -the last one of the great com- manders, and a majority of their followers, have gone where war is not known ; and why should not we, in our memories, let them lie side by side, and over their graves clasp hands and say to each of them, — "Soldier rest, thy warfare's o'er; Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking; Dream of battle-fields no more : Days of danger, nights of waking "? Will not the proudest monument we can build to their memory be a just and righteous government, that will protect the weak, do justice to all, and be of, for, and by the people ? Shall we not build a temple of liberty wherein the poorest and humblest shall have a seat, as well as the rich and arrogant, and where he can feel that he is heir to all the glories which the wisdom of the fathers and the unselfish patriotism of our country can give us? " Let us have peace." DR. C. W. MACUNE. CHAPTER VII. THE PURPOSES OF THE FARMERS' ALLIANCE. By Dr. C. W. Macune, Ex-President National Farmers' Alliance and Co- operative Union, and Editor of the National Economist. This is a very broacj subject, and deep as broad. A superficial observer may state, in a very few words, his conception of the objects and pur- poses of the Farmers' AlHance, but all such statements will be found very unsatisfactory and imperfect ; in fact, the most elaborate essay from the most logical mind will not be perfect, because it is impossible for human mind to conceive in detail the objective development of a great moral and ethical force, evolved and perpetuated by conditions that will exist in the future. No man, therefore, can give a perfect definition of the purposes of the Farmers' Alliance ; and he who attempts a defini- tion simply gives his own personal conception of the subject, which may be more or less valuable, according as his field of observation and his accuracy of judgment are good or otherwise. In a broad sense, the purposes of the Farmers' Alliance are — written or expressed and implied — present and future ; they cover to-day a remedy for every evil known to exist and afflict farmers and other pro- ducers, and in the future should cover every contingency that may arise, presenting evil to be combatted by means of organization ; they are accumulative and ever changing, as the enemy assumes a new guise. They are written or expressed in the organic and statutory laws of the order, as they have from time to time been enacted and pubhshed, and briefly summarized in the declarations of purposes. They are to be implied from the various positions the order has taken on the issues that it has from time to time met, both local and general, and from the position it may be fairly assumed it will take upon new issues as they may arise in the development of the commercial and edu- cational growth of the country. To attempt to describe in detail the objects and purposes of the Farmers' Alliance, as shown by the written or expressed laws of the order, and affecting the past and present issues presented, is peculiarly the work of the historian. The object of the present paper must necessarily be confined to such deductions as may be fairly drawn from the history made, and to point out, in a general way, the principles that must under- 257 258 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. lie its action if it shall perpetuate itself as a permanent factor in the development of this great nation. An examination of the past purposes of the order will show that the earliest record we have of a fixed pur- pose, was that of banding men together to resist the encroachments of land thieves. This seems to have. been, at that time, the sole purpose of the order, and was united in with all the vigor possible by the entire membership. In a very shoct time the whole object seems to have changed, and all the energy of the order was directed towards co-opera- tion to secure lower prices in the purchase of commodities from mer- chants, and to this end all the lecturers were teaching the policy of concentrating their trade into channels, which by increasing the amount of trade given to special firms or individuals would decrease the profits, and thereby save money for themselves as purchasers. It should be noticed that, accompanying this change of purpose, there was no dimi- nution in the growth or strength of the order. In another year, the object seems to have undergone almost as great a change, for that sys- tem of contracts with merchants was entirely discarded, and the whole energy of the order was directed towards establishing a strong business head, conducting its buying and selling, not for profit, but as an auxiliary to the farming effort. Orators, lecturers, and writers were all advocating this with as much zeal as the former object, and the people with one accord were co-operating to secure a new end. And even this change, as shown by the history of the time, was attended with a greater growth than in any preceding period ; a growth at that time without a parallel, and an enthusiasm that was all the most ardent advocates could desire. The history progresses, and in a year or two more this, the most im- portant object, seems in turn to have been set aside, and public atten- tion seems to have crystallized upon the belief that the greatest benefits of the order can only be secured by co-operating to secure the enact- ment of laws that will stop discrimination against agriculturists as a class. This new departure in the objects of the order, as it is sometimes called, but really this higher development of our conception of the objects of the order, was also attended with the most remarkable growth, far excelling any growth of a like period prior to that time. The conclu- sion to be drawn from this change in the public conception of the purposes of the order, without any abatement in the growth and devel- opment of the movement, must inevitably be, that the growth of the order does not depend upon the conception of those who are filling the offices and acting as leaders in the effort. It does not depend upon the wisdom of any man or set of men ; it does not depend, in turn, on the constitution ; the peculiar provisions of the organic or statutory laws. PURPOSES OF THE ALLIANCE. 259 This is evidenced by the fact that the organic law has from time to time been changed, and very materially changed. The statutory law has, at every meeting, been more or less modified and changed to meet new conditions as they arose. There is no way to avoid the conclusion that this great, movement does not depend upon the wisdom of those who started it, upon the peculiar features of the organic or statutory law first enacted, or since modified and changed ; neither does it depend in any great degree upon the intelligence, energy, wisdom, foresight, or capacity of its officers. The greatest mistakes have failed to retard its growth or development. The most serious misconception of its objects and pur- poses, by those acting in the most responsible positions, has in hke manner failed to interfere with its grand onward march. The fact must therefore be recognized, that it is the highest evolution of modern development ; that it is one of a series of steps in the evolution of mate- rial progress, in which the power, force, and benign influences of organ- ization shall reach their height. This must evidently be true, because this organization contemplates securing the co-operation of far the most numerous and most conservative and most intelligent class in the universe. This view of the genesis of the Farmers' Alliance is also calculated to give a correct and acceptable conception of what may be expgrcted of the movement as it reaches higher stages of development. If this is a correct conception of what the Farmers' Alliance is, then it follows of necessity that it will, as time progresses, be recognized by the farmers of this country as a great reserve force for good, a sinking fund of power, a savings bank of force and energy, a great, a powerful, and yet an invisible and ever-present something to which they can apply for power to overcome unjust conditions that may arise at every emergency. The co-operation of the conservative, the good, the honest, and the deter- mined, must mean, when properly carried out, the enforcement of justice, equity, and equality. This conception of the purposes of the order places it above any local or fleeting issue that may be presented, no matter how fierce the conflict may become. It is a co-operation by agriculturists for good and right, for equality and justice. Business contests or political fights may be incidental to these great ends, but they can never supplant them as the objects of the order ; and herein Ues the certainty of perpetuity, since good and right, equality and justice, are everlasting principles, and present a perpetual issue with error, vice, oppression, and discrimination. It is the old issue in which the Divine Master gave up his life as an example of the devotion due to pfinciple, and on this issue the Alliance 26o HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. can certainly be made by the farmers of America the great reserve force of the future, which shall, by wise and conservative methods, meet error and injustice in every shape and form. As such, the order is worthy the most sincere devotion and vigorous support of every member. It is a cause upon which every true philanthropist, as well as every member of the order, should ask the blessing of the Divine Ruler of the universe. It is a living, active, practical, and present embodiment of the cause of Jesus Christ. Every man should work for the cause. No man has yet taken the field and worked actively for the Farmers* Alliance who has not himself grown spiritually and morally. It improves every man to work for the right. This view of the purposes of the Farmers' Alliance shows it worthy the best effort of head, heart, and hand, of every member, and enables us to comprehend the expression often made, that " it is a great educa- tional movement," because it must depend upon education. Agitation and revolution are both calculated to defeat its development, as both must be entirely devoted to a temporary, a local, or a fleeting object that can be obtained, — it would be impossible to agitate or fight for an object that could not be obtained; — but we educate to contend for universal right and justice, which can never be obtained, and still the most good can be secured by striving for it. Hence, methods that5 con- tain the elements of agitation or revolution are not in accord with true Alliance methods. This shows that defeat in any direction will only tend to strengthen and stimulate the Alliance to greater efforts, and success will not intoxicate to indiscretion. If it depended upon agita- tion, defeat would discourage, and success would destroy it, because it would obviate the necessity for its existence. No business effort could possibly be attended with emoluments enough to compensate for the time and energy employed in this great move- ment. The temporary agitation, therefore, of any business method as an object of the order, while it may for a time be very popular, must be followed by a reaction, because when it fails to satisfy it will discourage. The business effort is a method^ and not an object. The lesson to be taught is, to battle for truth for truth's sake, and then the failure or success of methods will not interfere with the grand onward march of the order. The same may be said of the political efforts of the order ; they cannot be its object, but they may be methods. This distinction should be carefully considered and thoroughly understood by every member, in order that each may be able to meet and combat the sophistry of the opposition that is always predicting the speedy disso- lution of the order, when it incidentally takes a hand in poUtics, as it is PURPOSES OF THE ALLIANCE. 261 often found necessary to do. All such action is incidental to the great and grand objects of the order. In conclusion, the above taken together gives a fair idea of my con- ception of the objects and purposes of the Farmers' Alliance ; and it is one in which there is great satisfaction and consolation. It will justify the greatest sacrifices for the good of the order, whether they are appreciated at the time or not. It will stimulate to renewed exertion in the face of defeat, and it will insure caution and conservatism when flushed with success. It bids us use business, politics, or any other laudable and effective agency necessary to secure the triumph of right and justice, and it heeds not the silly cries that prejudice may bring from the teachings of the doctrine of sectional hatred. Ponder it well, and let us remember that the last sentence in the declaration of pur- poses is a reiteration of the song of the heavenly hosts that praised God in the presence of the shepherds for the birth of Jesus Christ, saying, "On earth peace, good-will toward men." CHAPTER VIII. GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF MONEY. By Judge W. A. Peffer, United States Senator, and Editor of the Kansas Farmer, Topeka, Kansas. A CAREFUL consideration of the working people, farmers, and all others whose livelihood depends upon their labor, has satisfied the writer that this general prostration of trade is the fruit of our financial legislation ; that the laws are based on a system wholly wrong and dreadfully vicious; and that the only wise, safe, and permanent remedy lies in the people taking charge of the finances of the country, making their own money in their own way, and issuing it through agencies established by the gen- eral government. Is there anything unreasonable or dangerous in the request that money be issued by the government directly to the people ? It must be remembered that the money of every nation is issued by the govern- ing power. In this country Congress is authorized to '' coin money and regulate the value thereof," and no other body is so empowered. Every American coin, every piece of money, whether of metal or of paper, which has been given to the people as money, was made and issued to them by authority and direction of Congress. Four hundred million dollars in treasury notes were so made and issued in 1862, and the national banking law was enacted one year later for the express purpose of giving more money to the people. At one time the aggregate amount of treasury notes (greenbacks) and national bank notes in use as money, was more than $700,000,000 dollars. Besides these, some of the bonds were used as money. The government issuing money to the people is not a new or untried proceeding. But what the farmers object to is, that the government unnecessarily uses a very costly channel through which to effect the distribution, and the people are charged with the expense ; that is to say, the money is passed to the people through banks, and they — the banks — charge anywhere from ten per cent to twenty-four per cent per annum for making the transfer; whereas, if it were issued to the people directly, without the intervention of the banks or any other private agency demanding profit on the work, the expense would not exceed one to three per cent. If the money is intended for the people (and it is), why not give it to them at once 262 HONOIUBLE W. A. PEFFER, Senator from Kansas. GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF MONEY. 263 through government hands, as postage stamps, for example, are given? In the first place, money belongs to the people; the people's general agent, the government, makes the money, every dollar of it, by authority of the people and for them ; why, then, should banks or any trafficking agency be permitted to trade in it before it reaches the people to whom it belongs, and for whose use it is intended? That practice is not adopted with respect to anything else which the government does for the people. Whatever else it delivers to them passes through govern- ment hands only. What reason can be assigned for delivering treasury notes to the people through banks, that would not apply with equal force to the issuing and delivering to them of patents to public lands, or postage stamps? The object in making and issuing money is, that the people shall have it to use in their business affairs. It would reach them quite as easily and early if sent out through direct channels from the treasury as it does by passing through banks, and it would not cost the people more than from one-tenth to one-eighth as much as the banks and loan agencies compel them to pay. It is believed that this exorbitant charge for the use of money, more than any other one thing, is responsible for the general depression of agriculture. A change must come. It is inevitable.- Farmers cannot pay the principal of their indebtedness if present rates of interest are continued. To pay interest and taxes absorbs all their profits and more. The inter- est on the indebtedness secured by farm mortgages in ten of the North- western States, — Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska, — it is estimated, is equal to a tax of three per cent on the assessed valuation of all the farms in those States. The estimate is based upon the assumption that one-fourth of the farms are mortgaged for one-third of their value. A large propor- tion of the farms are not mortgaged, and that makes it harder on the owners of the farms which are mortgaged. The average rate on loans in these States is eight per cent. The owner of the money loaned does not receive more than six to seven per cent perhaps, but the borrower pays at least eight ; the difference goes to the loan agents. The average rate of taxation for all purposes is three per cent. To this add the in- terest tax, and it is plainly impossible for a two per cent business to pay out. The average net profit in western and southern agriculture, the last six years, has not exceeded two per cent. Some remedy is abso- lutely necessary, and one proposition is to reduce the interest rates to what farmers can afford to pay. But there is a deeper foundation for the doctrine than this, a broader view of the subject, and there is a good affirmative reason for the de- 264 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. mand. The making and issuing of money is the exercise of a sovereign power, in the common interest of the people. All money so made and issued is intended for the use of the people of the particular country, and not for the use of the people of other countries. The first money- changers supplied coins of different tribes or nations to persons who needed them, charging for the service, and from that came banks, used as channels through which money was sent to the people, retaining part of it as compensation. The proper function of money is to serve a public use. The principle involved in its issuance operates in the opening and maintaining of common highways, the erecting of public buildings, estab- lishing water-works, ferries, mills, and schools. All these things are for the use of the people in common, and on equal terms. A postage stamp or a money order is issued through government agents to the people at cost, and without discrimination. People use the highway freely, but may not obstruct it or monopolize its use. And its use is given to them at cost. So it is in every matter which the government manages for the people, except only in the matter of money. It appropriates land of citizens for public use, and permits corporations to build and operate railroads on it for the public convenience, permitting them to charge a reasonable compensation, serving all alike and charging all alike. The object of the Interstate Commerce Law is to prevent discriminations, and give service to the people as nearly as practicable at cost. Money is in no proper sense a commodity. It is a device which the people have made for their own convenience in trade. A merchant doing a cash business uses money just as he uses the street or the rail- road, and he ought to be subjected to no more anxiety about a panic in the money market than he is about the closing of the highway. But it is claimed that banks are necessary for this very purpose of getting money to the people. Then the present banking system is a stupendous failure ; for, while the number of banks is increasing yearly, which shows that more money is needed, the circulation of bank notes is con- stantly and steadily diminishing. The average annual increase in the number of banks during eleven years ending with 1890, is 159, and the bank circulation was decreased ;? 2 25,000,000 between 1882 and 1890. The number of national banks in existence October 31, 1889, was 3319, the greatest number since the inauguration of the system, fhe Secretary of the Treasury said. The amount of national bank notes out on the 30th day of June, 1882, was ^358,742,034, and the amount in circulation September 30, 1889, was ;^i3i,383,334. This was the amount secured by bonds. There were $72,279,398 in process of retire- ment, "represented by deposit of lawful money in the treasury," so that GOVERNMENT CONTROL OE MONEY. 265 this amount was actually retired permanently. The amount reported as in circulation was $203,662,732, but the $72,279,398 represented in the treasury, by "lawful money," must be deducted, leaving $131,383,334. This is conclusive evidence that the banks are consulting their own interests, not those of the government or the people, in the work they do. A retirement of $225,000,000 in seven years is not a satisfactory way of getting money to the people. These banks not only charge high rates of compensation for transferring money from the government to the people, but as soon as bonds became more valuable than their own notes, they called in the notes and took up the bonds. It is conceded by all that some change must be made. The Treas- urer of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Presi- dent, all call attention to this subject as one of very great importance, and more than twenty bills relating to the same matter have been intro- duced in the present Congress. The Treasurer, in his report for 1889, says : " In becoming practically the sole issuer of currency, the govern- ment has assumed the duty of supplying the needs of the public for a circulating medium." Precisely. That is what the farmers say — that the government has assumed the duty of supplying the needs of the public, not the banks, for a circulating medium. It is the public, and not the banks, that need a circulating medium, and the reason of it is, that the use of money is a public necessity. The proper use of money is not to be dealt in as an article of merchandise, like wheat, or coffee, or cloth, but to supply a public need. Then let banks be relieved from the duty of transferring money to the public, unless they are willing to do the work as government agents, and for actual cost. Let them be shorn of their power to expand or contract the " circulating medium " at pleasure, and let their operations be confined to the legitimate functions of banking under rules prescribed by Congress, so that charges shall not only be reasonable, but equal for similar service. Let them deliver government money to the people at cost, or let some other agency be established. And money, being prepared for a public use, ought to be free from taxation, just as a public road is. The objection which is urged against the banks is not that they are banks, but that they are unnecessarily put between the government and the people at an enormous expense, which the people are compelled to bear. Let the banks become government agents, that part of their business being directed from one bureau at Washington instead of by a corps of expensive officers at every bank. If that be done, there need be no further objection. The people will then receive money at cost, and that is what they ask for, The way to ascertain when and where 266 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, the people need money, and how much of it they need, is to let them tell it themselves to persons who are authorized to furnish the money. When postage stamps or money orders are needed, the post-office, not a bank or a loan agency, is sought. The post-office is established ex- pressly to do that class of business, and all persons fare exactly alike. There is no discrimination in the post-office, and there is no change when the " money market " is agitated. There are no " Black Fridays " in the postal business. The amount of money needed is not regulated by rates of interest, but the amount asked for or actually used depends largely upon what it costs. If it commands six to ten per cent in the market, much less will be used than if the rate were two per cent or one per cent, though the amount needed is the same. This rule is well understood, and as applied here it answers a question which is often asked : "How shall we get government money into circulation?" The way is easy, the method simple. Establish agencies to supply the peo- ple with money, leaving them to say how much they need, just as they do now ; but let money go out at cost ; then a great deal more of it will be used, and its effect will soon be seen in better prices and greater thrift among producers. There are two classes of people needing money on loans, — those who want the use of it a long time, and those who want it but a short time. This distinction renders necessary two different classes of agencies for distribution, — one for short-time loans on personal security, the other for long-time loans on real estate securities. For the former purpose national banks, under proper regulation, will do as well as any other agency which could be devised, and probably better than any one of some which may be suggested. But for the latter something altogether different must be provided. For long-time loans let a loan bureau be established in the Treasury Department (under direction of the comp- troller of the currency, who now has supervision of the banks), con- sisting of three commissioners, and agencies in the several States and Territories, with such clerical assistance as may be needed, the com- missioners to apportion the work and superintend its execution. A central agency, located at the capital of a State, might be made the distributing point for that State ; operating, through local agencies, at such convenient places as would best accommodate the people, not exceeding say five or seven in a State like Kansas, and twice as many in Texas, five in Pennsylvania, three in Massachusetts, and so on, extent of territory as well as population being considered in the apportion- ment. The persons in charge of these agencies would enter into bonds, as postmasters and other financial officers do. Long and abundant GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF MONEY. 267 experience proves that government money is perfectly secured by bonds which citizens can give. The mode of operation might be about the same as that now in practice by the most rehable and successful real estate and loan agencies, except, chiefly, that charges to the borrower shall not exceed what it actually costs to perform the work, — which is about one per cent per annum on the amount borrowed. The ex- perience of the best loan companies shows that when considerable amounts are handled, one per cent is ample to pay all expenses. One example may be cited : A well-organized, well-managed Western loan agency has been doing an average business of ^2,000,000 annually for some years, with an average force of twenty persons, whose salaries do not exceed ^1,000 a year. This is equal to one per cent on the amount of business transacted. A considerable part of the work done by a private company would not be required in a government agency. No outside agents, except examiners, would be required ; and if one examiner were kept in every county, to be transported from place to place by applicants for loans, the expense of that department might be materially lessened. One per cent will pay all e^enses of the pro- posed plan as an entirety. The persons in charge of the agency should be stricdy business men, — not politicians, — and appointed on recom- mendation of business men. The superintendent of the central agency might be appointed by the President, and he (the superintendent) should appoint all the local officers, who in turn would employ such assistants as might be needed, subject to approval of the general superintendent. This scheme has all been thought out in detail, but there is not room here to give more than a general outline of it. It is altogether practical, simply applying existing methods in an improved plan. Even in the matter of foreclosing a mortgage, the government would be doing no more than it has done a thousand times in the same courts which would have jurisdiction in cases arising under the proposed plan, the difference being only that in one case the parties were both citizens ; in the other, one of them would be the government. Land sold in favor of the gov- ernment would become government land subject to public sale to the highest bidder. For loans on personal security and for short time, this plan may be adopted : amend the national banking law so that lawful money, instead of bonds, may be deposited as security for circulation ; let banks with small capital be established in small places, say as low as ^15,000 to ^20,000, limiting loans to small amounts. No loan shall be made for more than ninety days, charges not to exceed what would be equal to 2 68 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. one-fourth of one per cent for thirty days ; five-twelfths of one per cent for sixty days ; and one-half of one per cent for ninety days. Permit increase of circulation according to public needs. The withdrawal of bank notes from circulation would not affect the volume of currency, because the notes are secured by lawful money, on deposit, and as fast as notes are retired, an equal amount of lawful money is put out in their place ; for this reason no restriction as to retirement of bank notes need be placed upon the banks. From and after the inauguration of the proposed system, all moneys shall be non-taxable. If bonds are not taxed, — and they ought not to be, — then the money of the people ought not to be taxed in anybody's hands, except it be in cases where it is hoarded in large amounts, and thus kept out of circulation. Lands used for a public highway are not taxed, though lands adjoining are. Money used by the people in the transaction of their ordinary business, in facilitating exchanges of the value of commodities, ought not to be taxed, and the use of money as a commodity ought to be prohibited. No man has any more moral right to monopolize the use of money than he has to exact tribute from persons who travel on the highway, and the legal right ought to be taken away. Money is not to be used for purposes of private speculation, because it is made for the common use of the people as they need it. It is not proposed to keep money on tap for persons to draw at will, as they would draw water from a public fountain ; but for those only who are willing to pay the cost of delivery, as is done in obtaining the service of a railway or ferry company. The fare must be paid, or the service will not be rendered. So in this case, money will not be delivered to per- sons who are not willing to pay the cost of handling it and secure the return of an equivalent at the time agreed upon. It is proposed only to issue money directly to the people as they need it, and as nearly as practicable at cost, on condition that they pay the expense and return a sum equal to that received. The only change from present methods in this respect consists in the lower rate of charges, and in the money being non-taxable. Working people will earn money just as they do now ; but this scheme, if put in operation, will force money into productive industry instead of into mortgages, as now, thus creating new and perma- nent demand for labor ; it will increase the value of products of labor, and that will be good cause for demanding advance in wages. Nothing is proposed which is not now being done in all parts of the country. The changes would be only two: (i) the government would take charge of the work, and (2) the people would get the use of their money at rates which they can afford to pay. It would not require a GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF MONEY. 269 force of more than about three or four thousand persons to operate all the agencies required in the whole country, and they would do as much work as is now done by nearly a hundred times that number, all living off of commissions which borrowers must pay. Three hundred agencies, with an average force of ten persons each, would be enough for some years to come, and one per cent would pay all the expenses of the loan bureau. Money put out on short time and on personal security requires more time and closer attention, with some personal risk to the agent ; the expense is necessarily greater, and for that reason the charges are higher. The banks would go right along as they are now doing, with the changes before suggested. If it be objected that there are too many details for the government to look after, compare it with the Post-Office Department, which consists of a central establishment at Washington, with 59,000 branches in different parts of the country, in charge of 150,000 persons, all looking ^fter details, and doing a business amount- ing to more than ^1,000,000,000 annually. Where will the money come from to start this scheme ? As before stated, the national banks have withdrawn from circulation, since 1882, ;^225,ooo,ooo of their notes. The steady increase in the number of banks (average 159 yearly the last eleven years, as before shown) is evidence conclusive that, judged from the banks' own standpoint, the business of the country is increasing, needing additional banking facifi- ties, and it would seem reasonable that a larger circulation would be needed as much as more banks. But the circulation was contracted by the banks to the amount stated, and this contraction covers precisely the same period in which farming has become discouragingly unprofitable. With the retirement of national bank circulation, prices of wheat, corn, cattle, cotton, and other farm products, and manufactured articles, except sugar, fell about thirty per cent. Let us restore that circulation, and add to it as much as would have been a reasonable expansion, — say ^8,500,- 000 annually, — and issue treasury notes for the whole amount, — ^300,- 000,000. On the first day of March, 1878, the national bank circulation was $313,888,740; and on the first day of October, 1882, it was $356,- 060,348, showing an average annual increase of $8,434,321 during the period of five* years. A like increase during the next seven years, to 1889, would have increased the volume of currency $59,040,247. To this add the $100,000,000 held as reserve for the redemption of treasury notes, and the cash balance, whatever it be, — say $50,000,000, — and we have about $450,000,000 available money to begin with. Repeal the resump- tion law so far as it requires the holding of a redemption fund ; establish 2 70 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL free and unlimited coinage or use of silver, at present weight and fineness, using the coin or bullion as basis for the circulation of paper certificates. This fresh money could be used for the immediate reUef of persons whose homes are mortgaged — to secure debts which are due. They would pay their debts, and the money would at once begin to circulate where it is most needed, — among the toilers. Instead of being used for spec- ulation, it would be used in building, in manufacturing, in mining, in transportation, in making homes, in erecting permanent improvements, and in every legitimate way, where poor as well as rich would receive equal benefit from its use. Being worth less as a commodity to traffic in, because production and traffic yield a profit greater than one per cent per annum, there will be no temptation to deal exclusively in money. And the banks will receive as much profit on the same amount of business as they do now, because relieved from all taxation on their notes and other moneys, and without risk of loss from " corners " and "runs" — the work of gamblers. Money not being taxable, the banks would enjoy an advantage from that source equal to an average of about three per cent per annum — in the new States a little more, in the old ones a little less. This particular scheme is not presented as that of the farmers or of any association. It is an individual contribution to the discussion of the question, — how to get money from the government directly to the people, and at cost. As before intimated, the details have all been thought out, but it is not possible to give more than a skeleton of the plan in this place. It may be objected that a sudden reduction of interest would be equivalent to the confiscation of a large amount of property now invested in money. That, too, has been considered. Did those who thus object estimate in advance the effect of contracting the currency to resume specie payments, increasing the value of money and reducing the value of everything else ? Did they think about how much farmers would lose by the operation of that dreadful process ? And if they did think of it, did they care ? When they now look out over the four and a half million farms of the country, and see that everything there is depressed by reason of low prices, and when they learn that this condition has been present some half-dozen years, are their hearts troubled, and do they feel that the debtor has been wronged and that they are responsible ? Millions of dollars have been sunk by this heartless forcing down of prices, adding to the gains of the already rich. The government is not under obligations to furnish investments for its citizens, but it is bound to supply them with money. The poor have lost enough. Let them have some benefit now from the just protection of the government. Government control of money. 271 What are the special advantages of the proposed plan ? Firsts It would dethrone the money power and make panics impos- sible. Second, It would add twenty-five per cent to the value of all com- modities in general use, — farm products and manufactured goods more particularly. Third, It would save to their owners the homes of a million families within ten years. Fourth, It would afford a good investment for persons of small means. Fifth, It would force money into circulation and keep it there. Sixth, It would aid poor people to obtain homes on the public lands. Seventh, It would encourage the organization of building associations, securing homes for mechanics and other persons of Umited means in cities. Eighth, It would bring banking privileges close to the people. Ninth, It would afford a ready means of relief to farmers who wish to hold their crops a few months; elevator and warehouse receipts would secure money at low rates on short time. Te7ith, A complete record of private mortgages would be kept. Eleventh, It would establish a monetary system that with little change, and that to simplify it and lessen the cost, would be perma- nently satisfactory to the people. CHAPTER IX. THE RACE PROBLEM. By J. H. Turner, National Secretary-Treasurer of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. Since President Lincoln issued his emancipation proclamation, Janu- ary I, 1863, no question has provoked more discussion and serious consideration than this one, and after twenty-eight years of discussion and legislation, until recently the question seemed no nearer solution than it did when the famous proclamation was issued. Writers of every character, both white and black, have taken a turn at its discussion, and have widely differed as to the means to be employed in its solution. In writing this short article, I fully realize the gravity of the subject I have in hand, and will therefore remain near the shore. It is not my purpose to solve this question, but simply to give my experience with the negro in the South, coupled with such facts and suggestions as will enable those who know but very little of the real conditions that exist in the South, to form correct ideas in regard to the true conditions that exist between the great masses of the white and colored people of the South. I shall be perfecdy satisfied with my effort, if I am able to elicit one thought, word, or deed that will help to bring about a better under- standing all over this country, that will bring peace and prosperity to the great common people, both white and black. I hope the reader will pardon me for alluding to myself in this con- nection just enough to state that I was born on a farm in middle Georgia. At the time I was born my father was a slave-owner. I have been intimately associated with the negro on the farm, alt my life, and know something of the relation of the two races from actual experience. What I have to say on this subject shall be entirely free from all party spirit, and solely in the interest of truth. After the war, when the negro found himself a citizen of the United States, he was besieged by a class of pretended friends (I allude to the v/ carpet-baggers from the North) who have proven to be his worst enemies. To control them pohtically, these same carpet-baggers promised each head of a family forty acres of land and a mule, if he would vote right ; that is, for the carpet-baggers. The poor negro was not only promised this, but social equaHty with the whites, and a great many other things 272 J. H. TURNER, Secty.-Treas. N. F. A. and I. U THE RACE PROBLEM, 273 which, since he has found out better, he neither needs nor wants. The negro at that time followed willingly the lead of these fellows, because he had no one else to follow, politically. The white people of the South ignored him poHtically, and hated him, because he followed those whom ' I they knew to be enemies of good government. Under such circum-// stances, the negro was easily led to believe that his old master was his worst enemy, and would again enslave him if he could, though when he would get into trouble or business complications of any kind, the first man to whom he would apply for advice and counsel would be his old master, who would almost invariably give him the best advice, and very often protect and defend him in his business affairs. Thus the two races lived for several years after the war. As years passed on, the negro found that the promises of the politician were made only to be broken. When this dawned upon him, he at once began to rely upon himself, and from that day he began to make prog- ress. He realized the fact that, if he was ever independent and happy, he would have to educate himself and acquire property. All the Southern States have public school systems. The whites and blacks are required to attend separate schools, though the black child receives the same amount of public school fund that the white child does. In my own State — Georgia — the colored children receive more money, in the way of public school funds, than the whole colored population in that State pays taxes of every kind ; therefore they do not contribute anything toward supporting the State government. This statement will doubtless appear strange to those who are unacquainted with the facts, and have only heard the demagogue's side of the question. However, an honest investigation among the white and colored farmers (and they constitute a large majority of the population) will reveal many such facts. The negroes are making a heroic effort to educate the rising genera- tion, and will send their children to school, when the public schools are opened, whether they have anything to eat and wear or not. They will make any kind of sacrifice to send their children to school. A great mistake has been made, and doubtless thousands of honest people have formed erroneous opinions in regard to the relations of the great masses of the two races in the South, basing their opinions upon the reports of riots and other disturbances in the towns and cities, in which, nine times out of ten, no one took any part except a few worth- less negroes, who generally work by the day at some public work, and a few drunken white men, who lounge around the saloons and street comers, and whittle goods boxes. I have never heard of a race riot or 2 74 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. disturbance of any kind in the rural districts of the South, except two or three instances that occurred soon after the war, in what is called the Black Belt of South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. For partisan poUtical purposes, these riots among the worthless whites and blacks about the towns have been paraded in the partisan press of the .country for the purpose of keeping the old fire of sectional hate fanned into a flame. Such things have been used in the North by the politician, in the press and on the stump, to continue a solid Republi- can North, pretendedly that the Southern brigadier might be kepi under; while the same class of politicians in the South has used the same thing to keep a solid Democratic South, pretendedly that negro supremacy might be kept down. The people of the North and South have listened to these politicians, while plutocracy has done its perfect work in robbing both. The poHtician in the South has seemingly been in mortal fear of the negro in politics, all the while, but has so managed as to keep the negro in a solid political phalanx. If the negro was such a menace to good government, and the inferior race mentally, morally, socially, and natu- rally, why have such tactics always been used as would keep them in one solid political party? The true answer to this question will perhaps shed more light upon this subject than a great many are willing to admit is true. It is admit- ting a thing that the evidence will not sustain, if we should claim that a superior race, that has enjoyed the blessings of civilization, education, and culture for ages, is unable to persuade an inferior race ; and if per- suasion were not the thing to use, there were various other expedients to which easy access could have been had, to divide their vote so that negro supremacy would have forever been out of the question. To convince the reader that the negro vote could have been divided long ago, and will be divided in the near future, I will make a short quotation from a newspaper article, written last February, by Rev. J. L. Moore, a colored Methodist minister of Crescent City, Florida, who was a delegate to the meeting of the Colored National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union, which met at Ocala, Florida, at the same time the National Farmers' AUiance and Industrial Union met there. The arti- cle quoted from was written in reply to an editorial that appeared in one of the partisan newspapers of Jacksonville, Florida, on the race question. It is as follows : — " According to our privileges, I think we have helped the white men all they could expect under our condition; and we are not clamoring for social relations with the whites either. We do not want to eat at their tables, sleep in their beds, THE RACE PROBLEM, 275 neither ride in the cars with them; but we do want as good fare as the whites receive for the same consideration. As to the Alliance, in the language of Hon. R. M. Hawley of Missouri, we believe this to be its mission : — "*No protection to party favorites; ho force bills to keep up party and sectional prejudices; no secret caucuses by members of Congress or members of the legisla- tures, to consider matters of legislation. Let these be abolished by law. Also abolish all party primary elections and party conventions for nominating candidates, and provide for a people's primary election, where every voter can write on his ticket the name of any person he prefers for any office, from President down to con- stable. Let the proper county. State, and national officers, who shall be designated by law, receive the returns, count up and authorize the result, which shall be that the candidate receiving the highest number of votes, and the one receiving the next highest number for each office shall be declared the contending candidates for final election. This would empty politics of party strife and all its concomitant evils, and lead to the representation of the leading industry of each district in Congress, and county in the State legislatures. Party bhndness would be removed, and let in the clear light of the science of economical government. I believe that non-partisanism will not reach its full and natural results till these things are accomplished; and this I believe to be the mission of the Alliance.' " But, Mr. Editor, can we do anything while the present parties have control of the ballot-box, and we (the Alliance) have no protection? The greatest mistake, I see, the farmers are now making, is this : The wily politicians see and know that they have to do something, therefore they are slipping into the Alliance, and the farmrers, in many instances, are accepting them as leaders; and if we are to have the same leaders, we need not expect anything else but the same results. The action of the Alliance in this reminds me of the man who first put his hand in the lion's mouth, and the lion finally bit it off; and then he changed, to make the matter better, and put his head in the lion's mouth, and therefore lost his head. Now, the farmers and laboring men know in what manner they were standing before they organized; they lost their hands, so to speak; now, organized in one body or head, if they give them- selves over to the same power that took their hand, it will likewise take their head. "Now, Mr. Editor, I wish to say, if the laboring men of the United States will lay down party issues and combine to enact laws for the benefit of the laboring man, I, as County Superintendent of Putman County Colored Farmers' Alliance, and member of the National Colored Farmers, know that I voice the sentiment of that body, rep- resenting, as we did, 750,000 votes, when I say we are willing and ready to lay down the past, take hold with them irrespective of party, race, or creed, until the cry shall be heard from the Heights of Abraham of the North to the Everglades of Florida, and from the rock- bound coast of the East to the golden Eldorado of the West, that we can heartily indorse the motto, * Equal rights to all, and special privileges to none.' " It is a pretty general custom with the Democratic party in the South, that when the county executive committee meets to arrange for and call a primary election, to nominate candidates for any office, it passes a resolution setting forth that no one except white Democrats will be allowed to vote in that election. This county executive committee is generally made up of the political bosses of the county, — the ones who are looking forward to the loaves and fishes. Why not let colored Dem- 276 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. ocrats vote in a primary election? The politician says to himself: " That would never do ; for then we would soon have the negro vote divided, and the bugaboo of negro supremacy would vanish like the mist before the sunshine, and my occupation, like Othello's, would be forever gone." Judging from the signs of the times, the professional partisan politicians, both South and North, have had their day, and honest, good men will soon rise up and administer the affairs of this nation in the interest of right and justice. Henry W. Grady uttered the true sentiments of the great mass of the Southern people, especially the farmers, when, in his speech before the New England Society of New York, he gave utterance to the following eloquent extract taken from that speech : — " But what of the negro? Have we solved the problem he presents, or progressed in honor and equity toward solution? Let the record speak to the point. No section shows a more prosperous laboring population than the negroes of the South; none in fuller sympathy with the employing and landowning class.. He shares our school fund, has the fullest protection of our laws and the friendship of our people. Self- interest, as well as honor, demands that he should have this. Our future, our very existence, depends upon our working out this problem in full and exact justice. We understand that, when Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, your victory was assured, for he then committed you to the cause of human liberty, against which the arms of man cannot prevail [applause] — while those of our statesmen who trusted to make slavery the corner-stone of the Confederacy doomed us to defeat as far as they could, committing us to a cause that reason could not defend or the sword maintain in the sight of advancing civilization. [Renewed applause.] " Had Mr. Toombs said, which he did not say, ' that he would call the roll of his slaves at the foot of Bunker Hill,' he would have been foolish, for he might have known that whenever slavery became entangled in war it must perish, and that the chattel in human flesh ended "forever in New England when your fathers — not to be blamed for parting with what didn't pay — sold their slaves to our fathers — not to be praised for knowing a paying thing when they saw it. [Laughter.] The rela- tions of the Southern people with the negro are close and cordial. We remember with what fidelity for four years he guarded our defenceless women and children, whose husbands and fathers were fighting against his freedom. To his eternal credit be it said that, whenever he struck a blow for his own liberty he fought in open battle, and when at last he raised his black and humble hands that the shackles might be struck off, those hands were innocent of wrong against his helpless charges, and worthy to be taken in loving grasp by every man who honors loyalty and devotion. [Applause.] Ruffians have maltreated him, rascals have misled him, philanthropists established a bank for him, but the South, with the North, protests against injustice to this simple and sincere people. To liberty and enfranchisement is as far as law can carry the negro. The rest must be left to conscience and common sense. It must be left to those among whom his lot is cast, with whom he is indissolubly con- nected, and whose prosperity depends upon their possessing his intelligent sympathy aud confidence. Faith has been kept with him in spite of calumnious assertions to THE RACE PROBLEM. 277 the contrary, by those who assume to speak for us, or by frank opponents. Faith will be kept with him in the future, if the South holds her reason and integrity. [Applause.] " The above was delivered before a Northern audience ; and to show that Mr. Grady was perfectly sincere in every word he said on this subject, I will now give an extract from a speech delivered by him at the Augusta, Georgia, Exposition, in 1889, which is as follows : — " As for the negro, let us impress upon him what he already knows, that his best friends are the people among whom he lives, whose interests are one with his, and whose prosperity depends on his perfect contentment. Let us give him his uttermost rights, and measure out justice to him in that fulness the strong should always give to the weak. Let us educate him that he may be a better, a broader, and more enlightened man. Let us lead him in steadfast ways of citizenship, that he may not longer be the sport of the thoughtless, and the prey of the unscrupulous. Let us inspire him to follow the example of the worthy and upright of his race, who may be found in every community, and who increase steadily in numbers and influence. Let us strike hands with him as friends — and as in slavery we led him to heights which his race in Africa had never reached, so in freedom let us lead him to a pros- perity of which his friends in the North have not dreamed. Let us make him know that he, depending more than any other on the protection and bounty of govern- ment, shall find in alliance with the best elements of the whites, the pledge of safe and impartial administration. And let us remember this — that whatever wrong we put on him shall return to punish us. Whatever we take from him in violence, that is unworthy and shall not endure. What we steal from him in fraud, that is worse. But what we win from him in sympathy and affection, what we gain in his confiding alliance, and confirm in his awakening judgment, that is precious and shall endure — and out of it shall come healing and peace. [Applause.] " Every time the partisan politician speaks on this subject he purposely complicates and makes it worse ; but thanks to an all-wise Providence for the power that now rests in the hands of the Farmers' Alliance, which has taken up this great question where the noble Grady laid it down. Until the advent of the Farmers' AlHance and Industrial Union and the Colored Farmers, the negroes, as a class, have taken but very little interest in politics for several years. They lost their former faith in politics and politicians, which was very natural to one acquainted with the fact that they had always been loyal partisans, and for their devotion and zeal they had been paid off with a few appointments as postmasters in, most generally, third or fourth-class post-offices. Since the negroes have been organized into the Farmers' Alliance, they have made considerable progress in the study of economic ques- tions, and, judging from the utterances of their leaders, they are willing and anxious to sever all past party affiliations, and join hands with the white farmers of the South and West in any movement looking to a 278 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. betterment of their condition. The white farmers of the South, while they are more reluctant to cut loose from party, are perfectly willing and ready to take the negro by the hand and say to him : We are citizens of the same great country ; we have the same foes to face, the same ills to bear ; therefore our interests as agriculturists are one, and we will co-operate with you, and defend and protect you in all your rights. In proof of the above, I will simply submit the agreement entered into by the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union and the Colored National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union, at their meetings in the city of Ocala, Florida, on the second day of December, 1890, which is as follows : — " Your committee on above beg leave to report that vv^e visited the Colored Farm- ers' National Alliance and Co-operative Union Committee, and were received with the utmost cordiality, and after careful consultation it was mutually and unanimously agreed to unite our orders upon the basis adopted December 5, 1890, a basis between the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union and the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association ; to adopt the St. Louis platform as a common basis, and pledge our orders to work faithfully and earnestly for the election of legislators, State and national, who will enact the laws to carry out the demands of said platform ; and to more effectually carry it into effect recommend the selection of five men from each national body, two of whom shall be the president and secretary, respectively, who shall, with similar committees from other labor organizations, form a Supreme Execu- tive Board, who shall meet as often as may be deemed necessary, and upon the joint call of a majority of the presidents of the bodies joining the confederation; and when so assembled, after electing a chairman and secretary, shall be empowered to do such things for the mutual benefit of the various orders they represent as shall be deemed expedient; and shall, when officially promulgated to the national officers, be binding upon their bodies until reversed by the action of the national assemblies themselves — political, educational, and commercial; and hereby pledge ourselves to stand faithfully by each other in the great battle for the enfranchisement of labor and the laborers from the control of corporate and political rings ; each order to bear its own members' expense on the Supreme Council, and be entitled to as many votes as they have legal voters in their organization. We recommend and urge that equal facilities, educational, commercial, and political, be demanded for colored and white Alliance men alike, competency considered, and that a free ballot and a fair count will be insisted upon and had, for colored and white alike, by every true Alliance man in America. We further recommend that a plan of district Alliances, to con- form to district Alliances provided for in this body, be adopted by every order in confederation, with a district lecturer, and county Alliances organized in every county possible, and that the lecturers and officers of said district and counties co-operate with each other in conventional, business, educational, commercial, and political matters." After the above agreement was entered into, the following communi- cation was received from the Colored National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union : — THE RACE PROBLEM. 279 " To the National Farmers^ Alliance and Industrial Union, convened at Ocala December 3, 1890: Alliance and Co-operative Union recognizes your fraternal greet- ing ; gladly do we accept your right hand, and pledge ourselves to the fullest co-oper- ation and confederation in all essential things." To one who feels a deep interest in this matter, this looks more like a step in the direction of settling this question in the South than any- thing that has ever been done since the question existed. " God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform," and who knows but that he has raised up a Moses, in the person of these farmers* organizations, to lead us out of these our troubles ? So mote it be. CHAPTER X. THE POLITICAL REBELLION IN KANSAS. By Hon. Jerry Simpson, Member of Congress from the Seventh District OF Kansas. In the campaign of the fall of 1890, in Kansas, a new party sprang into power, which gained strength with a rapidity never before equalled. What was the cause that produced this sudden rebellion against the Republican party ? What was the cause of the uprising of the farmers, and what is the remedy for the evils of which they complain? All these are questions pressing for answers ; in fact, they must be answered correctly, and the remedy be applied, if this government is to continue to be a free government by the people. It is not always safe, perhaps, to trust a sick man to diagnose his own case ; neither can you trust to quacks who profess to cure all ills to which flesh is heir with one quack remedy. We seem to have once again entered one of those periods in which nations have been confronted with these same questions : like the riddle of the Sphynx, not to answer was to be destroyed. Never before in the history of the world were there such momentous questions ; never before in .the history of the world was the welfare of the human race so bound up in the solving of these problems. We must now and here settle whether or not we are capable of self government. We must grapple with, and master, this monster which has eaten up the substance of the producers of wealth in every land. The voters of Kansas are the best representatives of the agricultural class of a half-dozen of the best agricultural States in the Union ; they have come West to better their condition ; they are a part of that great throng which is always pressing ahead into new countries, trying to escape the oppression of the men who live off their labor ; but they find that in Kansas, as in other States, it is impossible to get from under the load which is continually being shifted upon their shoulders, and which grows heavier from year to year. They have found that, in the last twenty-five years, the country, under the control of the great Republican party, has passed into the hands of the money power, the capitalists of the country, who have doubled the oppression of the agricultural classes. Having cried in vain for relief through the Republican and Democratic parties, they are at last driven 280 HONORABLE JERRY SIMPSON. M. C, Seventh District of Kansas. i POLITICAL REBELLION IN KANSAS. 281 to desperation, and have resolved to take the political management of the State into their own hands. Out of the necessity to adjust these questions grew up the Alliance movement in Kansas. They began to inquire how it is that in this new State, with its bound- less resources, improved machinery, skilled labor, and its improved means of transportation, the farmers are getting deeper in debt each year ; that this new State, that twenty-five years ago was without debt, is now so hopelessly encumbered that it would not sell for enough to pay its debts. This certainly is not caused by the failure of crops, for the crop of Kansas will average with that of any other State in the Union ; and Kansas has each year a surplus of wheat, corn, hogs, and cattle. Some of our public men have said that it was over-production, that we have been raising too much wheat, corn, hogs, and cattle for the world's'use. Others have said that it is because the farmers are too extravagant. Others that they are idle and spend their time in talking politics. Others that the farmers do not employ the best methods of farming, and do not understand how to make the soil produce the most with the smallest amount of land and labor. All of which is contra- dictory and unsatisfactory, and we must look further for the true cause. They made the discovery after they had lighted the lights in school- houses and began to study and discuss these economic questions. They learned that what a farmer wants when he raises a crop of com and wheat and other products of the farm, is to trade his surplus of such products for the things which he needs ; that he must produce on his farm what he must exchange for the products of the manufacturer, and turn them into money value, which represents the value of all articles. He found that, under the present system of trade, he was prevented from making this exchange with the men who would give him the best bargain ; that he would be fined, in fact, from forty-seven to fifty-two per cent for his trade, and compelled to trade in the market where there is no competition, where competition has been destroyed by laws passed in the interest of the manufacturer ; and through these laws he is forced to bargain with the men who will give him the least of the things he wants for the greatest amount of the things which he does not want, and so he grows poorer and poorer from year to year and consumes less. As this goes on, the manufacturer making the articles the far;ner should consume soon learns that his custom is falling off, and that he must reduce the number of his employees and the wages of those retained. The laborers thus thrown out of employment must also reduce their expenses, and are forced to use less of the products of the farm and 282 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, factory. In this way is brought about vvliat the poHtical wiseacres call an over-production, which is in fact under-consumption. There is an over-production of too many farmers, laborers, manufacturers, profes- sional men, merchants, railroads ; in fact, too many of everybody. There are particularly too many fools who vote to keep up such a system of government, which obstructs trade and progress, and brings poverty and distress upon the whole land. Then, again, when the farmer sends his surplus to market the rail- roads lie in wait for him. In effecting his exchange he must use this great public highway, and he finds that what should be a public blessing is turned into an engine of oppression, and that all the benefits growing out of this great invention are given to the large corporations, which are enabled to rob the people through special privileges granted by laws passed by a Congress whose election has been secured by the free use of money wrung from the people by the charge upon watered stock. Another cause of poverty among the farmers is our system of indirect taxation. Under this system a man is taxed on what he spends, and as the average income of the Western farmer is not more than ^500 per annum, he spends at least $350 of this to support his family. One-third of this is taken from him by indirect taxation, or in bounties to capital- ists or rich corporations. The balance of his income is used up in paying State and municipal taxes. To cover this loss that falls upon him from year to year, he is forced to take out a mortgage on his farm. Then it is that he falls a prey to the grandest robber of them all, the loan agent or shark, who demands upon a mortgage of S500, in some instances, as high as twenty per cent for securing the loan, and from ten to fifteen* per cent for insuring the small buildings on the farm, and then raises doubts about the claimant's right to prove up on it at the land-office, and extracts ten or fifteen per cent for securing the poor settler's title to the land upon which he has lived and worked hard for over five years, in accordance with the homestead law. The farmer, of course, demurs at this exaction; but the time has come when he must buy improved machinery, and pay debts previously contracted, and the government fees at the land-office before he can prove up. He and his wife, fearing that they must give up the fruits of their labor and struggles to build up a new home, sign the papers, and, after the Shylock's exactions, receive from two to three hundred dollars out of the ^500 twelve per cent mortgage, and divide the balance of the swag between the loan agent and the banker, who sells the mortgage, knowing how it has been obtained, to his neighbors, friends, or kinsmen in the East, for the full face of the mortgage, and swaggers around town POLITICAL REBELLION IN KANSAS. 283 as a great financier. The mortgage usually contains the provisions that the buildings shall be kept insured, and the taxes paid on the farm, or foreclosure and eviction can be summarily enforced on the settler, leav- ing him and his family, with his homestead rights to take up public land gone, in a strange land without home or friends. How could it be possible under such a system that the rich should fail to grow richer and the men of moderate means should rapidly fall into the ranks of the extremely poor? Then is it any wonder that the men who followed " old John Brown " into Kansas, on the principle that it was wrong to rob the black man of the fruits of his toil, should rebel when their own welfare is at stake ? It can easily be seen that, after waiting year after year for the Republican party to come to their relief, and each succeeding year seeing relief further off, and that the State had fallen into the hands of the worst political crew that ever cursed any country, under the domineering rule of this arrogant party, con- trolled by this aristocratic ring of political office-seekers, who cared only for their own advancement, forbearance ceased to be a virtue, and the farmers were wise in resolving to take charge of things themselves. They made the discovery that for long years they had been blinded to their own interests by designing politicians, who kept alive the old war issues and prejudices. They resolved to cast aside the chief apostle of this doctrine of hate, John J. Ingalls, and thereby set an example to the rest of the country, particularly to the South. They saw that new issues would be brought to the front that were pressing for adjustment ; there- fore it was time to bury the old ones. With this new declaration of independence, called the "St. Louis Demands," they commenced a political revolution that bids fair to sweep from one end of the country to the other, and drive from place and power the men who fattened upon the labor of the people. That this will be no easy task all history will testify ; for the oppressor never lets go without a struggle, whether he wields his power through military force, the Church, by controlling money, trade, commerce, transportation, through cunningly devised schemes of legislation, or by holding men in chattel slavery. All history proves that this is the selfish, brutal part of the human race, which knows no law but force. Now this rebellion in Kansas is against this principle. The people have been driven to it by oppression from the moneyed class of this country. They have served notice upon the poHticians of the country that, from this time on, the farmers of this country are going to take a hand in its politics. CHAPTER XL THE NEEDS OF THE SOUTH. By Hon. L. F. Livingston, Member of Congress from Georgia, and Presi- dent OF THE Georgia State Alliance. The needs of the South are peculiar, rendered so by a combination of circumstances that the outside world is slow to understand. No other civilized and Christianized people have been so misunderstood and mis- judged. Since the war between the States, the magazine correspondents, newspaper scribblers, and politicians, combined with those who knew the former power and greatness of the South socially, politically, and financially, and actuated purely by prejudice and jealousy, were deter- mined that her reconstruction should never lead to her former prestige. These have all placed the South and her environments before an inquir- ing world in a false light. Nothing has been given so freely, " without money and without price," to the struggling South as advice. This, as usual, comes from people either ignorant of our needs or wilfully opposed to the betterment of our condition, and has proven as worthless as gratuitous. It would prove an interesting chapter in the history of the South if this intermeddling in detail, and the real condition of the people, could be spread out before the civilized world. To do so in this article would neither be appropriate nor consistent with the object for which it is written. We often come to correct conclusions more readily by looking at the negative side of a proposition. There are many things the South does not and never will need, and there are other things that she may, in her future development, require that are inopportune now. There are two great questions that effect her interest : What are her present and pos- sible needs ? and how are they to be obtained ? To present this more clearly, we reassert, first, the things she does not need should be shown. The South does not need a moneyless immigration. This has been a wild and visionary demand, both from home and abroad. The day may come when such immigration would be profitable. At this time it is a struggle on our part to decently support and educate the present popu- lation. Immigration, to be profitable to a country or section, must find an open road to labor, and cheap and ready means of supplying their 284 HONORABLE L F. LIVINGSTON, M. C, Fifth District, Georgia. NEEDS OE THE SOUTH. 285 present necessities. To be contented and useful, their social and politi- cal surroundings must be to some extent similar to those formerly enjoyed. To be prosperous, they must find reasonable compensation from the output of their labor. None of these circumstances would meet the moneyless immigrant in the South. It has been said of some of the populous European countries, thati their greatest need was "more room and fresh air." This cannot be said of the South. We have millions of acres of fertile lands lying waste, and our cHmate is all that could be desired. Proper cultivation of the soil produces the varied cereals and fruits necessary to existfence, health, and comfort of the human family. Peculiar to this South-land we have the cotton crop, upon which the world depends largely for cheap and durable fabrics. Nor do we need brains. The history of this country clearly demonstrates that, from colonial days to the present time, Southern men and Southern women have stood in the foremost rank, whether in the councils of the nation, in the pulpit, on the battle- field, telling the secrets of science, or tilling the soil. Our men have proven themselves equal to every emergency, and our women have been the admiration of the world for their hospitahty, modesty, and intelHgence. With very few exceptions, she does not need additional transportation. Our whole country is checkered with railroad Hnes. We are surrounded, on the east and south, by the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, our great rivers penetrating the same, their navigable currents spreading themselves out over our vast territory. To arrange and display the needs of the South in their order as to importance, we believe that the Alliance has well stated them : First, we need education. I use this word in its true and broad sense. Our people, since the war closed, have had but little opportunity, and less financial ability, for thought and study than any people in modern his- tory. Outside of our cities and towns, our system of popular education has been largely a farce. This has depopulated the rural districts to a large extent, and crowded the thoroughfares of our cities, where a better system usually obtains. Of all the burdens a people can bear, in the way of taxes, ignorance far surpasses all others. We need, therefore, in the South a thorough, practical, and economical system of common- school education. The development of the South means a development of the rural sec- tions. To do this there must be an inducement held out to those who are domiciled outside of the cities and towns. By nature we are shut up largely to the pursuit of agriculture, and no greater mistake can be 286 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. made with our people than to conclude that the manufactories of the world or this country can or should be transferred to this locality. God never intended that one simple section of this world should ever be independent of other sections. We are tied together thus by nature, and the largest amount of happiness and prosperity depends upon the freedom and interchange of ideas and products ; and when friendship reigns supreme between the States in this Union, then will this inter- change of ideas become universal and profitable ; and when absolute control by the government of the transportation of this country can be had, then an interchange of products, with the greatest possible profit to the producer, with no gambling or speculative prices to the consumer, will demonstrate that the products of the one section so peculiarly adapted thereto can be exchanged with other sections at a profit. These conditions, therefore, are necessary to the development of the agricultural South. We need a diversified agriculture to that extent, at least, that will cover the absolute necessities of life. This is rendered vital on account of the fact that transportation and gambling in prices — setting one side the question of supply and demand — are in the hands of those whose motto seems to be to enrich themselves at the sacrifice of the people. No country in the world will admit of greater diversity as to the necessities of life, and to this extent no people are wise and provident who discard the fact. We need, in the South, justice and impartiahty at the hands of our national government. Being purely an agricultural section, the burdens of taxation have largely fallen on our people. Indeed, the discrimina- tion in favor of manufacturers, shipping, fisheries, internal transportation, capitaHsts, gamblers, and speculators, has been wicked and unlimited. This the South demands should stop ; and with the help of the people from other agricultural sections of this Union we are determined it shall stop. We need, in the South, a monetary system, established by the govern- ment, that will promote and protect the industries of the South ; (in this we have a common lot with all industries in this great country ;) a finan- cial system not dependent upon that of European countries, a system not intended primarily to facilitate and build up capitalists from abroad, but a currency distinctly constituted, first for the benefit of American citizens and American enterprises ; a flexible currency, owned and con- trolled by the government, not to be expanded or contracted by capital- ists ; a currency sufficient in volume to meet the demands of every citi- zen of the country, at all seasons of the year ; a currency to be regulated in amount only by the demands of the people ; a currency so cheap as NEEDS OF THE SOUTH. 287 to force capitalists, and those who have the largest share of it, to embark in useful enterprises ; a currency that is calculated to expand and foster the industries of the country instead of promoting isolated and sectional enterprises ; a currency from which the government can derive sufficient revenue to enable them to abolish every vestige of taxation from the necessities and conrforts of life ; a currency that will not interfere with commercial transactions in this country. We need, in the South, perfect friendship, political and financial, with j every other section in this Union. This is indispensable. No nation j can long prosper with bickerings and strife within. But while legislation and administration of law in favor of one section as against another, or in favor of one class as against another, continues, peace will never wreath her chain around this land of ours. " Let us have peace." CHAPTER XII. HISTORY OF THE COLORED FARMERS* NATIONAL ALLIANCE AND, CO-OPERATIVE UNION. By General R. M. Humphrey, Superintendent of the Colored Farmers' National Alllance and Co-operative Union. The Colored Farmers' Alliance had its origin in Texas. The first subordinate Colored Alliance was organized in Houston County, in that State, on the eleventh day of December, 1886. Immediately following this, a number of others were organized in Houston and adjoining counties. The necessity for general organization soon became apparent. Accordingly these several AUiances chose delegates to a central conven- tion, which assembled in the Good Hope Baptist Church, at Weldon, on the twenty-ninth day of the same month. After some discussion and earnest prayer, it was unanimously agreed that union and organiza- tion had become necessary to the earthly salvation of the colored race. The convention then proceeded to adopt the following declaration of principles : — "I. To create a body corporate and politic, to be known as 'The Alliance of Colored Farmers of Texas.' " 2. The objects of this corporation shall be : (a) To promote agriculture and horticulture; {b) To educate the agricultural classes in the science of economic government, in a strictly non-partisan spirit, and to bring about a more perfect union of said classes; {c) To develop a better state mentally, morally, socially, and finan- cially; (^) To create a better understanding for sustaining our civil officers in main- taining law and order; ( a modification of this, persons having a com- modity called silver bullion are now authorized to deposit it in govern- ment warehouses, and the government lends them money on it. Now, if the sub-treasury system will enlarge one of these channels for the dis- tribution of money, and provide for an emergency issue that will increase the volume, so as to keep pace with the suddenly augmented demand, created by dumping the year's product of agriculture upon the market, without increasing the relative volume of money above what is the nor- mal mean average, and provide, also, that such emergency volume shall be of such a character that it will always pass current, on a par value with gold coin, then the sub-treasury plan must be admitted to be a conservative and efficient remedy for the financial question ; otherwise it is not. To this severe test the advocates of the measure are ready and willing to yield. Surely an intelligent public will embrace so liberal a proposition. The sub-treasury system is an enlargement of the present national banking law, the only modifications being that the loan of the bills by the government is not restricted to certain corporations, but is extended to all people who have the required collateral to deposit; and that the collateral so deposited, instead of being restricted to government bonds, a simple evidence of debt, is extended to a few leading products of agriculture that form the basis of the export trade of this country, — notably wheat and cotton, the most potential forms of value to man, — because the entire product is every year demanded by him for con- sumption, and therefore it 'vs, positive evidence of wealth. Surely nothing can suffer from such a conservative extension of the national banking system. The warehousing is not essential; it makes no difference whether the government or the people own the warehouses, or whether private warehouses are used under suitable guarantees ; the object is to base this emergency issue on those products which make such a sudden and augmented demand ; because by so doing the violent contractions of the present system will be avoided. The best money now put in 344 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. circulation, so far as the wants of the people are concerned, is the pension money, because it goes into active circulation. Who will- deny that the money issued by the Secretary of the Treasury to relieve the September squeeze would have prevented the December flurry if it had been issued direct to people who needed it and would have used it, instead of being issued, as it was, in thousand-dollar gold certificates that never changed hands afterwards ? Money put out under the proposed system could never augment the consumer's price, because it could never abnormally augment the relative volume. Take, for instance, any agreed ratio between demand and volume of money, independent of agriculture, and then dump the products of agriculture to create a greatly augmented demand ; issue money to the full amount of one- third of the product of agriculture, which is more than those affected by the sub-treasury plan represent, and there will still be a deficiency in the ratio of the volume that must be supplied by its accelerated speed of circulation; therefore the highest prices, or those which now obtain with the consumer, would not be increased, but the tendency would be to bring the lowest prices, or those now realized by the producer, up to the mean price towards which the consumer's price must also tend. This government now maintains about $346,000,000 of treasury notes, that circulate on a parity with gold, that are based on nothing but the government credit. Several members of Congress have recom- mended that the amount of such notes be increased. This may be done and the amount doubled, or very materially increased, without depreciating such notes from the gold standard; but all must admit that there is a limit, to go beyond which would depreciate such notes, and that such limit is constantly changed by circumstances, such as war, famine, and others. It is hereby claimed that the amount of treasury notes that would circulate, when based on wheat and cotton, would be self-limited to an amount that would always be on a parity with gold, and that none of the disturbing influences which affect government credit would have any tendency to depreciate such notes from the gold standard. In considering this proposition it must be remembered that the farmer is not compelled to deposit his wheat and cotton ; it is entirely optional with him. It is a generally recognized fact that the price of these products is regulated by the export market. The price of the portion exported regulates and fixes the price of the gross product, including all that is consumed in this country. The foreign markets to which these products are exported, and from which quotations are received that regulate domestic prices, are using the THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN, 345 single gold standard of money ; therefore the prices of the products so estimated would be gold prices, and whenever the increase in the volume of domestic currency augmented the general prices of commodities to an exact equality with such gold quotations for these products, the equi- librium of price would be established, and no more would be deposited by the farmers, because any further additions to the volume of the circu- lating medium would increase local prices in local currency, so that it would pay better to sell than to deposit, and the products would come out of the warehouses, and the money go into them, and consequently out of circulation, thus automatically tending to establish and main- tain the equilibrium of stable prices. Absolutely no emergency could possibly arise that would depress such money below a parity with gold. But, in this connection, there is a still more important consideration. If it be true that, of such products as are leading commodities of export, the domestic price is regulated by the export market, then this sub- treasury plan must be hailed as the discovery of a great economic truth. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton must long since have grown restless in their graves at such economics and statesmanship as permit this country to suffer from the evils of having the leading products priced abroad, without claiming, at the same time, the natural benefit that should flow from that condition. The price of these products being fixed by the export price, it depends of course upon the supply of gold and the demand for its use in such foreign countries ; therefore the fluctuations here do not correspond with the general level of local prices expressed in local money, and the producer and consumer are alike at the mercy of the speculator. Nothing is plainer than the following : If domestic price is governed by foreign quotations^ then effective measures should be inaugurated for preserving the satne ratio between the supply and demand for money that prevails in the foreign markets. This is effectually done by utilizing the domestic product, which is priced abroad, as a basis for a domestic issue of currency. This system says, practically : " We have been ham- pered by having domestic prices of these products based on foreign gold, and we now propose to utilize foreign gold as a circulating medium in this country, for the purpose of handling these products which it prices." Now, certificates are issued against gold and silver bullion deposited in the government warehouses, while under the proposed system certi- ficates would be issued against gold coin in circulation abroad but represented by wheat and cotton deposited in the government ware- houses here. This must fully demonstrate the wisdom and conservatism of the system. 346 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. The effect of the introduction of this system, as has been foreshadowed above, is very different from what is generally supposed by those who have read only newspaper criticisms. There is no direct benefit to the farmer, only as it removes discriminations against him ; no direct benefit to him in the warehousing feature. The present law is not considered to be made in the interest of the owner of silver or gold bullion or whiskey, on account of the fact that the government warehouses hold those products : and so it is with the sub-treasury ; the benefit does not flow from the warehousing, but from the fact that money is put in cir- culation when it is needed to keep prices from falling. The result will be a powerful tendency towards stability of price. There will be no dis- crimination for or against any class, but an equal benefit to all. There are absolutely no favors extended to the farmer, but he is given a chance to help himself simply by having the present discriminations against him removed. Of course there are many objections raised against the bill. Nearly all relate to its details. Upon the question of its constitutionality, I will quote from an article by N. A. Dunning, in the National Economist^ which places that point beyond further controversy. He says : • — " The favorite objection to the sub-treasury bill is its unconstitutionality, yet no one has ventured an argument upon that line. In view of the fact that this bill has been so widely discussed, more so perhaps than any other matter of legislation dur- ing the past twenty years, it is somewhat strange that the proof of its being unconsti- tutional has not advanced beyond mere assertions. So far all objections have been confined to the details of the plan, while its principles have been entirely ignored. The main points in the bill involve the right of the government — " I. To purdhase land. " 2. To build warehouses. "3. To appoint agents. " 4. To receive deposits. "5. To loan money. " Upon the constitutionality of these propositions the sub-treasury bill must stand or fall. It has been said before, and it is well to repeat, that the most ardent sup- porter of this measure desires to have all its provisions strictly within the limits of the Constitution. The right of government to purchase land, build warehouses, appoint agents, and receive deposits of grain, merchandise, and the precious metals, is so clearly and fully set forth in the system governing the execution of the internal revenue laws, the customs laws, or those of the Treasury Department as to need no repetition at this time. No functions of government are more clearly defined or practically applied than are these, as shown by the following incident. Learning that the basement of the post-office at Kansas City, Missouri, was being used as a warehouse for whiskey, a communication was sent to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which elicited the following response, dated July 12, 1890, from Assistant Secretary of the Treasury George S. Batcheller : — THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN, 347 « ( I have to acknowledge the receipt, by reference, of your letter of the loth instant, addressed to the honorable Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and in reply to the inquiry therein contained relative to the authority under which the basement under the United States custom-house and post-office building at Kansas City, Mis- souri, is used for warehouse purposes, particularly for the storage of whiskey, I have to refer you to act of Congress approved April 29, 1878, chapter 67, page 39, volume 20, U. S. Statutes at Large, and to section 2962, Revised Statutes.' " The act of Congress referred to provided for the purchase of suitable grounds on which to erect a building to be used as a post-office, custom-house, bonded warehouse, and office of internal revenue collector. Section 2962 of the Revised Statutes is as follows : — " ' Any merchandise subject to duty, except perishable articles, also gunpowder and other explosive substances, except firecrackers, which shall have been duly entered and bonded for warehousing, in conformity with existing laws, may be deposited, at the option of the owner, importer, consignee, or agent, at his expense and risk, in any public warehouse owned or loaned by the United States, or in the private ware- house of the importer, the same being used exclusively for the storage of warehoused merchandise of his own importation or to his consignment, or in a private warehouse used by the owner, occupant, or lessee, as a general warehouse for the storage of warehoused merchandise; such place of storage to be designated on the warehouse entry at the time of entering such merchandise at the custom-house.' " The above citations constitute the authority by which the government at this present time purchases lands, builds warehouses, and receives deposits for storage. The appointment of agents to perform these duties is a necessary sequence. " In view of these facts, if the bill is unconstitutional, it is because of that pro- vision which requires the government to loan money. If, therefore, it can be shown that the government has loaned money, and that the Supreme Court has decided it proper and legal, further objections to the bill must be confined to its details. "The act of February 16, 1876, placed in the hands of the Centennial Finance Committee ^1,500,000 of government funds, to be used in completing the arrange- ments for the Centennial Exposition. This money was to be returned to the govern- ment out of certain moneys, after the close of the exposition. A bond* in the sum of $500,000 was exacted for the performance of the provisions of the act. When the time for payment came, this committee refused to liquidate the debt to the gov- ernment, setting up a different construction of the act. A suit was commenced, and finally taken to the Supreme Court, where it was argued at length, Chief Justice Waite giving the opinion of the court (U. S. Reports, S. C. 94, Otto IV., page 500), which is given in part : — "'The act of 1876 requires the payment of the United States before a distribution of profits to stockholders. Not a word is said about restoring capital; in fact, there is no mention of capital at all. The act of 1872 is not repealed. On the contrary, it is left in full force in every particular, save that the liability incurred to the United States is made payable after those contemplated by the act of 1872 are satisfied in full. In this the United States made a concession to creditors, but not to the stock- holders. Neither was anything taken from the stockholders; they retain all the rights which the act of 1872 gave them. If there had been no appropriation by Congress, the corporation would have been driven to the necessity of raising the required means by borrowing or a further sale of stock. If by borrowing, the debt SO created would have to be paid with the others, before there could be any dividend 34^ HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. to stockholders. If by sale of stock, the new stockholders would come in pro rata with the old, upon the final division of assets. " * Congress might have advanced the money by loan, as well as upon the condi- tions it did impose. It might also have subscribed to the stock. If a loan had been made, and there had been no waiver of the legal rights of the government as a creditor, this debt would have preference over all others in the order of payment. If stock had been taken, the government would have participated in the final distri- bution like any other stockholder. It seemed best, however, not to adopt either of those plans, and another was devised, by which creditors were given preference, and the United States remitted for their indemnity to the fund which might remain after all the debts were paid. To this the corporation assented, and the stockholders can- not now complain. Creditors were protected, and the stockholders not injured. . . . The decree of the Circuit Court must be reversed, and the case remanded, with instructions to enter a decree directing the payment of the sum of 51,500,000 into the treasury of the United States, by the commercial board of finance, before any division of the remaining assets of that corporation is made among the stockholders.' "In 1884 an act was passed loaning ;^i,ooo,ooo to the Cotton Exposition, to be held at New Orleans. This bill was fully and exhaustively debated, and finally passed by a vote of 132 to 87. The caption of the bill was : — " ' An act to make a loan to aid in the celebration of the World's Industrial and Cotton Exposition. • "'Section i. That the sum of ^1,000,000 be, and the same is hereby, appro- priated out of any money in the public treasury not otherwise appropriated, as a loan to the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, to be used and employed by the board of management thereof, to augment and enhance the success of the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, in such manner as said board of management may determine.' " In the course of this debate the matter was at all times treated as a loan, and in nearly every instance spoken of as such. In a question to Hon. W. D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, Mr. Bland said : — " ' I will ask the gentleman whether the provision is in the same language as the appropriation in the case of Philadelphia? In that instance the money was only recovered by the government upon suit in the Supreme Court. In other words, the city of Philadelphia refused to pay the money back to the governmesit, and suit was instituted for it. And I remember that the gentleman from Pennsylvania argued on this floor that the Springer amendment did not reserve repayment of the money. " * Mr. Kelley. An amicable action was entered to determine whether it was a loan or a gift. " * Mr. Bland. The gentleman claimed that it was a gift. " * Mr. Kelley. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Springer] appeared before the court to argue that it was a loan. It was so decided, and the money was paid immediately.' " Mr. Cannon, of Illinois, said : — " * The committee, desiring to guard the interests of the government, and to pre- vent the recurrence of the condition of affairs that happened at Philadelphia, namely, the squandering of great amounts in expensive buildings, to guard against the expen- diture, say, of four or five million dollars, provides in this bill that no more than the one million which we loan, and the amount which has been subscribed and might be donated, should go into the buildings; and then the bill further provides to secure THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN. 349 that no more than that amount should be expended, and that the whole assets of this corporation, after the current expenses from day to day are paid, shall be held sacred to pay this $1,000,000 to the government ; provides for a bond, which is conditioned as the act states, and the setting apart of the surplus after the payment of current expenses, to indemnify the government. "*Mr. Kelley, An exhibition such as is proposed to be held at New Orleans, at which shall assemble the world in its best mechanical and commercial power, and in which convocation the American people shall be the active and predominant ele- ment, will pay the American people at a minimum estimate $100 for every dollar that may be lost, even if the government shall never receive back one dollar it may loan it. " ' Mr. Henderson of Iowa. Iowa is knocking at the door of Congress to-day, and I am but voicing her feeling when I ask that the government shall loan from its vast surplus in the treasury enough to put this great exhibition grandly, solidly, and successfully upon its feet. [Applause.] " ' Mr. Sumner of California. As I am clear in my opinion that this is a con- stitutional proposition, I do not hesitate, but cheerfully and eagerly improve this two- minute opportunity to commend the bill. " • Mr. Lane. I do this for this reason : I recognized the propriety of the loan to the Centennial Exhibition; it was the centennial year, and was designed as a celebration of our one hundredth national anniversary. This, however, is not for that purpose. *" Mr. Cannon. I was a member of Congress when the act passed authorizing a loan by the United States to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. " * Mr. Horr. When the loan, as I understand it, was made to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, it was for a million and a half of dollars, I believe; is that correct? " ' Mr. Blanchard. That was the amount. " ' Mr. Horr. Then we required a bond of only $500,000. Now, the bond is fixed here at $300,000 for a loan of $1,000,000, which, I take it, is about equivalent to what we did in the other case; and that bond is not to secure the repayment of the million of dollars, but, as the bill itself will show, is for the purpose of securing the honest and efficient action of the people in charge of it, and a careful expendi- ture of the funds intrusted to them; and it is fully as large as the bonds which are usually required under our form of government, for any such purpose, " * Mr. McCord. I favor this bill, and I am not deterred from supporting it by the constitutional question. It seems to me that gentlemen who question the power of Congress to legislate in this way could easily satisfy themselves by finding warrants in two or three of the granted powers delegated to Congress. The one which provides for the general welfare certainly has been constructed broadly enough to cover this. " * Mr. Breckenridge. Mr. Chairman, in regard to the proposition now before the Committee of the Whole, it simply involves the requirement of security for the repayment to the government of this loan of $1,000,000, and the question of con- stitutional power in the premises. The amendment proposed is a hard exaction ; it is an unprecedented exaction. This appropriation is not only justified by precedent, but it is also, in my opinion, clearly within the purview of the Constitution and the province of the Congress. That clause about which some gentlemen here stickle so much gives Congress power to raise revenue, and what does it say you may do with that revenue? It says you may pay the public debt, and you may provide for the general welfare by appropriations of that revenue. 350 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. " ' Mr. Bayne. There is but one clause in the Constitution which authorizes the Congress of the United States to expend this million of dollars or to loan it. The clause which authorizes Congress to levy taxes to provide for the common defence and general welfare is the source from which Congress must derive its authority to loan this money or expend it. •* * Mr. Money. A new set of circumstances has now arisen, and if it seems proper to this House that the government should support this great enterprise by a loan to it of ^1,000,000, I cannot see any valid objection to it. " ' Mr. Wolford. I believe it is perfectly constitutional, and I base that belief upon the power given by the Constitution of the United States to Congress to pro- vide for the general welfare of the United States. I agree with Judge Story that that is a distinct power, and I believe that under that grant of power the Congress of the United States has authority to pass any law that will do good, that will bless the people, that will make them happy.' " Discussing this proposition, Mr. Gates is on record as saying : — '"This is not an appropriation proper; it is a loan. While it is an appropriation in form, it is nevertheless a loan upon security for return. . . . This, mark you, is not an appropriation outside of the Constitution. It is a loan. It is competent for the government to make a deposit, and it does it with bankers all over the country, wherever it thinks proper. That money is to be returned, and if this money is returned, what harm will be done? If it is outside of the power of Congress to do this, then the action of Congress would be hampered in providing sufficient legis- lation.' "When the vote was taken upon the bill, it was passed by 132 to 87. The yeas were as follows: Adams, G. E., Atkinson, Anderson, Barksdale, Bayne, Belford, Belmont, Bennett, Bisbee, Blanchard, Boutelle, Breckenridge, Bremer, F. B., Brown, W. W., Buchanan, Cadwell, Campbell, I. M., Cannon, Clements, Collins, Crisp, Cul- berson, W. W., Cullen, Cutcheon, Davidson, Davis, G. R., Davis, R. Y., Dibble, Dibrell, Dorsheimer, Dunham, Dunn, Elliott, Ellis, Evins, I. H., Findlay, Follett, Forney, Funston, Garrison, George, Gibson, Glascock, Graves, Green, Hammond, Hanback, Hancock, Hardeman, Harmer, Hart, Hatch, H. H., Hemphill, Hender- son, T. I., Henley, Herbert, Hewett, G. W., Hitt, Hopkins, Horr, Houk, House- man, Howey, Hunt, Jeffords, Jones, B. W., Jones, I. H., Jones, J. T., Jordan, Kasson, Keifer, King, Lewis, Lore, McCord, McCormick, Money, Morrill, Morrison, Murphy, Neece, Nelson, NichoUs, Gates, O'Hara, O'Neill, Charles, O'Neill, J. J., Payson, Peelle, S. J., Perkins, Peters, Petibone, Phelps, Price, Pryor, Pusey, Randall, Rankin, Ranney, Reed, Reese, Rice, Rogers, J. H., Rogers, W. F., Rowell, Ryan, Shelley, Singleton, Skinner, T. G., Smalls, Spooner, Steele, Stevens, Stewart, Charles, Stone, Sumner, C. A., Throckmorton, Tilman, Tully, Van Eaton, Wakefield, Ward, Well- born, White, Milo, Whiting, Williams, Willis, Wilson, James, Wilson, W. L., Wilford, Woodward, Young. " After passing the House, the bill went to the Senate. It was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and upon its recommendation was passed, with a few amendments and but little debate. The concensus of opinion in the Senate was so unanimous in favor of the bill that a yea and nay vote was not taken. The Senators spoke of it as a loan. " Senator Plumb considered it a loan, and in his remarks said : — " * There are chances, and, I think, a majority of chances, that the government will be repaid the money. THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN. 35 1 "* Senator Maxey. When we made an appropriation in the nature of a loan to the Centennial Exposition, in 1876, we gave a million and a half dollars, and there was no objection to that. " * Senator Garland. The bill has undergone the scrutiny of the entire Com- mittee on Appropriations, and long and tedious investigation, and the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Cockrell], who is acute and alert as to these matters, has given it his careful attention, and he reports that it is perfect in this respect. The United States is in no danger in reference to getting back this million of dollars. " * Senator Maxey. I suggested to the Senator from Kansas [Mr. Plumb], when he was on the floor, that we had loaned to the Centennial Exposition a million and a half dollars. " ' Senator Frye. I would be for it, if I knew the Exposition would not pay a dollar back. " * Senator Miller. I would rather vote for the bill as it stands, loaning a million dollars, than to vote ^500,000 as a gift. " * Senator Allison. We have restricted, so far as it is possible to restrict, the expenditures preparatory to this exposition, to the subscriptions, and to the amount of this loan. " ' Senator Allison. I move to amend the title so as to make it read, " A bill to make a loan in aid of the celebration of the World's Industrial and Cotton Ex- position.' " " The opponents of the sub-treasury plan have assumed that it was visionary, impracticable, and unconstitutional. The friends of the measure have endeavored to show the reverse as being true. That it was well considered before given to the public is no longer denied. That it is practical, or with some modifications as to detail can be made practical, is being discussed in a manner that leaves no room for doubt upon that point. As to its being strictly within the limits of constitutional law, the amount and character of the evidence given in this article upon that portion of the question must be considered by all fair-minded persons as absolutely con- clusive. " What more can the friends of this measure do to obtain the assistance of those senators and representatives who prefer, and no doubt feel an interest in, their farmer constituents? The last valid objection is now removed, and nothing but details remain. It is earnestly hoped and expected that all captious objections will now cease, and an honest effort be made to give the measure a fair trial." In conclusion, let us consider the cost of the experiment. The grain crop of the United States, for the year 1889, amounted to 2,660,45 7,000 bushels. At least two- thirds of it will be retained at home for consumption. This will leave 886,819,000 bushels that will be stored during the year. These crops mature at different dates of the year, and the demand for their consumption is evident. It is, therefore, safe to say that not more than one- third of the whole amount will be in the elevators at any one time. This will amount to not quite 300,000,000 bushels. It is a well-known fact that those elevators will not cost exceeding fifteen cents per bushel. This amounts to |)45, 000,000. To be liberal, we will say 352 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. that it will be necessary to erect looo warehouses, each costing ^30,000. This will necessitate an additional expenditure of $30,000,000 ; that is to say, it will require to carry this plan into full and perfect operation all over the country, $75,000,000 — not twice as much as the deferred pay- ments on whiskey. The question naturally comes in just here : Will this expenditure in any manner impoverish the treasury of the United States? By referring to the last monthly statement of the Treasurer of the United States, it will be seen that there is now, and has been since 1875, locked up in that treasury $100,000,000 in gold, and that it has been, and is still being, held foi: the purpose of redeeming outstanding United States legal tender notes. This money could be used for this purpose, as there is no law which placed it there. The benefits of this measure would be many. Among them might be mentioned the following : — It will place about $550,000,000 in circulation and in the hands of the people, at an annual cost of $5,500,000. To get this amount of currency into circulation under present laws, the following would be necessary : A national debt of $610,000,000, upon which to base the issue of national bank currency, the interest upon which at four and one-half per cent amounts to $27,450,000. This would take the money from the national Treasury, and put it into the vaults of the banks. To get this money from the banks will cost the people at least $55,000,000 more. The two together make $82,450,000. By deducting amount of interest necessary under our system, we find the farmers will save $76,950,000 annually. Besides, under our system, the rate of fire insurance can and will be reduced at least one-half the present rate. This will add at least $20,000,000 to the savings. The economy in handling that will necessa- rily follow the carrying out of this plan cannot add less than S 2 0,000,000 more. Again, under the working of this plan the grain-raisers will save, at the very lowest estimate, ten cents per bushel on every bushel stored. This will add another saving of $88,681,900, and not raise the prices that producers now pay for it ; but, on the contrary, the price will be rather reduced. The cotton-raisers will save, by this system, at least one-half cent on each pound of lint cotton. This will add $17,347,000 to the ■ savings, and not raise the price to the manufacturer one cent on fifty bales. The savings on tobacco, sugar, rice, and wool cannot be less than $8,000,000. All these savings together amount to the enormous sum of $220,978,900 to the farmers annually. Thus we see that, by investing $75,000,000 in erecting buildings that will last fifty years or more, we will be enabled to save annually, in the hands of the producer, $220,978,- 800 that now goes into the pockets of usurers and speculators. THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN. 353 The carrying out of this demand will confer as many and as rich ben- efits to every one engaged in any legitimate calling as it does to the farmers. All who are well posted know that more merchants have been ruined by speculating in produce than by anything else. The mercantile business in the agricultural towns has drifted into this unnatural and ruinous attitude by the credit system, this system becoming an imperative necessity by reason of the contraction of the currency. Our system relieves the merchant of this, his worst enemy, by saving $220,978,900 to his customers annually, which would soon enable them to pay cash. The manufacturers under the present system are forced to enter the market and purchase within three months sufficient material to run their machinery the entire year, to prevent speculators from cornering the supply. To be able to purchase such large supplies at one time, they are compelled to apply for loans, mortgage their property, pay exorbitant interest, which must be added to the manufactured article. This must, of course, augment the price, which in turn forces under-consumption, which in the end can only enrich the usurer and involve producer, man- ufacturer, and consumer in one common ruin. This system will relieve the manufacturer of this as well as other use- less expenses. Our unexcelled facilities for rapid transportation and instantaneous transmission of intelligence conspire to make the carrying out of this plan the more easy. The manufacturers will not be com- pelled to buy more than one month's supply ahead, knowing that a suffi- cient supply can be had at any time. They will not be compelled to borrow large sums of money at exorbitant interest, for the manufacturers will find out at once that the crop will not be sold to speculators, but held for consumption. The eliminating of speculation will enable pro- ducers to carry more from the manufacturer; hence self-interest, if nothing more, will make the producer, manufacturer, and consumer co-operate in supporting this demand. It is a well-known fact that the railroads are blocked with freight for about three months during the year, by the haste now practised in marketing the crops. Railroads are compelled, in order to hold their trade, to buy large additions to their rolling stock, to stand idle upon the sidings for nine months in the year. This necessitates a large out- lay of capital, which of course is added to the freights, and in the end is always charged to the producer. This system will distribute the ship- ments through the entire year, and enable the railroads to give their employees regular employment ; hence it is to the interest of railroads that our system should be put in operation. This system will enable the millions of farmers of the West to pur- 354 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. . chase thousands of tons of coal from the starving miners of the East, and feed the miner and his family on the corn that speculation now compels them to burn for fuel. What an absurdity to cry overproduc- tion when those who raise bread burn it for fuel, while those who dig coal must quit because they cannot exchange it for bread ! Our system will emancipate the true merchant, manufacturer, farmer, and laborer. That it benefits the railroads and every other legitimate industry ; that the prosperity of our people demands it ; that common sense, honesty, and fair play demand it ; that every principle of humanity demands it ; that the genius of advancing civilization demands it ; that the perpetua- tion of free and just government demands it ; that the plan is perfectly feasible ; that its cost is insignificant ; that its benefits will be enormous ; that no more pressing necessity could exist for it ; that it will make every industry prosperous ; that no one will be injured by it ; that no sound reason can be urged against its adoption, — for these, and many other reasons, every prompting of an honest heart demands that we adopt it. Let us align ourselves on the side of right, and forever free our people from the power of money to oppress, and march forward to a new civilization, thereby making our institutions the beacon light of liberty to the oppressed of all nations, and make of our people a nation of patriots, full of strength and prosperity. In such a country, every laboring man will own his own home, free from execution, across the threshold of which no usurer or other tyrant dare pass. Let us unite in making our country — "The land of the free and the home of the brave, Where no man is master, and no one a slave." WASHINGTON MONUMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C. CHAPTER XXII. BUSINESS EFFORTS OF THE ALLIANCE. The term " business," as now understood, contains numberless factors within its meaning that did not obtain in ancient times. These increased and kept pace with the advancement of civilization, and will so continue as long as intellectual advancement is made. Primitive business was nearly, if not quite, a sort of limited barter, in which nothing but labor values were considered. It was a simple exchange of the product of one individual for the product of another, in which the amounts of patience and manual labor were the only factors, aside from desirability for use. Under these conditions the products of individuals and tribes were exchanged. The fur of one tribe, for instance, was exchanged for the fish of another tribe in a different section. It soon became apparent that, in making these exchanges, one party or the other gained an advan- tage, as there was no method of dividing the different products so as to represent the exact divisions of labor values. In this dilemma resort was had to an expedient which proved so successful as to be accepted as an additional factor in all exchanges. By common consent certain shells, or beads made from shells or other materials, were endowed with the function of representing certain divisions of labor values. By this means, when a piece of fur was worth more in labor value than two fish, and not quite as much as three, the difference was evened up through the medium of these shells or beads. As exchanges multiplied, the demand for these shells and beads increased, until, most unfortunately for the human race, some one accumulated a sufficient number to make an e'xchange without the aid of barter. Then began the difficulty between currency and labor, which has come down to us under the modern term of a '' war between capital and labor." The shells and beads of primitive business are the prototypes of the dollars and cents of the present generation. And the same desire which actuated the fur- clad possessor of these shells and beads, in demanding as much fur and fish for them as possible, is seen to-day in his modern imitator, the money-owner, who is seeking by all means, fair or otherwise, to obtain as much of the fruits of labor in production as he can, in exchange for his dollars and cents. Through the introduction of this medium of 355 356 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. exchange, by which the necessity of barter was ehminated, an endless number of elements, conditions, methods, and factors has been added to the term now known as business. In the evolution which time has brought about since the days of barter, many other materials have been used in the place of shells and beads, but the functions have remained the same. Usury soon made its appearance, and, as now, became a flourishing and remunerative occupation. Banks were operated with the usual results. Bank bills, or paper money, were invented, and the fine art of appropriating the substance of the people, without due course of law, has been carefully and successfully systematized. In all ages of the world the producer and consumer have protested against the demands and intrigues of capi- tal. Sometimes these attempts have been successful, but as a rule they have resulted in failure. It would be both interesting and instructive to trace these different attempts, at different periods in the world's history, but space will not permit. One of the most important parts of the declaration of principles of the Farmers' Alliance is the one that gives sanction to the idea that the membership are to strive for financial improvement. A belief seems to have prevailed in the order, from its earliest history, that direct financial improvement might be expected, as a result of co-operation in a business system by the membership. An outline of the effort made to secure this important result by that method, will be sufficient to show the principles involved and the lessons to be learned. The first Farmers' Alliance was organized for business, and the entire order has been a business organization, for business purposes, from that day to the present ; but the methods of co-operation to secure that end have been many, and often conflicting and expensive. The first effort at co-operation, to develop the business feature of the Alliance, seems to have been in the establishment of Trade Committees, as a part of the various County Alliances in the State of Texas. They usually consisted of five of the best men, chosen from different sections of the county. They were expected to meet the merchants and dealers in the county, and to receive, consider, and act upon any trade arrangement that might be offered. The idea upon which the system was based was that often a country town contained six or eight stores and dealers, where two or three could transact all the business, without an increase of force or investment, and that, could the trade be concentrated so as to employ a less number of men and less capital, the saving thus made should accrue to the purchaser, in the shape of lower prices on the commodities pur- chased. The Trade Committees, therefore, sought to get one or two BUSINESS EFFORTS. 357 merchants in a town to make a written proposition to sell merchandise to members of the Alliance in good standing, who held " trade cards " stating that fact, at a specified rate of profit, which was to be much less than the average rate of profit current at the time in that locahty ; and in exchange fox such concessions on the part of the merchant, the Trade Committee, if they decided to accept the proposition, had full authority, and would agree that the trade of the entire membership would be concentrated and placed with such merchant. All complaints of overcharge or any violation of agreement, were made to the Trade Committee. This committee also had access to the merchant's books, and were in possession of his cost mark, and had access to his invoices ; and it was their duty to frequently examine into his business, and see that he was complying with the contract. As a further precaution, it was generally stipulated and agreed to, that the merchant should employ at least one Alliance clerk, who should be at liberty to report any viola- tions of the contract to the Trade Committee. While this trade contract system was being extensively tried, an effort was also made to co-operate in the sale of the products of the farm, and in some counties Alliance cotton yards were established. This feature was thoroughly discussed at the annual meeting of the State Alliance in Cleburne, Texas, in August, 1886, and the membership were advised to bulk their cotton and have sale days, to which buyers from the cities should be invited, to compete for the purchase ; and when practicable, the Alliance was advised to establish their own cotton yards, for receiv- ing, weighing, sampling, grading, and shipping that product. The plan of bulking large lots of cotton, so as to secure buyers from a distance to compete in the purchase, was not successful. For a while it acted as a spur to local buyers, and kept up prices ; but after several lots had been bulked, and all buyers had combined against it, the sale was sometimes made at a loss, and the plan as a whole, after two years' experience, was gradually abandoned. While the bulking system has been abandoned, the Alliance cotton yards have largely been developed into Alliance warehouses, and they have stood the test, and will remain as an important and permanent feature of the business effort. In January, 1887, the National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union was organized. No national business system was provided for; but the State Alliance of Texas, which met at the same time, modified its constitution so as to provide for a State business agent, to be elected by the Executive Committee, and to be under the control of that com- mittee. This is the first record of any attempt at State co-operation in- business by the order. All previous action by the State Alliance had 35^ HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. tended to produce co-operation in county efforts, but the establishment of a State agency was calculated to secure co-operation between the counties in a State effort. C. W. Macune of Milam County was chosen by the Executive Committee to fill the important position of State agent, and to demise and put into active operation co-operation between the counties.'^ He received the appointment about March i, 1887, and immediately issued a circular letter to the different County Alliances, calling on them to select a county business agent, place him under bond, provide for his expenses, and empower him to represent the county business effort. He then visited Boston and Fall River, to try to make arrangements for the sale of the next cotton crop. It was found that the agency could handle cotton and sell direct to the factories, provided it had sufficient capital behind it to be responsible for its contracts. This was reported to the State Alliance, which convened in August of that year, and was one of the causes that led to the formation of the State Exchange. After the report of the State business agent was received by the State Alliance of Texas, in 1887, the following action was taken, authorizing the establishment of the Farmers' Alliance Exchange of Texas. Committee on Dr. Macune's plan of the Alliance Exchange was com- posed of the following gentlemen : Harrison, McLellan County ; Mathes, Coryell County ; Rogers, Anderson County ; Cagle, Montague County ; Eddie man, Denton County ; Binford, Kaufman County ; who reported as follows : — " By-Laws. "This corporation shall be known as The Farmers' Alliance Exchange of Texas. " The object of this corporation is to negotiate the sale of the cotton and other products, and stock, and such other property, personal, real, or mixed, as may be desired by the members of the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas; also, the purchase of all such commodities, machinery, and other things as may be desired; also, to erect suitable buildings, storehouses, and appliances for conducting such business, and furnishing the necessary hall room and offices for the officers of the said Farmers' State Alliance, and such other purposes as may be desired by the said order. "The capital stock of this corporation shall be ^500,000, divided into twenty-five shares of ^20,000 each, and one-tenth of one per cent shall be paid on the subscrip- tion of the stock. The twenty-five stockholders of this corporation shall be elected by the Farmers' State Alliance of Texas, as follows : At this present August session of said State Alliance, of 1887, there shall be two elected from each congressional district in the State, and three from the State at large; and immediately after elec- tion, their names shall be placed in a hat and drawn one at a time : the first nine drawn shall hold office one year, the next eight shall hold office two years, and the last eight shall hold office for three years; and the term of office for each stockholder BUSINESS EFFORTS 359 shall hereafter be three years, and the said State Alliance shall, at each regular annual session, elect stockholders to fill all vacancies. " Each stockholder shall hold one share of stock in this association, in trust for the benefit of the members of the Farmers' State Alliance, and shall discharge his duties as owner in trust of said stock, to the best interest of his constituents, and turn over all stock and every privilege accruing therefrom to his successor in office. The stockholders of this corporation shall elect from among their number an Executive Board of three members, who shall be the Board of Trustees, and who shall have the general supervision and management of all the business, and shall procure such charter or charters from the State of Texas as may be necessary to carry on the work and business desired to be done. They shall be governed by such general by-laws as the stockholders may from time to time adopt. " In order to raise the capital stock above entrusted to the stockholders, for the benefit of the members of the Farmers' Alliance in the State of Texas, each Far- mers' Alliance in the State of Texas is hereby called upon to vote an assessment of one dollar per member, both male and female, due and payable October 15, 1887; and one dollar per member, both male and female, due and payable December i, 1887; and those voting in favor of said proposition shall immediately notify the State busi- ness agent of the fact; and the money on such assessment, when received, shall be sent to the secretary of this corporation, and a notice of the remittance sent to the secretary of the State Alliance. " It is understood that, when as much as $50,000 have been paid to the secretary, each share of stock will be credited with ten per cent paid in, and for each subse- quent payment of that amount a like credit will be made. " Unanimously adopted at regular session, in Waco, Texas, August 12, 1887. "Evan Jones, President. "H. G. Moore, Secretary.'' The Trustee-Stockholders met and organized, by adopting by-laws and electing officers and a Board of Directors. C. W. Macune, as State business agent, presented a proposition from the business men of Dallas, which he, in connection with R. J. Sledge, had secured after much negotiation. This proposition was adopted by the Trustee- Stockholders, and the Executive Board was instructed to go to Dallas and close the contract, according to the terms of the proposition, and locate the headquarters in that city. As we have now seen, the Alliance membership of the State were to pay in the capital stock by an equal assessment of two dollars each, and the State Alliance was to elect twenty-five Trustee-Stockholders, who should represent the stockholders in all meetings, and elect from their number a Board of Directors, composed of seven men, who should con- trol and operate the business. In organizing the business, the Board of Directors found it necessary to have a business manager, and they selected and employed for that purpose Brother C. W. Macune, paying 360 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. him a salary, and requiring of him a bond in the sum of $25,000. He was not a member of the Board of Directors, nor a Trustee-Stock- holder ; he was simply employed to do a certain work, as directed by the Board of Directors. It is deemed best to give the organization of the Texas Exchange in detail, because it was a precedent for the estab- lishment of an Exchange in many other States, and the history of the Alliance business effort must be a compilation of the State efforts, since no national effort has fully materialized up to this time. The effort made by the Exchange to handle the AUiance cotton crop during that fall, was worth many thousand dollars to the farmers of that State. It was a very simple and effective system. The Exchange fitted up a very large sample room, and notified the brethren of the order that they could bulk their cotton in their home cotton yards or warehouses, and send packages of samples to the Exchange, where they would be displayed, and the cotton sold with the guarantee of the Exchange that it was correctly weighed and sampled. In this way the Exchange sold cotton direct to the mills or to Liverpool, and had it shipped from its home depot on a through bill of lading, thereby saving all local freights and other expenses of handling. There can be no doubt that this effort, together with the information as to the current price of cotton, every day sent out by the Exchange, raised the price of cotton to the farmers of that State at least one-half of one cent per pound, on the average, for every pound of cotton sold. This, on the crop of 1,300,000 bales of 500 pounds each, was a saving to the farmers of $3,252,000 that had previously gone into the pocket of the speculator. The people seemed to realize the great benefits they could derive from the Exchange, if they could only cut loose from the crop mortgage system, so as to be able to control their own cotton in the fall. But when it was mortgaged to the merchant, they could not sell it through the Exchange. In this emergency they began to appeal to the Exchange to provide a system of advancing on their crops, so as to enable the Exchange to control the cotton in the fall. In response to many such appeals, the Board of Directors agreed upon a plan, and instructed the business manager to submit it to the people of the State for ratification. This was done about the first of December, 1887, by a circular letter known as "Circular Letter No. 39." This plan and mortgage obligation are given on the opposite page. BUSINESS EFFORTS, 361 [front.] State of Texas, ? County of. \ Know all Men by these Presents, That we, the undersigned, hereby jointly and severally agree to pay the Farmers' Alli- ance Exchange of Texas, for value received, the sum of $ on the 15th day of November, 1888, for Goods, Wares, and Merchandise, purchased for and shipped to • as agent for the undersigned. Further, we, the undersigned, hereby represent, for the purpose of obtaining credit for the above amount from the Farmers' Alliance Exchange, that the figures opposite our signatures, representing assets as designated by the column heads, are true and correct, and that we have and own the property thus indicated, and that they are in nowise a misrepresentation, and that we will mortgage the cotton and stock as speci- fied; and that we agree to all the conditions expressed on back of this instrument. Names. c % C — 6 » 1 E 1 > i3 iS § 1 1 6 > i c u < s c 2 VI E H > c w It ii < 1 It § h < Remarks. ' [back.] It is4iereby expressly understood that the filling out of this blank by the members of Sub-Alliances in no way obligates the Farmers' Alliance Exchange to furnish any goods, wares, or merchandise, unless it has received the approval of the committee of acceptance, and notice returned to the Sub- Alliance that the obligation is accepted and that the goods, wares, and merchandise will be sent. It is further understood that the amount of the obligation is divisible into six equal parts, if the Ex- change shall so elect, and in that event the Exchange will be under no obligations to advance more than one such one-sixth part thereof during any one month from and after the month of March. It is further understood and agreed that all bills for advances under this proposition shall bear interest from the day of shipment until paid, at the rate of one per cent per month, and that payments are due and payable in the city of Dallas, Texas. It is further agreed that, as this obligation is given jointly and severally, each signer thereof agrees to place at the disposal of the balance of the signers such a portion of its assets as may be necessary to secure them in joining him in the obligation, and should any one fail to properly work or gather his crop, he agrees that they may take possession of same and complete it to the best of his advantage. It is further understood and agreed that the Exchange delivers all orders for goods, wares, and merchandise on board the cars in the city of Dallas, and that the parties signing the written agree- ment to receive and pay all freights on such goods, etc., so ordered, from the city of Dallas. ^ % Qi ^ 5 ^ Jl «§- •^s ^- D *>. >H 362 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. The resolution passed by the Board was as follows : — " Plan of relief adopted by the Board of Directors of the Farmers' Alliance Exchange of Texas, for the purpose of assisting the members of the Farmers' Alliance of Texas in purchasing their supplies for the coming year, and selling their products to the best advantage. " First. The members of all Sub-Alliances wishing to avail themselves of the advantages to be offered by the Exchange, shall make a full showing of their collec- tive responsibility, and an estimate of the amount of commodities they will require advanced on time after April, 1888, and a satisfactory showing that they are able and willing to pledge cotton to at least two times the amount of advances asked. " Second. The county business agent from each county desiring to avail them- selves of the benefits of the Exchange, shall give a good bond to the president of this Exchange, in a sufficient amount to cover all the transactions he will be called upon to perform. And it shall be his duty to make a careful examination of the records and the securities offered by any Alliance in his county, ara report on a blank form to the secretary of this Exchange every item in regard to the business that may be required. It shall be his duty to have recorded in his county all obligations taken therein, and send certificates of record to the secretary, and perform such other duties as may be imposed on him by the general business management. " Third. The secretary and two other members of this board, as may be herein- after chosen, shall sit as a Board of Acceptance, and it shall be their duty to examine the application of every Alliance desiring to do business with this Exchange ; and when they are satisfied with the showing made by a Sub- Alliance, and report favor- ably, then the business manager shall be authorized to deal with that Sub- Alliance according to the terms of the proposition so accepted, but no further. And the busi- ness manager shall in no case advance more than he has been authorized by the said Board of Acceptance. " The Board of Acceptance shall also make estimates of the amounts of purchases necessary to meet the demands of the accepted contracts, and shall demand of the business management purchase adequate to meet such necessities in a satisfactory As shown above, this was not a proposition to do business on time. It was a call upon the membership to make known their wishes as to whether they desired the Exchange to undertake the business as out- lined in the circular letter. This letter was sent out about December i, 1887, and responses came in so slowly that, on the first of January, the time was extended. The membership clamored for more time in which to prepare the notes, and for advances to be made earlier than the first of April. To this clamor the Board of Directors yielded, and notes were received and accepted up to May, and goods were supplied freely in March. Had the business been carried out as outHned in the plan, the result might have been different ; but the Board departed from that plan by accepting note obHgations very much in excess of the prescribed limit of four times the actual cash capital paid in. -When the Board of Directors met in March, they found that only about ^17,000 of the BUSINESS EFFORTS. 363 capital stock had been paid in, and that their Board of Acceptance had approved and accepted joint notes to the amount of about ;^ 128,000; and with the corporation thus overburdened they accepted a coptract for the construction of a building upon their lots in Dallas, which in- creased their liabilities about ;^3 5,000 more. They continued to accept notes from the people, until their obligations to supply merchandise aggregated about ^400,000, with a paid-in capital of about ^56,000 that could be used in the business.' '\ To discharge this obligation required that the people be furnished merchandise to the value of over seven times the capital stock paid, and to do that "it was necessary that the Exchange hypothecate these joint notes, at about eighty-five per centum of their face value. That was found impossible. On the average they had to be used as collateral, at about forty per cent of their face value ; consequently the Exchange had undertaken more than it possibly could do, and it failed ; not because the system was faulty, or the management bad, but because the people did not put in capital stock in proportion to the credit they asked, and because many of them did not pay their indebtedness. The following is the report of the committee, after a thorough investigation of all the facts : — " To the Members of the Farmers* Alliance of the State of Texas : " Brethren : In compliance with the request of a meeting held in the city of Waco, on the 15th day of May, 1888, by representative members of our order, from different parts of the State, requesting us to thoroughly examine the books and present financial condition of the Alliance Exchange of Texas, we, the undersigned, President and Executive Committee of the Texas State Alliance, beg leave to submit the following report : — " We met in the city of Dallas on the 19th day of May, 1888, and, after a thorough and critical examination of the books and business generally, and the manner of conducting said business in all its departments, and those in charge of same, we are gratified to state that the entire business is, and has been, conducted " upon sound, conservative, practicable business principles, and that the capital stock of said Exchange is intact, and that it has been self-supporting, and is entitled to your fullest confidence and support. The facts set forth in Brother Macune's report are true. "We also find the Exchange has been crippled in its efforts to help the brethren, in consequence of not being able to negotiate loans upon the mortgage notes of the brethiren, placed in their hands for that purpose, and by the acts of designing enemies of our order. This you will find more fully explained by Brother Macune's report, hereunto attached, and made a part of this report. " We are, after a diligent and fair investigation, made in Dallas, deeply impressed with the great importance of the brotherhood moving with all their united force at once to the support of our Exchange, that we, as an Alliance, have built up. " It is with regret we have to chronicle the fact that any class of men should be found in this enlightened age, whose love of power and money, and the emoluments 364 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. growing out of such, would prompt them to form an unholy and unhallowed com- bination for the purpose of throttling a business venture, established for the purpose of inaugurating a just and equitable system of distribution. Yet it is true, and, unless each member evinces patriotic zeal and loyalty, and promptly rises to a full concep- tion of the dignity and gravity of the situation, and royally assumes at once his part of the burden, our efforts will be much hampered. " It is now time for each brother to realize the fact that faltering now means unconditional surrender; it means a perpetuation of the invidious discriminations which now deprive, and have in the past deprived, us of a just share of the proceeds of our labor. " Our faith in the zeal, fidelity, love of justice, and patriotism in the order is so strong that we look to you to say, by your actions, that a combination of schemers, now formed for selfish purposes, shall not thwart the efforts of a quarter of .a million free men, fighting the battles of truth and justice. " With unfaltering confidence in your ability and loyalty, we urge you to move with one accord forward, and victory awaits you. " Yours fraternally, " Evan Jones, President, " B. J. Kendrick, " Joe Smeltzer, " Geo. L. Clark, " Executive Committee^ The Exchange used the notes for the very purpose for which they were given, and did not sell or part ownership with one of them. True, some of them were forfeited as collateral, but that was no violation of the agreement on the part of the Exchange. That was a contingency that the makers of the notes took the chances of when they made the notes for that purpose. The plan of business inaugurated by the Exchange was a great innova- tion upon the established usages and customs of the country at that ■ time ; it was therefore attended with the two great drawbacks that always attend the introduction of an innovation, — bitter opposition and great difficulty in being understood. The people had been for twenty years taught the Rochdale system of conducting stores, and, as it had for its object an entirely different purpose from that taught by the Alliance, the Exchange could not use that plan, and therefore was compelled to undertake the difficult task of introducing a new system, and combat- ing the opposition from within the order, of many who were wedded to the Rochdale plan of joint-stock (miscalled co-operative) stores. The opposition of the merchants and dealers of the State was aroused against the Exchange plan, because it proposed to demoralize prices. A com- parison will show the essential difference between the Exchange and the Rochdale systems. The latter proposed to establish stores, or rather to have the people in the different localities furnish the capital and start BUSINESS EFFORTS. 365 stores, called co-operative, and sell commodities, as other merchants did, at the prices current in that place at the time. Then, at stated intervals of once or twice a year, the business would be balanced, and the profits, after paying the running expenses and interest on the capital stock, would be divided among the stockholders, on a basis of the amount of goods purchased by each. The object of this system was, therefore, to make a success of the business as a mercantile effort, so as to make money for its stockholders. The Exchange did not encourage the people to establish stores. It taught them to consider, before embarking in the enterprise, what object they expected to achieve ; to decide whether the venture should be a suc- cess as a mercantile effort, or a success as an auxiliary to the farming effort ; and whether they should make money at the expense of their brother farmers, or whether they would make the same money by assisting their brother farmers to make equally as much. To make this perfectly plain, note the difference in the following comparison : A Rochdale store in a county in Cent»a'l Texas, in 1888, declared a dividend to its purchasers, equal to fifty per cent of its capital, on its first six months' business. Suppose it ha(i maintained this degree of prosperity throughout the year, and it had a capital of $5000 paid in by a hundred stockholders,- and that the gross trade of the county amounts to about ;^ 1,000,000. If the average profit on sales is twenty per cent, then this institution has sold ^25,000 worth of goods, and returns to its stockholders ^50 each as a dividend, and the gross profits of the other merchants of that county amount to $195,000, as a profit on the other tg^j^poo worth of business done in the county. This is very satisfactory to all the merchants and newspapers, lawyers and doctors, and especially to the stockholders in the co-operative store, who have got their original investment back, and begin to understand that merchandising pays better than farming. The manager is honized, and becomes a great man in the county. He is recognized as having a great influence among the farmers. The store will have a fine reputation as a successful mercantile institution, and everybody will congratulate the farmer on having such a good store, and praise him for his co-operative effort. Now had an Alliance store been started in the place of the Rochdale store, in the same town, at that time, with a like capital, different con- ditions would have prevailed, and a very different result would have ensued. The Alliance store would have said : " We are strictly auxiliary to the farming effort, and therefore will not charge the membership the usual profits of merchants, and then return it to them as dividends. We will let them keep the profits in their pockets, by selling them the goods 366 MtSTORtCAL AND POLITICAL. at the cost of laying them down hete and handUng. The people will thereby be able to make their money go farther towards paying the expenses of the farming effort." It is found that they can pay all expenses of handUng the goods with a profit of five per cent, and they commence selling the brethren at that margin. Immediately all other stores in that county drop to the same price, and sell many leading articles even lower, and open a bitter war on the Alliance store and its manager. They undersell him and get the trade ; they slander him and ridicule his methods. It is found, at the end of the year, that his sales have been so small that the store has lost money, and stories are circu- lated that the manager has swindled the stockholders. A careful exami- nation, however, fails to show any evidence, and all know in their hearts that they are false ; but the store is regarded as a failure, and its enemies advertise it as a fraud. The stockholders have made nothing, perhaps not even interest on their stock. They may have lost a part of the original investment. Thus far this comparison has shown what is usually pubhshed in regard to these two systems, but simple justice demands that the investigation be pursued a little further, in order to see the effect of both upon agriculture. As has been shown, the gross effect of the Rochdale plan was a divi- dend of ;^5o, on an average, to each of the one hundred stockholders, making an aggregate gain of 1^5000. The gain from the business of the Alliance store accrued to the general public in the shape of reduced prices ; and, as nine-tenths of the people of that county were farmers, nine-tenths of the gains accrued to agriculture. This gain consisted in the difference between five per cent and twenty-five per cent on the 1^800,000 worth of goods purchased from the merchants of that county. That is to say, under both systems the gross purchases of the merchants of the county were $800,000. Under the Rochdale system, they sold the goods during the year for $1,000,000, and under the Alliance store system they sold the same goods for $840,000, making a clear gain to the people of that county, on their purchases, of $160,000 ; and if nine- tenths were farmers, the gain to the farming interests of the county would be $144,000 in a single year, as a result of the Alliance store. Subtract from this the five thousand, as gross gains of the Rochdale store, and it shows the difference to be $139,000 in a single county, in one year, in favor of the AUiance store, as a benefit to agriculture. The stockholders, however, were not perceptibly benefited, and not disposed to perpetuate a store that perhaps fulfilled the divine injunc- tion, and benefited its enemies. It was impossible to make the people generally understand that it paid to run a store that was a failure. They BUSINESS EFFORTS, 367 Could not be made to comprehend the fact that their stores, cotton yards, and Exchange were practically option houses, and that the less business they did, the less expense they would have and the better the result would be, provided general prices were kept down. The Exchange did about ^1,000,000 worth of business in 1888, and reduced general prices throughout the entire State of Texas, saving the farmers of the State, at the very lowest estimate, several milHons of dol- lars. No one man had over ^5 invested in the capital stock, and the final loss of the entire capital stock, amounting in the aggregate to less than $100,000, was a mere drop in the bucket to the gains that accrued to the membership from the reduction of general prices. The business effort of the Alliance Exchange of Texas taught that profit was wrong ; that a man was entitled to pay for his work, and to interest on his investment, but to no profits ; and advised farmers in the different sections not to invest their money in stores, but to select an agent and provide a place for storage ; have such goods as they were sure to need shipped to these " supply stations," as they were called, and have the agent there one or two days in each week, to divide out the goods to those who participated in making the note and ordering the goods. Whether the plan contained merit or not, its benefits, when compared with its expense, including the loss of the original capital, demonstrate it to have been the greatest financial success ever started in this country, and the only reason this fact is not recognized is because the benefits have been distributed in small amounts to the pockets of millions of farmers, instead of being placed to the credit of the bank account of one single capitalist. In May, 1888, the business agents of the different States met as a committee of the National Alliance, for the purpose of organizing a State business agents' association. The matter was thoroughly discussed and a plan formulated. This plan formed the basis upon which many State Exchanges were started. The following plan, on which the State Alliance of Georgia has organized its Farmers' Alliance Exchange, will give a correct idea of the objects and methods by which the Exchange system is operated, and is a very good example of the laws governing the Exchanges in the other States : — " I. The name of this corporation shall be 'The Farmers' Alliance Exchange of Georgia.' ** 2. The purposes for which this corporation is organized are :, To conduct a gen- eral mercantile business; to act as agent for the purchase and sale of all kinds of farm and orchard products, and general forwarding agent for all kinds of commodi- ties; to erect, manage, and operate warehouses, stock-yards, grain elevators, packing 368 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. establishments; to manufacture guano or other fertilizers; and all such other enter- prises as may be found necessary or advisable to profit and betterment. " 3. This corporation shall have the power, by and under its corporate name, to enjoy the following rights and privileges, to wit : It shall be capable in law to pur- chase, receive, and hold and" enjoy, lands, goods, chattels, and property of any kind and effects whatsoever; the same to grant, sell, mortgage, and dispose of, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted with; to make a common seal, to alter or break the same; to establish and put in execution by-laws governing the corporation; to issue and float debenture or other bonds; to do a printing and publishing business. "4. The capital stock of the corporation shall be $i,ooo,ckx) — twenty-five per cent of stock subscribed to be paid in during the year 1888, the remainder in three instalments of twenty-five per cent annually; and when ^50,000 is paid in, the board of directors shall begin operations. The capital stock shall be divided into 10,000 shares of ^100 each. " 5. The term for which this corporation shall exist shall be ninety-nine years. " 6. Subscriptions for shares of capital stock shall be made by Farmers' Alliances, and not by individuals, and shall be accompanied by twenty-five per cent in cash of the amount of subscription. " 7. It is hereby understood or agreed that each Sub-Alliance adopting this Ex- change system, and thereby ratifying this plan, is firmly bound to subscribe for and make settlement on stock, as above specified, to the number of shares due from it, under the following schedule of ability, to wit: Those having less than thirty-five members shall be apportioned one share; thirty-five to sixty-five members, two shares; sixty-five to ninety-five members, three shares; all above ninety-five members, four shares; Provided, this shall not prevent any Alliance from taking as many shares as they choose. " 8. Each Farmers' Alliance shall be entitled to one Trustee-Stockholder, who shall be elected annually at the time of the regular election of officers. He shall repre- sent such subordinate body in the meeting of Trustee-Stockholders, from and for all the subordinate bodies in that county, and shall be entitled to as many votes as he represents shares of stock. The county convention of Trustee-Stockholders shall, at a regular annual meeting, elect from their number one delegate from all shares of stock owned in that county, who shall be known as County Trustee-Stockholder, and be authorized to represent the stock held in that county in the State meetings of the Trustee-Stockholders of the corporation, and shall be entitled to as many votes as they represent shares of stock. Each Trustee-Stockholder shall be the representative of the Exchange in his Alliance, and shall give bond in the sum of dollars for the faithful performance of duty. " 9. The next Trustee-Stockholders' meeting shall be at the time and place of the next meeting of the Farmers' State Alliance of Georgia, unless sooner convened by call from the Board of Directors of the Exchange. '• 10. The Trustee- Stockholders shall elect annually eleven from their number, as a Board of Directors, to be chosen one from each congressional district in the State, and one from the State at large. Seven of these directors will constitute a quorum. "II. The Board of Directors shall elect from their number a president, vice-presi- dent, and a secretary and treasurer. They may employ or discharge such assistants as necessary, taking sufficient bonds to cover all responsibility reposed. They shall enftct suitable laws and regulations, subject to approval by the next meeting of stock- BUSINESS EFFORTS. 369 holders : Provided, all such by-laws and regulations shall have the full force of low, until the stockholders shall have refused to concur in them." Just prior to the national meeting at St. Louis, a call was issued, invit- ing all State business agents to meet at the same time, to consider the propriety of forming a national organization. Business agents from nearly all the organized States were present, and a general discussion of the whole subject was entered into. The benefits of such an asso- ciation were at once apparent, and immediate steps were taken for its formation. ♦ ^ The following business agents were present : J. S. Bird, Alabama ; W. W. Holland, Kentucky ; George A. Gowan, Tenne&see ; J. O. Winn, Georgia; Felix Corput, Georgia; T. A. Clayton, Louisiana; W. H. Worth, North Carolina ; D. B. Hatfield, Arkansas ; T. J. Galloway, Ten- nessee ;^W. K. Cessna, Florida; G. G. Grose, Dakota; Allen Root, Nebraska; J. D. Furlong, Minnesota; J. B. Dines, Missouri; August Post, Iowa ; J. L. Seaver, Washington ; S. M. Hoskins, Indiana ; M. B. Wade, Kansas ; S. W. Wright, Jr., Illinois ; S. P. A. Bnibaker, Virginia ; B. G. West, Mississippi ; T. W. Haynes, Kentucky ; W. B. Collier, Mis- souri ; Colonel I. May, Wisconsin ; W. J. Cox, Indiana ; J. A. Mudd, Maryland ; A. S. Mann, Florida ; Oswald Wilson, New York. Brother J. B. Dines was elected President, W. W. Holden, Vice-President, and Oswald Wilson, Secretary. A constitution was adopted, and other busi- ness of detail transacted to the satisfaction of all. The association adjourned to meet with the National Alliance the following December. Annual Meeting of the State Business Agents' Association. OcALA, Florida, December i, 1890. The States Business Agents' Association met in hall of Donnelton Phosphate Company, with the following officers and members present : — J. B. Dines, President, St. Louis, Missouri ; W. L. Peek, Vice-Presi- dent, Atlanta, Georgia ; Oswald Wilson, Secretary, 335 Broadway, New York ; J. K. P. House, Kansas ; M. D. Coffeen, lUinois ; G. A. Gowan, Nashville, Tennessee; W. K. Cessna, Jacksonville, Florida; G. F. Gaither, Birmingham, Alabama ; W. H. Worth, Raleigh, North Carolina ; T. A. Clayton, New Orleans, Louisiana ; A. R. Venable, Jr., Richmond, Virginia; J. J. Rogers, Norfolk, Virginia; S. S. Harvey, Pensacola, Florida; S. D. A. Duncan, Dallas, Texas; J. M. Moore, San Fran- cisco, California ; R. M. Humphrey, Houston, Texas ; R. C. Betty, Indian Territory ; B. G. West, Memphis, Tennessee ; M. L. Donaldson, 370 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. Greenville, South Carolina ; W. H. Holland, Louisville, Kentucky ; Joseph A. Mudd, Washington, District of Columbia. Much important business was transacted, the constitution was revised, and a general agreement was arrived at in regard to business methods among the different agencies. The meeting was entirely satisfactory to all concerned. The following officers were elected : — J. B. Dines, President ; W. L. Peek, Vice-President ; Oswald Wilson, Secretary; J. K. P. House, Treasurer; M. D. Coffeen, Member of Executive Committee. Adjourned to meet at the place designated by the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union for their next annual meeting. No one can estimate the benefits which may be derived from this national association, if properly managed. It can protect the weak and bid defiance to the strong, and thereby save millions to the hard-working farmer. If space would permit, a report from each State business agent, as to the volume of business, benefits derived by the brethren, and the prospects for the future, would be both instructive and entertaining. Suffice it to say that a great work is being done by these agencies. Millions of dollars are being saved to the members, and true business principles are being taught to the order. In many respects these agencies are made an auxiliary of no little importance, in the education of the brethren, regarding the correct doctrine of the Alliance. That they are an important factor in the Alliance movement, no one should deny, and that they should be patronized and supported, every one should concede. DIVISION III AGRICULTURE. CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Nothing, perhaps, would be more interesting to the Ameri- can farmer than a correct detailed description of the agricultural methods of antiquity. It would serve to mark the progress that has been made in that pursuit, and disclose the fact, which many seem to doubt, that the steady, plodding farmer has per- formed his full share in bringing about the civilization of the present, by making rapid strides in the development of every branch of his vocation. It would also be gratifying to know how the nations of the long ago tilled the soil, sowed, planted, reaped, or gathered ; what crops they cultivated, and by what methods they were converted into use. Such information, how- ever, has been withheld, as the records which have come down to us are all but silent upon these topics. The fact that agriculture, as an industry, antedates all others, is admitted by every one. The first want of man is food, and his first resource for it was the ground. Whether herbs or fruits were resorted to must have depended upon their relative abundance in the locality where man began his career upon earth. Doubtless the fruits were preferred at first, until the use of fire, in the preparation of the herbs, was discovered. Upon this hypothesis, the first care and labor of man would have been bestowed upon fruit trees, and hence gardening may be said to have been the art of earliest invention. But man is also a carnivorous animal, and this propensity of his nature would soon lead him to attempt to domesticate such animals as he found most useful in affording him milk, food, or 371 2,']2 AGRICULTURE. clothing, or would assist him in his labor. From this may have come the origin of pasturage, and the industry of raising stock. The invention of tilling the soil must have been coeval with the discovery of the use of the cereal grasses, and may be considered as the last step in the invention of husbandry, as well as the most important. Such conclusions, while simply conjectural, are nevertheless based upon sufficient reason to warrant a respectful consideration. In the earlier stages of civilization, these branches of econ- omy, in common with all the arts of life, would naturally be practised by every family for itself ; but the great advantages of separating the occupations would soon present themselves, and the result, no doubt, is the present designations of farming, gardening, grazing, etc. The importance of agriculture is obvious to every thinking person, not only by its affording the direct supply of our greatest wants, but as the parent of manufacture and com- merce. Without agriculture, there can be neither civilization nor population. It is not only the most universal of all the arts, but the one which requires the greatest number of opera- tors. The larger portion of the inhabitants, in every country, are employed in agricultural pursuits ; and the most prosperous and enlightened nation is the one whose agricultural population are the best remunerated for their labor. In the earlier ages of the race, before tillage was invented, doubtless the surface of the earth was held in common by all the inhabitants, and every family pastured its flocks, pitched its tent, or erected its hut where it seemed best ; but when tillage came into use, it must have become necessary to assign to each family or tribe a portion of territory, and of this portion that family or tribe became the recognized proprietors and cultiva- tor-s. From this, perhaps, came the beginning of property in land ; of purchased cultivators, or slaves ; hired cultivators, or laborers ; of farmers, or proprietors ; and the various laws and customs, in regard to ownership and occupation of landed property, which, in a modified or intensified form, obtain at the present time. After a careful examination of numerous authors upon ancient agriculture, I have selected the writings of Mr. J. C. HISTORY OF AGRICULTUR^^'"--^ '^']l Loudon, printed in England, in 1834, from which I shall make extended quotations. Mr. Loudon says that the history of agriculture may be considered chronologically, or in connection with that of the different nations, which have successively flourished in different parts of the world ; politically, as influenced by the different forms of government which have prevailed ; geographically, as affected by different climates ; and physically, as influenced by the character of the earth's surface. The first kind of history is useful, by displaying the relative situation of different countries as to agriculture ; instructive, as enabling us to contrast our present situation with that of other nations and former times ; and curious, as discovering the route by which agriculture has passed from primitive ages and coun- tries to our own. The political and geographical histories of the art derive their value from pointing out causes favorable and unfavorable to improvement, and countries and climates favorable or unfa- vorable to particular kinds of cultivation and management. Traditional history traces man back to the time of the deluge. After that catastrophe, of which the greater part of the earth's surface bears evidence, man seems to have recovered himself in the central parts of Asia, and to have first attained to eminence in arts and government on the alluvial plains of the Nile. Egypt colonized Greece, Carthage, and some other places on the Medi- terranean Sea ; and thus the Greeks received their arts from the Egyptians ; afterwards the Romans from the Greeks ; and finally, the rest of Europe from the Romans. Such is the route by which agriculture is traced to our part of the world. How it may have reached the eastern countries of India and China is less certain, though, from the great antiq- uity of their inhabitants and governments, it appears highly probable that arts and civilization were either coeval there, or, if not, that they travelled to the east much more rapidly than they did to the west. Very few facts are recorded on the sub- ject, previous to the time of the Romans. That enterprising people considerably improved the art, and extended its practice with their conquests. After the fall of their empire, it declined throughout Europe, and, during the Dark Ages, was chiefly 374 AGRICULTURE. preserved on the estates of the Church. With the general revival of arts and letters, which took place during the sixteenth century, agriculture also revived ; first in Italy, and then in France and Germany ; but it flourished most in Switzerland and Holland ; and finally, in recent times, has attained its high- est degree of perfection in England. The modern agriculture of America is copied from that of Europe ; and the same may be said of the agriculture of Euro- pean colonies, established in different parts of the world. The authors whose writings relate to the period under consideration are few, and the relations of some of them very contradictory. The earliest is Moses (b.c. 1600). Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, who wrote more particularly on the history and geog- raphy of Egypt, lived, the former in the fifth, and the latter in the sixth, century B.C. ; and Hesiod, the ancient Greek writer on husbandry, in the tenth century preceding our era. It is truly remarkable that, in the eastern countries, the state of agriculture and other arts, and even of machinery, at that period, does not appear to have been materially different from what it is in the same countries at the present day. Property in land was recog- nized, the same grains cultivated, and the same domestic animals reared or employed. Some led a wandering life and dwelt in tents, like the Arabs, and others dwelt in towns or cities and pursued agriculture and commerce, Hke the fixed nations. It is reasonable, indeed, and consistent with received opinions, that this should be the case ; for, admitting the human race to have been nearly exterminated at the deluge, those who sur- vived that catastrophe would possess the more useful arts and general habits of life of the antediluvian world. Noah, accord- ingly, is styled a husbandman, and is said to have cultivated the vine, and to have made wine. In little more than three centu- ries afterwards, Abraham is stated to have had extensive flocks and herds, slaves of both sexes, silver and gold, and to have purchased a family sepulchre with a portion of territory around it. Isaac, his son, during his residence in Palestine, is said to have sown and reaped a hundred fold. Grain seems to have been grown in abundance in Egypt, for Abraham, and afterwards Jacob, had recourse to that country during times of famine. Irrigation was also extensively prac- EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. 375 tised there, for it is said that the plains of Jordan were watered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord, hke the land of Egypt. Such is the amount of agricultural information con- tained in the writings of Moses, from which the general conclu- sion is that agriculture in the East has been practised, in all or most of its branches, from time immemorial. Agriculture of Egypt. — The origin of agriculture has been sought by modern philosophers in natural circumstances. Man, in his rudest state, they consider, would first live on fruits or roots ; afterwards, by hunting or fishing ; next, by the pasturage of animals ; and lastly, to all of these he would add the raising of grain. The culture of the soil for this purpose is supposed to have been first practised in imitation of the effects produced by the sand and mud left by the inundations of rivers. These take place, more or less, in every country, and their effects on the herbage, which spontaneously springs up among the depos- ited sand and mud, must at a very early period have excited the attention of the people. This hypothesis seems supported by the traditions and natu- ral circumstances of Egypt, a country overflowed by a river, civilized from time immemorial, and so abundant in grain as to be called the granary of the world. The situation and natural phenomena of Upper Egypt rendered it fitter for the invention of cultivation than the low country ; for, while Lower Egypt was a marsh, formed by the deposits of the Nile, the principal part of Upper Egypt was a valley, a few leagues broad, bounded by mountains, and on both sides declining to the river. Hence it was overflowed only for a qertain time and season. The waters rapidly declined, and the ground, en- riched by the mud, was soon dry and in a state fit to receive seed. The process of cultivation in this country was also most obvious and natural ; for the ground being every year covered with mud brought from the Nile, and plants springing up spon- taneously after its recession, must have given the hint that nothing more was necessary than to scatter the seeds and they would vegetate. Secondly, the ground was prepared by nature for receiving the seed, and required only stirring sufficient to cover it. From this phenomenon the surrounding nations learned two things : first, that the ground before sowing should 376 AGRICULTURE. be prepared and cleared from plants ; and, secondly, that the mixture of rich mould and sand would produce fertility. The invention of agricultural implements must have been coeval with the invention of cultivation ; and, accordingly, they are supposed to have originated in Egypt. Antiquarians are agreed that the primeval implement used in cultivating the soil must have been the pick. A medal of the greatest antiquity, dug up at Syracuse, contained an impression of such an instru- ment ; and its progress till it became a plow has been recognized in a cameo, published by Menestrier, on which a pick-like plow is drawn by two serpents. It may also be seen on a medal from the village of Enna, in Sicily, in a figure given as found on an antique tomb, in an Etruscan plow copied from a fragment in the Roman college at Rome, by Lasteyrie. This plow, there can be little doubt, was used in war as well as in agriculture, and seems to have been of that kind with which the Israelites fought .against their enemies, the Philistines. Whether the culture of grains was invented in Egypt or not, all testimonies concur that cultivation was carried to a higher degree of perfection there than in any other country of antiq- uity. The canals and banks which still remain in Lower Egypt, and especially in the Delta, are evidences of the extent to which embanking, irrigation, and drainage have been carried. Landed property, in ancient Egypt, it would appear, was the absolute right of the owners, till, by the procurement of Joseph, in the eighteenth century B.C., the paramount or allodial property of the whole was transferred to the government. The king, however, made no other use of that right than to place the former occupiers in the situation of tenants, bound to pay a rent or land tax of one-fifth of the produce. This, Moses says, continued to be the law of Egypt down to his time ; and the same thing is confirmed by the testimony of Herodotus. The soil of Egypt is compared by Pliny to that of the Leontines, formerly regarded as the most fertile in Sicily. There, he says, grain yields a hundred for one ; but Cicero has proved this to be an exaggeration, and that the ordinary increase in that part of Sicily is eight to one. Granger, who paid much attention to the subject, says that the lands nearest the Nile, which during the inundation were cpvered with water forty days, did not. JEWISH AGRICULTURE. 2)77 in the most favorable seasons, yield more than ten for one. This, however, is owing to their present neglected state. Of the animal or vegetable products of Egyptian agriculture, very little is known. The ox seems to have been the chief animal of labor from the earliest period, and rice at all times the principal grain in cultivation. By an ancient painting it would appear that the operation of reaping was performed much in the same way as at present, the ears being cropped by a hook, and the principal part of the straw left as stubble. Herodotus mentions that, in his time, wheat was not culti- vated, and that the bread made from it was despised and reck- oned not fit to be eaten ; beans were also held in abhorrence by the ancient inhabitants, but it is highly probable that, in later times, when they began to have commerce with other nations, they laid aside these and other prejudices, and cultivated, what they found best suited to the foreign market. Agriculture was, no doubt, the chief occupation of the Egyptians ; and though they are said to have held the profession of shepherd in abhor- rence, yet it appears that Pharaoh not only had considerable flocks and herds in his own possession, but was desirous of introducing any improvement .which might be made in their management ; for when Jacob, in answer to his questions, told him that he and his family had been brought up from their youth to the care of live-stock, he expressed a wish to Joseph, " If thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle." Agriculture of the Jews and Other Nations of Antiquity. — Of the agriculture of the nations contemporary with the Egyptians and Greeks, nothing is distinctly known ; but, as- suming it as most probable that agriculture was first brought into notice in Egypt, it may be concluded that most other coun- tries, as well as Greece, would begin by imitating the practices of that country. On the agriculture of the Jews we find there are various incidental remarks in the books of the Old Testa- ment. On the conquest of Canaan, it appears that the different tribes had their territory assigned to them by lot ; that it was equally divided among the heads of families, and by them and their posterity held by absolute right and impartial succession. Thus every family had originally the same extent of territory; 2,7^ AGRICULTURE. but, as it became customary afterwards to borrow money on its security, and as some families became indolent and were obliged to sell, and others extinct by death without issue, landed estates soon varied in point of extent. In the time of Nehemiah a famine occurred, on which account many had " mortgaged their lands, their vineyards, and houses, that they might buy corn for their sons and daughters, and to enable them to pay the king's tribute." Some were unable to redeem their lands, otherwise than by selling their children as slaves, and thereby *' bringing the sons and daughters of God into bondage." Boaz received three estates by inheritance, and also got him a wife, after much curious ceremony. Large estates, however, were not approved of. Isaiah pronounces a curse on those "that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst." While some portions of land near the towns were enclosed, the greater part was in common, or in alternate pro- prietorship and occupation, as in our common- fields. This ap- pears, both from the laws and regulations laid down by Moses, as to the herds and flocks, and from the beautiful rural story of Ruth, who, to procure sustenance for herself and her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi, " came and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and her hap was to light on a part of the field (that is, of the common field) belonging unto Boaz." It would appear that every proprietor cultivated his own lands, however extensive ; and that agriculture was held in high esteem, even by their princes. The crown lands, in King David's time, were managed by seven officers. One was over the storehouses ; one over the work of the field and tillage of the ground ; one over the vineyards and wine-cellars ; one over the olive and oil stores, and sycamore plantations ; one over the herds ; one over the camels and asses ; and one over the flocks. King Uzziah "built towers in the desert, and digged many wells : for he had much cattle, both in the low country and in the plains : husbandmen also and vine-dressers in the moun- tains, and in Carmel : for he loved husbandry." Even private individuals cultivated to a great extent, and attended to the practical part of the business themselves. Elijah found Elisha in the field, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and himself JEWISH AGRICULTURE. 379 with the twelfth. Job had five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels. Both asses and oxen were used in plowing, for Moses forbade the Jews to yoke an ass with an ox, their step or progress being different, and of course their labors unequal. Among the operations of agriculture are mentioned watering by machinery, plowing, digging, reaping, threshing, etc. " Doth the plowman plow all day to sow } doth he open and break the clods of his ground ? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their place .^ " The plow was probably a clumsy instrument, requiring the most vigilant attention from the plowman, for Luke uses the figure of a man at the plow look- ing back, as one of utter worthlessness. Covered threshing- floors were in use, and, as it appears in the case of Boaz and Ruth, it was no uncommon thing to sleep in them during the harvest. Wheat was threshed in different ways. "The fitches," says Isaiah, " are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin ; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised ; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horse- men." Grain was "winnowed with the shovel and the fan." Sieves were also used, for Amos says, " I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as corn is sifted in a sieve" ; and Christ is represented by St. Luke as saying, " Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Isaiah mentions the "digging of hills with the mattock," to which implement the original pick would gradually arrive. Vineyards were planted on rising grounds, fenced around, the soil well prepared, and a vintage-house and watch-tower built, in a central situation, as it is still done in European Turkey and Italy. Moses gives directions to the Jews for cultivating the vine and other fruit trees. The first three years after planting the fruit is not to be eaten, the fourth is to be given to the Lord, and it is not till the fifth year that they are "to eat of the fruit thereof." The intention of these precepts was, to 380 AGRICULTURE, prevent the trees from being exhausted by bearing, before they had acquired sufficient strength and establishment in the soil. Agriculture of the Greeks. — What we know of the agri- culture of Greece is chiefly derived from the poem of Hesiod, entitled "Works and Days." Some incidental remarks on the subject may be found in the writings of Herodotus, Xenophon, Theophrastus, and others. Varro, a Roman, writing in the century preceding the commencement of our era, informs us that there were more than fifty authors at that time, who might be consulted on the subject of agriculture, all of whom were 'ancient Greeks, except Mago, the Carthaginian. Among them he includes Democritus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Hesiod. • The works of the other writers he enumerates have been lost. The writings of Hesiod are the chief resource for details as to Grecian agriculture. This author flourished in the tenth century B.C., and was therefore contemporary with Homer. He lived at Askra, a village at the foot of Mt. Helicon, in Boeotia. There he kept a flock, and cultivated soil which he describes as ''bad in winter, hard in summer, and never good," — probably a stiff clay. *'The Works," which constitute the first part of his poem, are not merely details of agricultural labors, but comprise direc- tions for the whole business of family economy in the country. The poem sets out by describing the state of the world, past and present, for the purpose of exemplifying the condition of human nature. This condition entails on man the necessity of exertion to preserve the goods of life, and leaves him no alter- native but honest industry or unjust violence ; of which the good and evil consequences are respectively illustrated. Dis- sension and emulation are represented as two principles, actively at work ; much is said of the corruption of judges, and the evils of litigation ; contentment is apostrophized as the true secret of happiness ; virtue and industry strongly recommended. The poet now proceeds to describe the prognostics of the seasons of agricultural labor, and gives directions for providing a house, wife, slaves, and two steers ; how and when to cut down timber, to construct carts and plows, and make clothes and shoes ; when to sow, reap, and dress the vine, and make wine. He then treats of navigation, and gives caution against risking everything in GREEK AGRICULTURE. 381 one voyage. He describes the seasons fit for the coasting trade, and advises great care of the vessel at such time as. she is not in use, and hanging up the rudder and other tackle in the smoke of the chimney. He concludes " The Works " with some desultory precepts of religion, personal propriety, and decorum ; and en- joins some curious superstitious observances, relative to family matters. "The Days" contain a division of the lunar month into holy, auspicious, and inauspicious days, mixed and interme- diary days, the latter being such as are entitled to no particular observance. Property in land, among the Greeks, seems to have been absolute in the owner, or what we would term freehold. In the matter of inheritance, the sons seem to have divided the patrimony in equal portions. One of Solon's laws forbade men to purchase as much land as they desired. An estate containing water, either in springs or otherwise, was highly valued, espe- cially in Attica ; and there a law existed relating to the depth of wells, the distance they were to be dug from other men's grounds, what was to be done when no water was found, and other matters to prevent contention as to water. Lands were enclosed, probably with a ring fence or boundary mark, or, most likely, the enclosed lands were such as surrounded the villages, and were in constant cultivation, the great breadth of the country being, it may be presumed, in common pasture. Solon decrees that, "He who digs a ditch or makes a trench nigh another's land shall leave so much distance from his neighbor as the ditch or trench is deep. If any one make a hedge near his neighbor's ground, let him not pass his neighbor's landmark. If he build a wall, he is to leave one foot between him and his neighbor ; if a house, two feet. A man building a house in his field must place it a bow-shot from his neighbor's." The operations of culture, as appears by Hesiod, required to be adapted to the season. Summer fallows were in use, and the ground received three plowings, — one in autumn, another in the spring, and a third immediately before sowing the seed. Manures were applied. In Homer, an old king is found manur- ing his fields with his own hands, and the invention of manures is ascribed by Pliny to the Grecian king Augeas. Theophrastus enumerates six different species of manures, and adds that a- 382 AGRICULTURE. mixture of soils produces the same effect. Clay, he says, should be mixed with sand, and sand with clay. The seed was sown by hand and covered with a rake. Grain was reaped with a sickle, bound in sheaves, carted to a well- prepared threshing-floor, in an airy situation, where it might be threshed and fanned by the wind, as is still practised in modern Greece, Italy, and other countries of the Continent. Afterward it was laid up in bins, chests, or granaries, and taken out as wanted by the family, to be pounded into meal in mortars or quern-mills. Thorns and other plants for hedges were produced from the woods, as we find in a passage from Homer, in which he repre- sents Ulysses as finding Laertes digging and preparing to plant a row ,of quicksets. The implements enumerated by Hesiod are, a plow, of which he recommends two be provided, in case of accident, and a cart ten spans (seven feet six inches) in width, with two low wheels. The plow consisted of three parts, — the share-beam, the draught-pole, and the plow-tail. The share- beam is to be made of oak, and the other parts of elm or bay. They are to be joined firmly with nails. The beasts of labor mentioned are oxen and mules. The former were more com- mon, and it would appear, from a passage in Homer, were yoked by the horns. Oxen of four years and a half are recommended to be purchased, as most serviceable. In winter, both oxen and mules were fed under cover, on hay and straw, mast, and the leaves of vines and various trees. The most desirable age for a plowman is forty. He must be well fed, go naked in summer, rise and go to work very early, and have a sort of an annual feast, proper rest, good food, and cloth- ing consisting of coats of kid skins, worsted socks, and half- , boots of ox hides in winter. He must not let his eyes wander about while at the plow, but cut a straight furrow ; nor be absent in mind while sowing the seed, lest he sow the same furrow twice. The vine is to be pruned and staked in due season, the vintage made in fine weather, and the grapes left a few days to dry, and then carried to the press. The products of Grecian agriculture were the grains and legumes at present in cultivation, with the vine, fig, olive, apple, date, and other fruits. The live-stock ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 383 consisted of sheep, goats, swine, cattle, mules, asses, and horses. It does not appear that artificial grasses or herbage plants were in use ; but recourse was had, in times of scarcity, to the mistletoe and the cytisus. What plant is meant by the latter designation is not agreed upon. Hay was, in all probability, obtained from the meadows and pastures, which were used in common. Flax, and probably hemp, was grown. Wood for fuel, and timber for construction, were obtained from the natural forests, which, in Solon's time, abounded with wolves. Nothing is said of the olive or fig by Hesiod ; but they were cultivated in the fields for oil and food, as well as the vine for wine. One of Solon's laws directs that olive and fig trees must be planted nine feet from a neighbor's ground, on account of their spreading roots. Other trees might be planted within five feet. In Hesiod's time almost every citizen was a husbandman, and had a portion of land which he cultivated himself, with the aid of his family, and perhaps one or two slaves. The produce, whether for food or clothing, appears to have been manufactured at home. The progress of society would, no doubt, introduce the usual division of labor and of arts, and the commercial culti- vators, or such as raised produce for the purpose of exchange, would, in consequence, arise ; but when this state of things occurred, and to what extent it was carried on when Greece became a Roman province, the ancient writers afford us no means of ascertaining. Agriculture among the Romans, or from the Second Century before Christ to the Fifth Century of our Era. — In the first ages of the Commonwealth, the lands were occupied and culti- vated by the proprietors themselves ; and, as this state of things continued for four or five centuries, it was probably the chief cause of the agricultural eminence of the Romans. When a person had only a small portion of land assigned to him, and the maintenance of his family depended entirely upon its pro- ductions, it is natural to suppose that the culture of it employed his whole attention. A person who has been accustomed to regular and systematic habits of action, such as those of a mili- tary life, will naturally carry those habits into whatever he undertakes. Hence it is probable that there was a degree of industrious application, exactness, and order in performing oper- 384 AGRICULTURE. ations, in a soldier-agriculturist, which would not be displayed by men who had never been trained to any regular habits of action. The observation of Pliny confirms this supposition. He as- serts that the Roman citizens, in early times, "plowed their fields with the same diligence that they pitched their camps, and sowed their corn with the same care that they formed their armies for battle." Grain, he says, was then abundant and cheap. Afterward, when Rome extended her conquests and acquired large territories, rich individuals purchased large es- tates. The culture of these fell into different hands, and was carried on by bailiffs and farmers, much in the same way as in modern times. Columella informs us that it was so in his time, stating that " the men employed in agriculture are either farmers or servants, the last being divided into free servants and slaves." It was a common practice to cultivate land by slaves during the time of the elder Pliny, but his nephew and successor let his estates to farmers. In the time of Cato the Censor, the author of " The Husbandry of the Ancients " observes, though the operations of agriculture were generally performed by servants, yet the great men among the Romans continued to give par- ticular attention to it, studied its improvements, and were very careful and exact in the management of all their country affairs. This appears from the directions given them by this most atten- tive farmer. These great men had both houses in town and villas in the country ; and, as they resided frequently in town, the manage- ment of their country affairs was committed to a bailiff or over- seer. Now their attention to the culture of their lands, and every other branch of husbandry, appears from the directions given them how to behave upon their arrival from the city at their villas. "After the landlord," says Cato, "has come to the villa and performed his devotions, he ought that very day, if possible, to go through his farm ; if not that day, at least the next. When he has considered in what manner the fields should be cultivated, what work should be done, and what not, the next day he ought to call the bailiff and inquire what of the work is done, and what remains ; whether the laboring is far enough advanced for the season, and whether the things that remain ROMAN AGRICULTURE, 385 might have been finished ; and what is done about the wine, corn, and all other things. When he has made himself ac- quainted with all these, he ought to take an account of the workmen and the working days. If a sufficiency of work does not appear, the bailiff will say that he was very diligent, but that the servants were not well ; that there were violent storms ; that the slaves had run away, and that they were employed in some public work. When he has given these and many other excuses, call him again to an account of the work and the work- men. When there have been storms, inquire for how many days, and consider what work might be done in rain. Casks ought to have been washed and mended ; the villa cleaned ; corn carried ; dung carried out ; a dunghill made ; seed cleaned ; old ropes mended ; new ones made ; and the servants' clothes mended. On holidays old ditches may have been scoured ; a highway repaired ; briars cut ; the garden digged ; the meadows cleared from weeds ; twigs bound up ; thorns pulled ; far [bread corn] pounded ; all things made clean. When the servants have been sick, the ordinary quantity of meat ought not to have been given them. When he is fully satisfied in all these things, and has given orders that the work that remains be finished, he should inspect the bailiff's accounts ; his account of money, corn, fodder, wine, oil ; what has been sold, what exacted, what remains; what of this may be sold; whether there is good security for what is owing. He should inspect the things that remain, buy what is wanting for the year, and let out what is necessary to be employed in this manner. He should give orders concerning the works he would have executed, and the things he is inclined to let out, and leave his orders in writing. He should inspect his flocks, make a sale, sell the superfluous oil, wine, and corn. If they are giving a proper price, sell the old oxen, the refuse of the cattle and sheep, wool, hides, old carts, old iron tools, and old diseased slaves. Whatever is superfluous, he ought to sell ; a farmer should be a seller, not a buyer." The landlord is thus supposed, by Cato, to be perfectly ac- quainted with every kind of work proper on his farm, and the seasons for performing it ; and also to be a perfect judge of how much work, both within and without doors, ought to be per- 386 AGRICULTURE. formed by any number of servants and cattle in a given time, the knowledge of which is highly useful to a farmer, and what few perfectly acquire. It may be observed, likewise, that the landlord is here supposed to inquire into all circumstances, with a minuteness of which there is scarcely even an actual farmer in this age who has any conception. Varro complains that, in his time, the same attention to agriculture was not given as in former times ; that the great men resided too much within the walls of the city, and employed themselves more in the theatre and circus than in the corn fields and vineyards. Columella complains that, in his time, agriculture was almost entirely neglected. However, from the directions which he gives to the proprietors of land, it appears that there were still a few who continued to pay a regard to it ; for, after mentioning some things which he says, by the justice and care of the land- lord, contribute much to improve his estates, he adds: *'But he should likewise remember, when he returns from the city, immediately after paying his devotions, if he has time, if not, next day, to view his marshes, inspect every part of his farm, and observe whether, in his absence, any part of discipline or watchfulness has been dispensed with ; and whether any vine, any other tree, or any fruits are missing. Then, likewise, he ought to review the cattle and servants, and all the instruments of husbandry, and the household furniture. If he continues to do all these things, for some years, he will find a habit of disci- pline established when he is old ; and at no age will he be so much impaired with years as to be despised by his servants." The earliest farmers, among the Romans, seem not to have been upon the same footing as in Britain. The stock on the farm belonged to the landlord, and .the farmer received a cer- tain proportion of the products of his labor. The farmer who possessed a farm upon these terms, was called /^///^r ox polintor, from his business, being the dresser of the land ; and partua- rius, from his being in a kind of copartnership with his land- lord, and receiving part of the products of the' farm for his labor. Cato takes notice of this kind of farmers only, and it is probable that there were no others in his time. "The terms," he says, **upon which land ought to be let. to a politor; in the good land of Casinum and Venafrum, he receives the eighth basket ; ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 2i^^ in the second kind of land he receives the seventh ; in the third kind he receives the sixth. In this last kind, when the grain is divided by the modius, he receives the fifth part ; in Vena- frum, when divided by the basket, he receives only the ninth. If the landlord and the politor husk the grain in common, the politor receives the same proportion after as before ; of barley and beans divided by the nioditis, he receives a fifth." The small proportion that the politor receives makes it evident that he was at no expense in cultivating the land, and that he received his proportion clear of all deductions. Farmers mentioned by Columella seem to have paid rent for their farms. The directions given to landlords by this author, concerning the mode of treating them, are curious as well as important. "A landlord," he says, "ought to treat his tenants with gentleness ; should show himself not difficult to please, and be more vigorous in exacting culture than rent, because this is less severe and upon the whole more advantageous ; for when a field is carefully cultivated, it for the most part brings profit ; never loss, except when assaulted by a storm or pillagers, and therefore the farmer cannot have the assurance to ask any ease of his rent. Neither should the landlord be very tenacious of his right in everything to which the farmer is bound, particularly as to days of payment, and demanding the wood, and other small things which he is obliged to, besides paying his rent, the care of which is a greater trouble than expense to the rus- tics. Nor is every penalty in our power to be exacted, for our ancestors were of the opinion that the rigor of the law is the greatest oppression. On the other hand, the landlord ought not to be entirely negligent in this matter, because it is cer- tainly true, what Alpheus the usurer used to say, good debts become bad ones, by being not called for." These directions are valuable, even with reference to the present time, and they instruct us respecting the general man- agement of landed property among the Romans. It appears that the landlord was considered as understanding everything respecting the husbandry of his estate himself, and that there was no agent or intermediate person between him and the farmer. The farmers paid the rent for the use of their farms, and were bound to a particular kind of culture, according to the 7,88 AGRICULTURE. conditions of their lease ; but they were perfectly free and inde- pendent of their landlords, so much so as to sometimes enter into lawsuits with them. The habits of a people take their rise, in a great degree, from the climate in which they live, and the native or cultivated pro- ductions with which the country abounds. As respects agri- culture, it may be sufficient to mention that the great heat of the climate, by relaxing the frame, naturally produces indolence in many, and leads to a life of plunder in some. Hence, then as now, the danger of thieves in that country; and hence, also, the custom of performing field labor early in the morning and in the evening, and resting during the noontide heat. The general use of oil and wine as food and drink, and also of the fig as an article of nourishment, are habits which arise immedi- ately from the circumstance of these articles being the natural product of the country, but are ultimately, like most other habits, to be referred to the climate. The Roman authors are much more copious in describing farm culture and economy, than in relating the state of landed property, as to extent and proprietorship. Their directions, being founded on experience, are in great part applicable at the present day. They are remarkable for their minuteness, but we can give only a very brief compendium, beginning with some account of the farm, the villa or farmery, and taking in succes- sion the servants, beasts of labor, implements, operations, crops cultivated, animals reared, and profit produced. In the choice of a farm, Cato recommends a situation where there are plenty of artificers and good water ; which has a forti- fied town in its neighborhood ; is near the sea or a navigable river, or where the roads are good ^nd easy. To these requi- sites Varro adds : a proper market for buying and selling ; security from robbers and thieves ; and the boundaries planted with useful trees. The interior of the farm was not subdivided by enclosures, which were seldom used but for their gardens, and to form parks in the villas of the wealthy. The soil pre- ferred by Columella, and all the Roman authors, is the fat and free, as producing the greatest crops, and requiring the least culture ; next, fat, stiff soil ; then, stiff and lean soil, that can be watered ; and last of all, lean, dry soil. The state of a farm ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 389 preferred by Cato and some other writers, is that of pasture, meadow, and watered grass-lands, as yielding produce at the least expense; and lands under vines and olives, as producing the greatest profit according to the expense. The opinions of the Roman agriculturists, however, seem to disagree on the subject of meadows, apparently from confounding a profitable way of management with a capacity of yielding great profit with superior management, and none without. The servants employed in Roman agriculture were of two sorts, freemen and slaves. When the proprietor, or farmer, lived on the farm and directed its culture, these were directly under his management. In the other cases, there was a bailiff or overseer, to whom all the servants were subordinate. This was the case as early as the time of Cato, who is very particular in his directions respecting the case of a bailiff, who ought to take care of the servants, the cattle, and the laboring utensils, and in executing his master's orders. The bailiff was generally a person who had received some education, and could write and keep accounts ; and it was expected that he should be careful, apt to learn, and capable of executing his master's orders, with a proper attention to situations and circumstances. Columella, however, says that " the bailiff may do his business very well though he is illiterate." Cornelius Celsus says that " such a bailiff will bring money to his master oftener than to his book, because, being ignorant of letters, he is the less capable to con- trive accounts, and is afraid to trust another, being conscious of fraud." There are some things mentioned by this author with respect to the bailiff, that are very proper, and show particularly the attention of the Romans. " He ought not," he says, " to trade on his own account, nor employ his master's money in purchasing cattle or any other goods, for this trading takes off his attention, and prevents him from keeping square accounts with his master. But when he is required to settle them, he shows his goods in the place of money. This, above all, he should be careful of; not to think he knows anything he does not know, and always to be ready to learn what he is ignorant of ; for as it is a great advantage to do a thing well, so it is most hurtful to have it done ill. This one thing holds true in all rustic work, to do but once what the manner of culture requires ; because. 390 AGRICULTURE. when imprudence or negligence in working is to be set to rights, the time for the work is already wasted, nor are the effects of the amendment such as to make up for the lost labor, and bal- ance the advantages that might have been gained by improving the season that is past." The qualities of the other villa servants are represented by the same author, in this manner: "The careful and industrious," he says, "should be appointed masters of the works. These qualities are more necessary for this business than stature or strength of body, for this service requires diligent care and art." Of the plowman, he says : "Though a degree of genius is nec- essary, it is not enough. There should be joined to it a harsh- ness of voice and manner to terrify the cattle ; but he should temper strength with clemency, because he ought to be more terrible than cruel, so that the oxen may obey his commands, and continue the longer at their work, not being spent at the same time, both with the severity of labor and stripes. What the offices of masters of works and of plowmen are, I shall mention in their proper place. It is sufficient, at present, to observe that tallness and strength are of great use in the one, and of very little in the other ; for we should make the tallest man a plowman, both for the reason I have already mentioned, and because there is no rustic work by which a tall man is less fatigued than by plowing ; because, when employed in this, walk- ing almost upright, he may lean upon the handle of the plow." Of the common laborer he says : " He may be of almost any size, providing he is able to endure fatigue"; of the vine- dresser : " Vineyards do not require such tall men, providing they are thick and brawny, for this constitution of body is most proper for digging, pruning, and other culture necessary for them. In this work diligence is less necessary than in other works of husbandry, because the vine-dresser ought to perform his work in company, and under the eye of a director. Com- monly, wicked men are of a quicker genius, which this kind of work requires ; and, as it requires not only a stout servant but one of active contrivance, vineyards are commonly cultivated by slaves in chains." Thus we see that, among the Romans, laborers were appointed to the different works of husbandry according to their size, strength, and genius. ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 391 With respect to the wages of agricultural labor, among the Romans, very little benefit can be derived from knowing the absolute sum of money paid for any article, unless it be compared with the price of other commodities. The price of a slave, in Cato's time, was about ^250. In the time of Columella, it had risen to $300, or to the price of eight acres of good land. A good vine-dresser cost ^350, and a good plowman or laborer not less than ^300. The interest of money, at that time, was six per cent per annum ; therefore, in stating the expense of farm labor, a slave must be rated at not less than 12 per cent, as be- ing a perishable commodity ; so that one who cost ^300 would fall to be charged at the rate of $^6 per annum, besides his maintenance and clothing. This may give some idea of the wages that would be paid to a free servant, who hired himself by the year, of which, however, there appears to have been no great number, their wages not being stated. All servants were maintained and clothed by the farmer or proprietor, and, as may be supposed, it was the interest of the latter that this should be done in a good and sufficient manner. Columella mentions what he calls an old maxim concerning the bailiff: "That he should not eat but in the sight of all the servants, nor of anything but what was given to the rest." He mentions the reason for this: "For thus," he says, "shall he take care that the bread be well baked, and the other things be prepared in a wholesome manner." The same author mentions the treatment the masters ought to give their slaves : " So much the more attentive," he says, " ought the master to be in his enquiry concerning this kind of servants, that they may not be injured in their clothes, and other things afforded them, inas- much as they are subjects to many, such as bailiffs, masters of works, and gaolers; and the more they are liable to receive injuries, the more they are hurt through cruelty or avarice, the more they are to be feared. Therefore a diligent master ought to inquire, both of themselves and likewise the free servants, in whom he may put greater confidence, whether they receive the full of what is allowed them. He himself ought likewise to try, by tasting, the goodness of the bread and drink, and examine their clothes, mittens, and shoes." In another place he says that, "The bailiff should have the family clothed rather usefully 392 AGRICULTURE. than nicely, and carefully fortified against the wind, cold, and rain ; all which they will be secured from by sleeved leather coats, old centones (thick patchwork, as bed quilts), for defend- ing their heads, or cloaks with hoods. If the laborers are clothed with these, no day is so stormy as to prevent them from working without doors." Cato likewise makes particular mention of the clothes of the slaves. He says : "A coat and a gown three feet and a half long, should be given once in two years. Whenever you give a coat or a gown, first receive the old one ; of these make centones. Good shoes should be given once in two years." He also informs us what quality of bread and wine, and what kind of meats were given to laborers. Of bread, each laborer was allowed at the rate of three pounds avoirdupois, or of three pounds twelve ounces avoirdupois, in the day, according to the severity of his labor. During the winter, the bailiff should have four modii of wheat each month, and during the summer four modii and a half each month, and the housekeeper or the bailiff's wife and the shepherd should have three. During the winter the slaves should have four pounds of bread each in the day. From the time that they began to dig in the vineyards to the ripening of the figs, they should have five pounds each, after which they should return again to four. To this bread there was a daily allowance of wine. During the three months that immediately followed the vintage, the servants drank a weak kind of wine called lora. The manner in which this liquor was made is described both by Pliny and Columella, and from the descriptions given by them it may well be supposed to have been as good as the small beer given to servants in England. It does not appear that the Roman slaves were much restricted in the quantity. Cato mentions no measure, he only says that they have this to drink three months after the vintage. He proceeds in this manner : " The quantity of wine for each man in the year is eight quadrantals. Now an addition must be made to this, according to the work in which the slaves are employed. It is not too much for them to drink ten quadrantals each in the year." This allowance of wine, it must be acknowledged, was not inconsiderable, being at least seventy-four gallons in the year, or an average of 1.62 pints in the day. ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 393 Besides the bread and wine the slaves got what was called pulmentarmm, which answers to what, in some parts of the country, is called kitchen drippings or fat. For this purpose, Cato recommends the laying up of as many fallen olives as can be gathered ; afterwards the early olives, from which the small- est quantity of oil is expected — at the same time observing that these must be given sparingly, that they may last the longer. When the olives are finished, he desires salt fish and vinegar to be given, and, besides, to each man a sextarius of oil in the month, and a moditcs of salt in the year. Columella, for this purpose, directs apples, pears, and figs to be laid up. He adds : *' If there is a great quantity of these, the rustics are secured in no small part of their meat during the winter, for they serve for drippings or fat." The laboring cattle used by the Romans, as well as by all other ancient nations, were chiefly the ox, sometimes the ass, the mules for burdens, and but very rarely the horse. The horse, however, was reared, but almost exclusively for the sad- dle, the chase, or for war. The respect for the ox which existed among the Egyptians, Jews, and Greeks, was continued among the Romans ; so much so that Varro, and after him Columella and Pliny, adduce an instance of a man having been indicted and condemned for killing one, to please a boy who longed for a dish of tripe. The breeding, breaking, feeding, and working of the ox, are very particularly treated of by the ancient authors. The cows that Columella " most approves of, are of a tall make, long, with very large belly, very broad forehead, eyes black and open, horns graceful, smooth, and black, hairy ears, straight jaws, very large dewlap and tail, and moderate hoofs and legs." "Bulls," says Palladius, ''should be tall, with huge members, of a middle age, rather young than old, of a stern countenance, small horns, a brawny and vast neck, and a confined belly." "Breeders, both of horses and cows," Virgil observes, "should attend principally to the make of the female. If any one fond of the prize at the Olympic games breeds horses, or if any one breeds stout bullocks for the plow, he chiefly attends to the make of the mother, who ought to be large in all her parts." The same maxim is enforced scientifically by Cline. For breaking and training cattle to the yoke, Varro and Columella 394 AGRICULTURE. give very particular directions. ''To break bullocks," says Varro, "put their necks between forked stakes, set up one for each bullock, and give them meat from the hand. They will become tractable in a few days. Then, in order that by degrees they may become accustomed to the yoke, let an unbroken one be joined with a veteran, whom he will imitate ; then let them go upon even ground without a plow ; then yoke to a light plow in a sandy soil. That they may be trained for carriages, they should be first put to empty carts, and driven, if convenient, through a village or town ; the habit of hearing frequent noises and seeing a variety of objects, will soon make them fit for use." Training commences with the calf state ; and ** calves," says Vir- gil, " which you intend for country labor, should be instructed while their youthful minds are tractable and their age manage- able. First, bind round their necks wide wreaths of tender twigs ; then, when their free necks have been accustomed to servitude, put real collars upon them so that they may print their steps only upon the top of the dust ; afterward, let the beechen axle groan under the heavy load, and the pole draw the wheels joined to the weighty carriage." Laboring oxen were fed with the mast, or nuts of the beech, or sweet chestnut ; grape stones and husks, after being pressed ; hay, wheat, and barley straw ; bean vetch and lupine chaff ; all parts of corn and pulse, grass, green forage, and leaves. The leaves used were those of the holm-oak, ivy, elm (considered the best)^ the vine, the poplar, etc. The poplar leaves were mixed with the elm leaves, to make them hold out, and when there were no elm leaves, the oak and fig leaves were used. The food preferred before all others, by Columella, is good pasturage in summer, and hay and corn in winter ; but he says that the food and manner of feeding differ in different countries. Oxen were worked in pairs abreast, both with the cart and plow, and stood in the stables also in pairs, in stalls made for this purpose. They were carefully matched, in order that the stronger might not wear out the weaker. They were yoked either by the horns or neck, but the latter mode was greatly preferred. "Yoking by the horns," Columella observes, "is condemned by almost all who have written on husbandry, because cattle can exert more strength from the neck and breast than the horns, ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 395 as in one way they press with the whole weight and bulk of their bodies, whereas in the other way they are tormented with having their heads drawn up and turned back, and with diffi- culty stir the surface of the earth with a light plow." Oxen, when in the plow, were not allowed to go a great way without turning. One hundred and twenty feet was the length fixed upon, and further than this it was thought improper for them to pull hard without stopping. The Rev. A. Dixon thinks it ** probable that the breaks or plats for the different kinds of corn and pulse, were laid out nearly of this length and breadth," and there appear to be grounds for concluding that the case was the same among the Jews and Greeks. It was thought proper that oxen, in plowing, should be allowed to stop a little at the turning, and when they stopped that the plowman should put -the yoke a little forward, that their necks might cool. " Unless their necks are carefully and regularly cooled," says Columella, " they will soon become inflamed, and swellings and ulcers will arise." The same author directs that the plowman, when he has unyoked his oxen, " must rub them after they are tied up ; press their backs with his hands ; pull up their hides, and not suffer them to stick to their bodies ; for this is a disease that is very destructive to working cattle. No food must be given them till they have ceased from sweating and high breath- ing, and then by degrees, in portions as eaten, and afterward they are to be led to the water and encouraged by whistling." In purchasing working oxen, Varro directs to choose such as have *' spacious horns, rather black than otherwise, a broad forehead, wide nostrils, a broad chest, and thick dewlaps." All the Roman authors agree that the best color is red or dark brown ; that the black are hardier, but not so valuable ; that the hair should be short and thick, and the whole skin very soft to the touch ; the body in general very long and deep, or, as Columella and Palladius express it, compact and square. The particular parts they also describe at length, in terms such as would, for the most part, be approved by experienced breeders of cattle. Making due allowance for the difference between choice for working and choice for fatting, they all concur in recommending farmers to rear at home what oxen they want, as 396 AGRICULTURE. the change of soil and climate often disagrees with those brought from a distance. The horse was scarcely, if at all, used in Roman agriculture, but was reared for the saddle and the army by some farmers. Varro and Columella are particular in their directions as to the choice of mares, and breeding and rearing their young ; but as these contain nothing very remarkable, we shall merely say that the signs of future merit in a colt were said to be a small head, well-formed limbs, and contending with other colts or horses for superiority in running, or in any other thing. The dog is a valuable animal in every unenclosed country, and was kept by the Roman farmers for its use in assisting the shep- herds, and also for watching. Varro mentions two kinds : one for hunting, which belongs to fierce and savage beasts ; and one for the shepherd and the watch-box. The latter are not to be bought from hunters or butchers, because they are either lazy, or will follow a stag rather than a sheep. The best color is white, because it is most discernible in the dark. They must be fed in the kitchen, with bread and milk, or broth with bruised bones, but never with animal food, and never allowed to suffer from hunger, lest they attack the flock. That they may not be wounded by other beasts, they wear a collar made of strong leather set with nails, the inward extremities of which are cov- ered with soft leather, that the hardness of the iron may not hurt their necks. If a wolf or any other beast is wounded by these, it makes other dogs that have not the collar remain secure. The Romans used a great many instruments in their culture and farm management, but their particular forms and uses are so imperfectly described that very little is known concerning them. The plow, the most important instrument in agriculture, is mentioned by Cato as of two kinds, — one for strong, and the other for light soils. Varro mentions one with two mould- boards, with which, he says, *' when they plow, after sowing the seed, they are said to ridge." Pliny mentions a plow with one mould-board, for the same purpose, and others with a coulter, of which he says there are many kinds. It is probable that the ancients had many kinds of plows, though not so scientifically constructed as those of modern times. They had plows with mould-boards and without mould-boards ; with and without ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 397 coulters ; with and without wheels ; with broad and narrow pointed shares ; and with shares not only with sharp sides and points, but also with high raised cutting tops. Amid all this variety of plows, no one has been able to depict the simplest form of that implement in use among the Romans. The plow described by Virgil had a mould-board, and was used for cover- ing seed and for ridging, but that which we have depicted was the common form used in stirring the soil. To supply the place of our mould-boards, this plow required either a sort of diverging stick inserted in the share-head, or to be held obliquely and sloping towards the side to which the earth was to be turned. The Romans did not plow their fields in beds, by circumvolving furrows, as we do, but the cattle returned always on the same side, as in plowing with a turn-wrist plow. "Wheel plows," Lasteyrie says, "were invented in or not long before the time of Pliny, who attributes the invention to the inhabitants of Cisalpine Gaul." Virgil seems to have known such plows, and refers to them in his Georgics. In the Greek monuments of antiquity are only four or five examples of these. Lasteyrie has given figures of these wheel plows, from Caylus' " Collection of Antiquities," and from a Sicilian medal. The urpex seems to have been a plank with several teeth, used as our break or cultivator, to break rough ground and tear out roots and weeds ; the crates seems to have been a kind of harrow ; the rastrtinty a rake used in manual labor ; the sarculuntj a hand hoe, similar to our draw hoe ; the marra, a hand hoe of smaller size ; the bidens seems to have been a two-pronged hoe of large size, with a hammer at the other end, used to break clods. These were used chiefly in cultivating vineyards. The ligo seems to have been a spade ; and the pala a shovel, or a sort of a spade, probably a synonym. The ligo and pala were made of wood only, of oak shod with iron, or with the blade entirely of iron. The securis seems to have been an axe, and the same term was applied to the blade of the pruning-knife, which was formed like a crescent. The dolabra was a kind of adze for cutting roots, in tree culture. The reaping-hook seems to have been the same as that in modern times. Some were used for cutting off the ears of corn, and these, it may be presumed, were not serrated like 39^ AQRICVLTURE. our sickles ; others for cutting wheat and barley iiear the gfdund, like our reaping-hooks; in the south of Gaul, Pliny informs us they had invented a reaping-machine. From his description this machine must have borne a considerable resemblance to that used in Suffolk for cropping the heads off clover left for seed, and not unlike other modern attempts at an engine of this description. There were threshing-implements for manual labor, and for being drawn by horses ; and some for striking off the ears of grain, like what are called rippling-combs, for combing off the capsules of newly pulled flax. A variety of other instruments for clean- ing grain, and for the wine and oil press, are mentioned, but too obscurely to admit of description. BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, YOSEMITE, CAL Chapter n. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE — Continued. Of simple agricultural operations, the most important are plowing, sowing, and reaping ; and such as compound, or involve, various simple operations, such as fallowing, manuring, weeding, and field watering. "What," says Cato, "is the best culture of land ? Good plowing. — What the second t Plowing in the ordinary way. — What the third .-* Laying on manure." The season for plowing was any time when the land was not wet. In plowing, the furrow is directed to be kept equal in breadth throughout, one furrow equal to another, and straight furrows. The usual depth is not mentioned, but it was prob- ably considerable, as Cato says that grain land should be of good quality for two feet in depth. No scamni or balks (hard, unmoved soil) were to be left ; and to ascertain that this was properly attended to, the farmer is directed, when inspecting the work done, to push a pole into Jthe plowed ground in a variety of places. The plow was generally drawn by one pair of oxen, which were guided by the plowman without the aid of a driver. In breaking up stiff land, he was expected to plow half an acre, in free land an acre, and in light land an acre and a half, each day. Fallowing was a universal practice among the Romans. In most cases a crop and a year's fallow succeeded each other; though, when the manure could be got, two crops or more were taken in succession, and on certain rich soils, which Pliny describes as favorable for barley, a crop was taken every year. In fallowing, the lands were first plowed after the crops were removed, generally in August. They were again cross-plowed in spring, and at least a third time before sowing, when spring grain or winter grain was the crop. There was, however, no limit to the number of plowings, and, when occasion required, manual operations, the object being, as Theophrastus observes, "to let the earth feel the cold of winter and the sun of summer ; 399 400 AGRICULTURE. to invert the soil and render it free, light, and clear of weeds, so that it can most easily afford nourishment." Manuring was held in such high esteem by the Romans that immortality was given to Sterculius for the invention. They collected manure from every source which has been thought of by the moderns, — vegetable, animal, and mineral; territorial, aquatic, and marine. Animal dung was divided into three kinds, — that produced by birds, that by men, that by cattle. Pigeon dung was preferred to all other, and next human ordure. Pigeon dung was used as a top-dressing, and human dung, mixed with the cleaning of the villas, was applied to the roots of the vine and the olive. "Varro," says Pliny, ** extols the dung of thrushes from the aviaries, as food for the swine and oxen, and asserts that there is no food that fattens them more quickly." Varro prefers it also as a manure, on which Pliny observes, " We rnay have a good opinion of the manners of our times, if our ancestors had such large aviaries as to procure from them dung to their fields." Dung hills were directed to be placed near the villa, their bottoms hollowed out to retain the moisture, and their sides and tops defended from the sun by twigs and leaves. Dung usually remained in the heap a year, and was laid on in the autumn and spring, the two sowing seasons. No more was to be spread than could be plowed in the same day. Crops that were sickly were revived by sowing over them the dust of dung, especially that of birds ; that is, by what is now called a top-dressing. Frequent and moderate dungings are recommended as preferable to occasional and very abundant supplies. Green crops, especially lupines, were sown, and before they came into pod plowed in as manures. They were also cut and buried at the roots of fruit trees for the same purpose. Trees, twigs, stubble, etc., were burned for manure. Cato says: "If you cannot sell wood and twigs, and have no stone that will burn into lime, make charcoal of the wood, and burn in the fields the twigs and small branches that remain." Palladius says that lands which have been manured by ashes of trees will not require manure for five years. Stubble was very generally burned, as it was also among the Jews. Lime was used as a manure, especially for vines and olives. Cato gives particular ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 401 directions how to form the kiln and burn it. He prefers a truncated cone, ten feet in diameter at the bottom, twenty feet high, and three feet in diameter at the top. The grate covers the whole bottom ; there is a pit below for the ashes, and two furnace doors, one for drawing out the burnt stone, and the other for admitting air to the fire. The fuel used was wood or charcoal. Marl was known to the earlier Roman authors, but not used in Italy. It is mentioned by Pliny as having been "found out in Britain and Gaul." " It is a certain richness of earth," he says, "like the kernels in animal bodies that are increased by fatness." He adds that "marl was known to the Greeks ; for is there anything that has not been tried by them } They call the marl-like white clay leucargillos y which they use in the lands of Megara, but only where they are moist and cold." But though the Romans did not use marl, because they had not discovered it in Italy, they were aware, as Varro and others inform us, of its use. " When I marched an army," says Varro, "to the Rhine in Transalpine Gaul, I passed through some countries where I saw the fields manured with white fossil clay." This must have been either marl or chalk. In reaping grain, it was a maxim that it is " better to reap two days too soon, than two days too late." Varro mentions three modes of performing the operation, — cutting close to the ground with hooks, a handful at a time ; cutting off their ears with a curved stick and a saw attached ; and cutting the stalks in the middle, leaving the lower part, or stubble, to be cut after- ward. Columella says : " Many cut the stalks by the middle, with drag-hooks, and these either beaked or toothed ; many gather the ears with inergce, and others with combs." This method does very well when the crop is thin, but it is very troublesome when the grain is thick. If, in reaping with hooks, a part of the straw is cut off with the ears, it is immediately gathered into a heap, and, after being dried by being exposed to the sun, is threshed. But if the ears only are cut off, they are carried directly to the granary, and threshed during the winter. To these modes Pliny adds that of pulling up by the roots, and remarks, that "generally, where they cover their houses with stubble, they cut high, to preserve this of as great 405 AGRICULTURE. length as possible. When there is a scarcity of hay, they cut low, that the straw may be added to the chaff." A reaping machine, used in the plains of Gaul, is mentioned by both Pliny and Palladius, which is thus described by the latter : " In the plains of Gaul they use this quick way of reap- ing, and, without reapers, cut large fields with an ox in one day : for this purpose a machine is made, carried upon two wheels ; the square surface has boards erected at the side, which, sloping outwards, make a wider space above. The board on the fore part is lower than the others ; upon it there are a great many small teeth, wide set in a row, answering to the height of the ears of grain, and turned upward at the ends. On the back part of this machine two short shafts are fixed, like the poles of a litter ; to these an ox is yoked, with his head to the machine, and the yoke and traces likewise turned the contrary way ; he is well trained and does not go faster than he is driven. When this machine is pushed through the standing grain, all the ears are comprehended by the teeth, and heaped up in the hollow part of it, being cut off from the straw which is left behind, the driver setting it higher or lower as he finds it necessary ; and thus by a few goings and returnings the whole field is reaped. This machine does very well in plain and smooth fields, and in places where there is no necessity for feeding with straw." The Romans did not bind their grain into sheaves, as is customary in northern climates. When cut off it was sent directly to the area to be threshed ; or, if the ears were, only cropped, sent in baskets to the barn. Among the Jews, Egyp- tians, and Greeks, the grain was bound in sheaves ; at least, some kinds were so treated, as appears from the story of Ruth, "gleaning among the sheaves"; of Joseph's dream in which his " sheaf arose " ; and from the harvest represented by Homer, on one of the compartments of Achilles' shield. Reapers were set in bands, on the opposite side of the field, and worked towards the centre. As the land was plowed in the same manner, from the sides to the middle, there was an open furrow left there, to which the reapers hastened in the way of compe- tition. A reaper was expected to cut down a jugerum of wheat in a day and a half ; of barley, legumes, and clover, in one day ; and of flax, in three days. ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 403 Threshing was performed in the area, or threshing-floor, a circular space of from forty to sixty feet in diameter, in the open air, with a smooth, hard surface. The floor was generally made of well-wrought clay, mixed with the leeds of oil. Some- times it was paved. It was generally placed near the barn, in order that, when a sudden shower happened during the process of threshing, the ears might be carried in there out of the rain. Sometimes, also, the ears of unthreshed wheat of the whole farm were first put in this barn, and carried out to the area afterward. Varro and Columella recommended that the situa- tion of the area be high and airy, and within sight of the farm- er's or bailiff's house, to prevent fraud ; distant from gardens and orchards, because, though dung and straw are beneficial to the roots of vegetables, they are destructive when they fall on their leaves. The grain being spread over the area a foot or two in thickness, it was threshed or beaten out by the hoofs of cattle or horses, driven around, or a machine dragging over it. " This machine," Varro informs us, " was made of a board, rough with stones or iron, with a driver of great weight placed on it." A machine composed of rollers studded with iron knobs, and fur- nished with a seat for the driver, was used in the Carthaginian territory. Sometimes they also threshed with rods or flails. Wheat was cleaned or winnowed by throwing it from one part of the floor to another (in the wind, when there was any) with a kind of a shovel called a ventilabrum ; another implement, called a van, probably a kind of sieve, was used when there was no wind. After being dressed, the grain was laid in the gran- ary, and the straw either laid aside for litter, or, what is not a little remarkable, "sprinkled with brine,'' then, when dried, rolled up in bundles, and so given to the oxen for hay. Haymaking, among the Romans, was performed much in the same way as in modern times. The meadows were mown when the flowers of the grass began to fade. "As it dries," says Varro, " it is turned with forks. It is then tied up in bundles of four pounds each, and carried home, and what is left strewn upon the meadow is raked together and added to the crop." "A good mower," Columella informs us, "cuts a jugeriim of meadow, and binds twelve hundred bundles of hay." It is probable that this quantity, which is nearly two tons, was the 404 AGRICULTURE. produce per acre of a good crop. A second crop was cut, called cordtiiUy and was chiefly used for feeding sheep in winter. Hay- was also made of leafy twigs, for the same purpose. Cato directs the bailiff to " cut down poplar, elm, oak spray, and put them up in time, not over dry, for fodder for the sheep." Weeding and stirring the soil were performed ; the first by cutting with a hook, or pulling the weeds up with the hand ; the second by sarcling or hoeing. Beans were hoed three times ; the first time they were earthed up, but not the second or third. Lupines were not hoed at all, because, " so far from being invested with weeds they destroy them." Horse hoeing was also practised, the origin of which is thus given by Pliny : "We must not omit," says he, ''a particular kind or method of plowing, at this time practised in Italy, beyond the Po, and introduced by the injuries of war. The Salassi, when they rav- aged the lands lying under the Alps, tried likewise to destroy the panic and millet that had just come above the ground. Finding that the situation of the crops prevented them from destroying it in the ordinary way, they plowed the fields ; but the crop at harvest being double what it used to be, taught the farmer to plow among the grain." This operation, he informs us, was performed either when the stocks were beginning to appear, or when the plant had put forth two or three leaves. The grain being generally sown in drills, or covered with the plow, so as to come up in rows, readily admitted this practice. Pasturing and harrowing grain, when too luxuriant, were prac- tised. Virgil says, "*What commendation shall I give him, who, lest his grain should lodge, pastures it while young, as soon as the blade equals the furrows ? " Pliny directs to " comb the grain with a harrow before it is pastured, and hoe it afterward." Watering on a large scale was applied to both arable and grass land. Virgil advises, " to bring down the waters of a river upon sown grain, and when the field is parched, and the plants dying, convey it from the brow of the hill in channels." Pliny mentions the practice, and observes that the water destroys the weeds, nourishes the grain, and serves in place of hoeing. Watering grass-lands was practised whenever an opportunity was offered. "As much as is in your power," says Cato, "make watered meadows." " Land that is naturally rich and in good ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 405 heart," says Columella, " does not need to have water set over it, because the hay produced in a juicy soil is better than that excited by water. When the poverty of the soil requires it, however, water may be let over it." The same author describes, very particularly, the position of the land for water meadows : '' Neither a low field with hollows, nor a broken field with steep, rising grounds, is proper ; the first because it contains too long the water collected in the hollows, and the last because it makes the water to run too quickly over it. A field, however, that has a moderate descent, may be made a meadow, whether it be rich or poor, if so situated as to be watered ; but the best situation is where the surface is smooth, and the descent so gentle as to prevent either showers, or the rivers that overflow it, from remaining long, and on the other hand to allow the water that comes over it gently to glide off. Therefore if, in any part of a field intended for a meadow, a pool of water should stand, it should be let off by drains, for the loss is equal, either from too much water or too little grass." Old water meadows were renewed by breaking them up and sowing them with grain for three years. The third year they were laid down with vetches and grass seed, and then watered again, but not with a great force of water, till the ground had become firm and bound together with turf. Watering, Pliny informs us, was com- menced immediately after the equinox, and restrained when the grass sent up flower stalks ; it was recommended in mowing grounds, after the hay season, and in pasture lands at intervals. Drainage, although an operation of an opposite nature to watering, is yet essential to its success. It was particularly attended to by the Romans, both to remove surface water, and to intercept and carry off under the surface the water of springs. Cato gives directions for opening the furrows of sown fields, and clearing them so that the water might find its way readily to the ditches ; and for wet-bottomed lands he directs to make drains three feet broad at the top, four feet deep, and a foot and a quarter wide at the bottom ; to lay them with stones, or, if these cannot be got, with willow rods placed contrariwise, or twigs tied together. Columella directs both open and covered drains to be made sloping at the sides, and, in addition to what Cato says respecting the waterways of covered drains, directs to make the 4o6 AGRICULTURE. bottom narrow, and fit a rope made of twigs to it, pressing the top firmly down and putting some leaves or pine branches over it before throwing in the earth. Pliny says that the ropes may be made of straw, and that flint or gravel may be used to form the waterway, filling the excavations half full, or to within eighteen inches of the top. Fencing was performed by the Romans, but only to a limited extent. Varro says that, " the limit of a farm should be fenced by planting trees, that families may not quarrel with their neigh- bors, and that the limits may not want the decision of a judge." Palladius directs to enclose meadows, gardens, and orchards. Columella mentions folds for enclosing the cattle in the night time, but the chief fences of his time were the enclosures called parks for preserving wild beasts, and forming agreeable pros- pects from the villas of the wealthy. Pliny mentions these, and says that they were the invention of Fulvius Lapinus. Varro describes fences raised by planting briars or thorns, and training them into a hedge ; and these, he says, have the advantage of not being in danger from the burning torch of the wanton pas- senger. Fences were also made of stalks interwoven with twigs, ditches of earthen dykes, and walls of stone or brick, or rammed earth and gravel. Trees were pruned and felled at different times, according to the object in view. The olives were little cut ; the vine had a winter dressing and one or two summer dressings. Green branches or sprays, of which the leaves were used as food for oxen and sheep, were cut at the end of summer ; copse-wood for fuel, in winter ; and timber trees generally at that season. Cato, however, directs that trees which are to be felled for timber should be cut out at different times, according to their natures ; such as ripen seed, when seeds are ripe ; such as do not produce seed, when the leaves drop ; such as produce both flowers and seeds, at the same time also as when the leaves begin to drop ; but if they are evergreens, such as cypress and pine, they may be felled at any time. Fruits were gathered by hand. The ripest grapes were cut first. Such as were selected for eating were carried home and hung up, and those for the press were put into baskets and car- ried to the wine-press, to be picked and then pressed, Olives ROMAN AGRICULTURE, 407 were picked by hand, and some selected for eating. The rest were laid up in lofts for future bruising, or were immediately pressed. Such as could not be reached by ladders, Varro directs to be " struck with a reed rather than a rod, for a deep wound requires a physician." It does not appear that green olives were pickled and used for food, as in modern times. Such are the chief agricultural operations of the Romans, of which it cannot fail to be observed, as most remarkable, that they differ little from the rural operations of the Jews and Greeks on the one hand, and from the practices of modern times on the other. The cereal grasses cultivated by the Romans were chiefly the triticmn, or wheat ; the far, or spelt ; and the hordctnn, or barley ; but they sowed also the siligo, or rye ; the holciis, or mouse-barley ; the panic grass ; and the avena, or oats. Of legumes they cultivated the faba, or bean ; \\\Q pistini, or pea; the lupinus, or lupine; the ervum, or tare; the lens, or flat tare ; the chickling vetch ; the chick, or mouse pea ; and the kidney bean. The bean was used as food for the servants and slaves ; the others were grown principally for food to the laboring cattle. The sesainum, an oily grain, was culti- vated for the seeds, from which an oil was expressed, and used as a substitute for olive oil, as it still is in India and China, and as the oil of the poppy is in Holland, that of the walnut in Savoy, and that of the hemp in Russia. The herbage plants were chiefly the trifolium, or clover ; the medica, or lucern ; and the cytisus. What the latter plant is, has not been distinctly ascertained. The turnip and rape were much esteemed and carefully cultivated. Pliny says that they require a dry soil ; that the rape will grow almost anywhere ; that it is nourished by mists, hoar-frosts, and cold ; and that he has seen some of them upward of forty pounds in weight. The turnip, he says, delights equally in cold, which makes it both sweeter and larger ; while by heat they grow to leaves. He adds : " The more diligent husbandmen plow five times for the turnip, four times for the rape, and apply manure to both." Palladius recommends soot and oil, as a remedy against flies and snails, in the culture of the turnip and rape. While the turnips were growing it appears that persons were not much restricted from pulling them. Columella observes that, in his 4o8 AGRICULTURE. time, the more religious husbandmen still observed an ancient custom, mentioned by Varro, as being recorded by Demetrius, a slave. This was that, while sowing them, they prayed that they might grow, both for themselves and their neighbors. Pliny says that the sower was naked. Of crops used in the arts may be mentioned flax, the sesamum already mentioned, and the poppy. The two latter were grown for their seeds, which were bruised for oil. The ligneous crops were willows, both for basket making and as ties and poles for olives and vines. Copse-wood was grown in same places for fuel, but chiefly in natural woods, which were periodically cut. Timber was also procured from the natural forests, which were abundant in oak, elm, beech, pine, and larix. The fruit trees cultivated extensively were the vine and olive. The figs were grown in gardens and orchards, and also the pear ; and in the gardens of the wealthy were found most fruits in present use, with the exception of the pineapple, the gooseberry, and per- haps the orange, though the lemon seems to have been known in Palladius' time. The vine was supported by elms or poplars, or tied to different sorts of trelUses, as in Italy at the present day. Such are the principal field crops of Roman agriculture, from which, and from the list given by Pliny, it appears that they had most plants and trees now in use, with the exception of the potato and one or two others of less consequence. Of animals reared, the quadrupeds were of the same kind as at present ; and to the common sorts of poultry they added thrushes, larks, peacocks, and turtle-doves. They also reared snails, dormice, bees, and fish. The care of the poultry was chiefly committed to the wife of the farmer or bailiff, and it was principally near Rome and Naples that the more delicate birds were extensively reared. When Rome was at her greatest height, in the time of the Caesars, the minor articles of farm produce bore a very high price. Varro informs us that fat birds, such as thrushes, blackbirds, etc., were sold at 2i-., and sometimes five thousand of these were sold in a year from one farm. Pea-fowls were sold at ^5 and upward, and an ^gg was sold at 74 cents. A farm produced sometimes as many of these fowls as would sell for ^2500. A fine pair of doves were commonly of the same price ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 409 with a peacock. If very pretty, they were higher in price, some- times selling for ^41.60. Anius, a Roman knight, refused to sell a pair under $60. Some kinds of fish were very highly valued among the Romans, in the time of Varro. Hortensius, whom Varro used frequently to visit, would sooner have parted with a pair of his best coach-mules than with a bearded mullet. Her- rius' fish-ponds, on account of the quality of fish, were sold for $166,666. In every art which has long been practised, there are maxims of management which have been handed down from one genera- tion to another, and in no art are there more of these than in agriculture. Maxims of this sort were held among the Romans in the greatest estimation, and their writers have recorded a number from the lost Greek writers, and from their own tradi- tionary or experimental knowledge. A few of these will be noticed, as characteristic of Roman economy, and not without their use in modern times. "To sow less and plow better," was a maxim indicating that farms ought to be kept within proper bounds. Pliny and Virgil con- sider large farms as prejudicial, and Columella says one of the seven wise men had pronounced that there should be limits and measures to all things. "You may admire a large farm, but cultivate a small one " ; and the Carthaginian saying that, " The land ought to be weaker than the husbandman," were maxims to the same effect. The importance of the master's presence, in every operation of farming, was inculcated by many maxims. " Whosoever would buy a field ought to sell his house, lest he delight more in the town than in the country," was a saying of Mago. " Wherever the eyes of the master most frequently approach," says Columella, "there is the greatest increase." That more is to be gained by cultivating a small spot well than a large space indifferently, is illustrated by many sayings and stories. "A vine dresser had two daughters and a vineyard. When his elder daughter was married, he gave her a third of his vineyard for a portion, notwithstanding which, he had the same quantity of fruit as formerly. When his younger daughter was married he gave her half of what remained, and still the produce of his vineyard was not diminished." 4 1 A GRICULTURE. Pliny mentions a freedman, who, having much larger crops than his neighbors, was accused of witchcraft, and brought to trial. He produced in the forum a stout daughter, and his excellently constructed iron spades, shears, and other tools, with his oxen, and said: "These, Romans, are my charms." He was acquitted. Profuse culture was not less condemned than imperfect cul- ture. "The ancients," says Pliny, "assert that nothing turns to less account than to give land a great deal of culture. To cultivate well is necessary ; to cultivate to an extraordinary manner is hurtful." "In what manner then," he asks, "are lands to be cultivated to the best advantage } " To this he answers : " In the cheapest manner, if it is good " ; or, " By good bad things," which, he says, were the words in which the ancients used to express this maxim. Industry is recommended by numerous maxims. "The an- cients," says Pliny, "considered him a bad husbandman who buys what his farm can produce to him ; a bad master of a family who does in the day time what he may do at night, except in the time of a storm ; or worse, who does on common days what is lawful to do on holidays ; and worst of all, who on a good day is employed more within doors than in the fields." Kindness and humanity to servants and slaves are strongly recommended. "Slaves," says Varro, "must not be timid nor petulant. They who preside must have some degree of learning and education ; they must be frugal, older than the workmen, for the latter are more attentive to the directions of these than they are to those of younger men. Besides, it must be more ehgible that they should preside who are experienced in agri- culture, for they ought not only to give orders, but to work, and that they may consider that he presides over them with reason, because he is superior in knowledge and experience. Nor is he to be suffered to be so imperious as to use coercion with stripes rather than words, if this can be done. Nor are many to be procured of the same country, for domestic animosities often arise from this source. You must encourage those who preside by rewarding them, and you must endeavor to let them have some privilege, and 'maid servants wedded to them, by whom they may have a family ; for by these means they become more ROMAN A GRICULTURE. 4 1 1 steady and attached to the farm. On account of these connec- tions, the Epirotic famiUes are so distinguished and attached. To give the persons who preside some degree of pleasure, you must hold them in some estimation ; and you must consult with some of the superior workmen concerning the work that is to be done. When you behave thus, they think they are less despicable, and that they are held in some degree of esteem by their masters. They become more eager for work by liberal treatment, by giving them victuals, or a large garment, or by granting them some recreation or favor, as the privilege of feeding something on the farm, or some such thing. In rela- tion to those who are commanded to do the work of greater drudgery, or who are punished, let somebody restore their good will and affection to their master, by affording them the benefit of consolation." Knowledge in matters relative to agriculture is inculcated by all the rustic authors. "Whoever," says Columella, "would be perfect in this science, must be well acquainted with the quali- ties of soils and plants ; must not be ignorant of the various climates, so that he may know what is agreeable and what is repugnant to each ; he must know exactly the successions of the seasons and the nature of each, lest, beginning his work when showers and wind are just at hand, his labor shall be lost. He must be capable of observing exactly the present temper of the sky and seasons ; for these are not always regular, nor in every year do the summer and winter bring the same kind of weather ; nor is the spring always rainy and the autumn always dry. To know these things before they happen, without a very good capacity, and the greatest care to acquire knowledge, is, in my opinion, in the power of no man." To 'these things mentioned by Columella, Virgil adds several others : " Before we plow a field to which we are strangers," says he, "we must be careful to obtain a knowledge of the winds ; at what points they blow at particular seasons ; and when and from whence they are most violent'; the nature of the climate, which in different places is very different ; the customs of our forefathers ; the customs of the country ; the qualities of the different soils, and what are the crops that each country produces and rejects." The making of experiments is a thing very strongly recom- 41^ AGRICULTURE. mended to the farmer, by some authors. " Nature," says Varro, " has pointed out to us two paths, which lead to the knowledge of agriculture ; viz. : experience and imitation. The ancient husbandmen, by making experiments, have estabUshed many maxims. Their posterity, for the most part, imitate them. We ought to do both, — imitate others and make experiments our- selves, not directed by chance, but by reason." The topics of produce and profit in agriculture are very diffi- cult to be discussed satisfactorily. In manufactures, the raw material is purchased for a certain sum, and the manipulations given by the manufacturer can be accurately calculated ; but in farming, though we know the rent of the land and the price of the seed-grain, which may be considered the raw materials, yet the quantity of labor required to bring forth the produce depends so much on seasons, accidents, and other circumstances, to which agriculture is more liable than any other art, that its value or cost price cannot be easily determined. It is a common mode to estimate the profits of farming by the numerical returns of the seed sown. But this is a most fallacious ground of judg- ment, since the quantity of seed given to lands of different qualities and of different conditions is very different ; and the acre which, being highly cultivated and sown with only a bushel of seed, returns forty for one, may yield no more profit than that which, being in a middling condition, requires four bushels of seed, and yields only ten for one. The returns of the seed sown, mentioned by the ancients, are very remarkable. We have noticed Isaac's sowing and reaping at Gerar, where he re- ceived a hundred for one. In St. Mark's gospel, good seed sown upon good ground is said to bring forth in some places thirty, in others forty, in others sixty, and in others even an hundred fold. "A hundred fold," Varro informs us, "was reaped about Garada, in Syria, and Byzacium, in Africa." Pliny adds, that, from this last place, there were sent to Augustus, by his factor, nearly four hundred stalks, all from one grain ; and to Nero three hundred and forty stalks. He says that he has " seen the soil of this field, which, when dry, the stoutest oxen cannot plow, but after rain I have seen it opened up by a share, drawn by a wretched ass on one side and an old woman on the other." The returns in Italy were less extraordinary. Varro says : ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 413 " There are sown, on an acre, four pecks of beans, five of wheat, six of barley, and ten of far, more or less as the soil is rich or poor. The produce is in some places ten for one, but in others, as in Tuscany, fifteen for one." This is, in round numbers, at the rate of twenty-one and thirty-one bushels per English acre. On the excellent lands of Leontinum, in Sicily, the produce, according to Cicero, was no more than eight to ten for one. In Columella's time, when agriculture had declined, it was still less. The farmer's profit cannot be correctly ascertained ; but, according to a calculation made by the. Rev. A. Dixon, the sur- plus produce of good land, in the time of Varro, was about fif- teen pecks of wheat per acre ; and in the time of Columella, lands being worse cultivated, it did not exceed three and one- third pecks per acre. What proportion of this went to the land- lord cannot be ascertained. Corn, in Varro's time, was from 4n of Lombardy forms the chief feature of its culture. It was begun and carried on to a considerable extent under the Romans, and in the period of which we speak it extended and increased under the Lombard kings and wealthy religious establishments. Some idea may be formed of the comfort of the farmers in Lombardy, in the thir- teenth century, by the picture of a farmhouse, given by Cres- cenzio, who lived on its borders ; which, as a French antiquarian has observed, differs little from the best modern ones of Italy, except in being covered with thatch. History of Agriculture in France, from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century. — The nations which conquered France in the fifth century were the Goths, Vandals, and Franks. The two former nations claimed two-thirds of the conquered lands, 420 AGRICULTURE, and must, of course, have very much altered the state of prop- erty and the management of the affairs of husbandry. The claim of the Franks is more uncertain. They were so much a warlike people that they probably dealt more favorably with those whom they subjected to their dominion. All that is known of the agriculture of these nations of France, till the ninth century, is derived from a perusal of their laws. These appear to have been favorable to cultivation, espe- cially the laws of the Franks. Horses are frequently mentioned, and a distinction is made between the war horse and the farm horse, which shows that this animal was at that period more common in France than in Italy. Horses, cattle, and sheep were pastured in the forests and commons, with bells about the necks of several of them, for their more ready discovery. The culture of vines and orchards was greatly improved by Charle- magne, in the ninth century. He planted many vineyards on the crown lands, which were situated in every part of the coun- try, and left in his Capitularies particular instructions for their culture. One of his injunctions prohibits an ox and an ass from being yoked together to the same plow. During the greater part of the ninth and the tenth centuries, France was harassed by civil wars, and agriculture declined ; but to what extent, scarcely any facts are left us to ascertain. A law passed at that period, respecting a farmer's tilling the land of his superior, enacts that, if the cattle are so weak that four could not go a whole day in a plow, he was to join these to the cattle of another and work two days instead of one. He who kept no cattle of his own was obliged to work for his supe- rior three days as a laborer. In the eleventh and twelfth centu- ries, the country enjoyed more tranquillity, and agriculture was improved. Judging from the Abbe Suger's account of the abbey lands of St. Denis, better farm-houses were built, waste lands were cultivated, and rents were more than doubled. The Church published several canons for the security of agriculture during this period, which must have had a beneficial effect, as the greatest proportion of the best lands in every country was then in the hands of the clergy. In the thirteenth century, little alteration took place ; but the number of holidays diminished, and mills driven by wind, for grinding grain, were introduced. NORTHERN AGRICULTURE, 421 In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, agriculture suffered greatly by the English wars and conquests, and by political regulations relative to the export and market price of grain. About the middle of the sixteenth century, the first agricul- tural work produced in France made its appearance. It was composed by Bernard de Palissy, a potter, who had written on various subjects. It is a very short tract, composed of econom- ical remarks on husbandry, or rural and domestic economy. Toward the end of this century, under Henry IV. and his vir- tuous minister Sully, considerable enterprise was displayed. Canals were projected, and one begun, and, according to Sully, France in his time abounded with grain, pulse, wine, cider, flax, hemp, salt, wood, oil, dyeing drugs, cattle, great and small, and everything else necessary or convenient for life, both for home consumption and exportation. Agriculture of Germany and Other Northern States, from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century. — The nations north of the Rhine and the Danube, during the first half of these cen- turies, were chiefly employed in making inroads or conquests on their southern neighbors ; and during the whole period they were more or less engaged in attacking one another. Under such circumstances, agriculture must either have remained in the state already described, or must have declined. In some states or kingdoms, it may have been less neglected than in others, or even may have improved ; but, during the whole of this period, nothing was effected which demands particular attention. The earliest German author on husbandry is Con- radus Heresbachius, who was born in 1508, and died in 1576. His work was published after his death. It is an avowed com- pilation from all the authors who had preceded him, and con- tains no information as to the state of agriculture around him. It is a dialogue in four books, and also includes gardening. No other books on agriculture, of any note, appeared in Germany during the period under review. About the middle of the sixteenth century, the Elector of Saxony, Augustus II., is said to have encouraged agriculture, and to have planted the first vineyards in Saxony ; but, from the implements with which he worked in person, which are still preserved in the arsenal of Dresden, he appears to have been 42 2 AGRICULTURE. more of a gardener than a farmer. It is to be regretted that the histories of the arts in the northern countries, during the middle ages, are very few, and so little known or accessible that we cannot derive much advantage from them. - Agriculture in Britain, from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century. — Britain, on being evacuated by the Romans, was invaded by the Saxons, a ferocious and ignorant people, by whom agriculture and all other civilized arts were neglected. In the eleventh century, when the Saxons had amalgamated with the natives, and constituted the main body of the English nation, the country was again invaded by the Normans, a much more civilized race, who introduced considerable improvement. These two events form distinct periods in the history of British agriculture, and two others will bring it down to the seventeenth century. Agriculture in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon Dynasty, or from the Fifth to the Eleventh Century. — At the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, this island, according to Fleury, abounded in numerous flocks and herds, which these conquerors seized and pastured for their own use ; and, after their settlement, they still continued to follow pasturage as one of the chief means of subsistence. This is evident from the great number of laws that were made, in the Anglo-Saxon times, for regulating the price of all kinds of tame cattle, for directing the manner in which they should be pastured, and for preserving them from thieves, robbers, and beasts of prey. The Welsh, in this period, from the nature of their country and other circumstances, depended still more upon their flocks and herds for their sup- port ; hence their laws respecting pasturage were more numer- ous and minute than those of the Saxons. From these laws we learn, among many other particulars, that all the cattle of a village, though belonging to different owners, were to be pastured together in one herd, under the direction of one person, with proper assistants, whose oath in all disputes about the cattle under his care was decisive. By one of these laws they were prohibited from plowing with horses, mares, or cows, and restricted to oxen. . Their plows seem to have been very light and inartificial ; for it was enacted that no man should undertake to guide a plow who could not make one, AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 423 and that the driver should make of twisted willows the ropes with which it was drawn. Hence the names still in use, such as ridge-withy, wanty, whipping-trees, tail-withes, etc. But slight as these plows were, it was usual for six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one of them, and providing it with oxen and everything necessary for plowing, and many curious and minute laws were made for the regulation of such societies. This is a sufficient proof, both of the poverty of the husbandrnan and of the imperfect state of agriculture among the ancient Britons, at that period. Certain privileges were allowed to any person who laid dung on a field, cut down a wood, or folded his cattle on another man's land for a year. Such was the state of agriculture during this period, in Wales : it was probably in a still more imperfect state among the Scots and Picts, but this we have no means of ascertaining. Our Anglo-Saxon ancestors derived their origin and manners from the ancient Germans, who were not much addicted to agricul- ture, but depended chiefly upon their flocks and herds for their subsistence. These restless and haughty warriors esteemed the cultivation of their lands too ignoble and laborious an employ- ment for themselves, and therefore committed it wholly to their women and slaves. They were even at pains to contrive laws to prevent their contracting a taste for agriculture, lest it should render them less fond of arms and warlike expeditions. The division of landed estates into what is called inlands and outlands, originated with the Saxon princes and great men, who, in the division of the conquered lands, obtained the largest shares, and are said to have subdivided their territory into two parts, which were so named. The inlands were those which lay most contiguous to the mansion-house of the owner, which he kept in his own immediate possession, and cultivated by his slaves, under the direction of a bailiff, for the purpose of raising provisions for his family. The outlands were those which lay at greater distance from the mansion-house, and were let to the farmers of those times, at a certain rent, which was very mod- erate, and generally paid in kind. The rent of lands in these times was established by law, and not by the owner of the land. By the laws of Ina, king of the West Saxons, who flourished in the end of the seventh and 424 AGRICULTURE, beginning of the eighth century, a farm consisting of ten hides, or plow-lands, was to pay the following rent ; viz. : ten casks of honey, three hundred loaves of bread, twelve casks of strong ale, thirty casks of small ale, two oxen, ten wethers, ten geese, twenty hens, ten cheeses, one cask of butter, five salmon, twenty pounds of forage, and one hundred eels. The greatest part of the crown-lands, in every country, was farmed in this manner, by farmers who, in general, appear to have been freemen and soldiers. Very little is known of the implements or operations of hus- bandry, during this period. In one of Strutt's plates of ancient dresses, entitled "Saxon Rarities of the Eighth Century," may be seen a picture of a plow and a plowman. The plow is suffi- ciently rude, although it has evidently undergone some improve- ment from the hand of the delineator. The laborers were no doubt slaves, and the animals of draught, oxen. The lands belonging to the monasteries were by far the best cultivated, because the secular canons who possessed them spent much of their time in cultivating their own lands. The venerable Bede, in his life of Esterwin, Abbot of Weremouth, tells us that " this abbot, being a strong man and of humble disposition, used to assist his monks in their rural labors, sometimes guiding the plow by its stilt or handle, sometimes winnowing grain, and sometimes forging instruments of husbandry with a hammer, upon an anvil ; for in those times the husbandmen were under a necessity of making many implements of husbandry with their own hands." Agriculture in Britain after the Norman Conquest, or from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries. — That the con- quest of England by the Normans contributed to the improve- ment of agriculture, is undeniable ; for, by that event, many thousands of husbandmen from the fertile and well-cultivated plains of Flanders, France, and Normandy, settled in this island, obtained estates or farms, and employed the same methods in the cultivation of them that they had used in their native coun- tries. Some of the Norman barons were great improvers of their lands, and are celebrated in history for their skill in agriculture. " Richard de Rulos, Lord of Brienne and Deepiny," says Ingul- phus, "was much addicted to agriculture, and delighted in AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 425 breeding horses and cattle. Besides enclosing and draining a great extent of country, he embanked the river Wielland, which used every year to overflow the neighboring fields, in a most substantial manner. He built many houses and cottages upon the banks, which increased so much that, in a little time, they formed a large town, called Deepiny, from its low situation. Here he planted orchards, cultivated commons, converted deep lakes and impassable quagmires into fertile fields, rich meadows, and pastures ; in a word, rendered the whole country about it a garden of delight." From this description, it appears that this nobleman, who was chamberlain to William the Conqueror, was not only fond of agriculture, but also that he conducted his improvements with skill and success. The Norman clergy, and particularly the monks, were still greater improvers than the nobility, and the lands of the Church, especially of the convents, were conspicuous for their superior cultivation ; for the monks of every monastery retained in their own possession such of their lands as lay most con- venient, which they cultivated with great care, under their own inspection, and frequently with their own hands. It was so much the custom of the monks to assist in the cultivation of their lands, especially in seed-time, harvest-time, and hay-time, that the famous Thomas A Becket, after he was Archbishop of Canterbury, used to go out into the field, with the monks of the monasteries where he happened to reside, and join them in reaping their grain and making their hay. This is indeed mentioned by the historian as an act of uncommon condescen- sion in a person of his high standing in the Church, but it is sufficient proof that the monks of those times used to work with their own hands, at some seasons, in the labors of the field ; and, as many of them were men of genius and inven- tion, they no doubt made various improvements in the art of agriculture. The twenty-sixth canon of the General Council of Lateran, A.D. 1 179, affords a further proof that the protection and en- couragement of all who were concerned in agriculture were objects of attention in the Church ; for, by that canon it is decreed : " That all presbyters, clerks, monks, converts, pilgrims, and peasants, when they are engaged in the labors of husbandry. 426 AGRICULTURE, together with the cattle in their plows, and the seed which they carry into the field, shall enjoy perfect security, and that all who molest or interrupt them, if they do not desist when they have been admonished, shall be excommunicated." The implements of husbandry, in this period, were of the same kind with those that are employed at present, though all of them, no doubt, much less perfect in their construction. One sort of plow, for example, had but one stilt or handle, which the plowman guided with one hand, having in his other an instrument which served both for cleaning and mending his plow and breaking the clods. This implement was probably intended for breaking up strong lands. For such a purpose the wheels would contribute much to its steadiness, which would render two handles unnecessary, and thus leave the holder with one hand at liberty to use his axe-like instrument, in tearing away roots and clods, and otherwise aiding the operations pf the plow. Another plow seems to have been without wheels, and was probably intended for light soil. The Norman plow had two wheels, and in the light soil of Normandy was com- monly drawn by one or two oxen ; but in England a greater number, according to the nature of the soil, was often necessary. In Wales the person who conducted the plow walked back- wards. Their harrows, sickles, scythes, and flails, from the figures still remaining, appear to have been nearly of the same construction as those that are now used. In Wales they did not use the sickle in reaping their grain, but an instrument like the blade of a knife, with a wooden handle at each end. Water mills for grinding grain were very common, but they had also a kind of mill turned by horses, which were chiefly used in their armies and at sieges, or in places where running water .was scarce. The various operations of husbandry, as manuring, plowing, sowing, harrowing, reaping, threshing, win- nowing, etc., are incidentally mentioned by the writers of this period ; but it is impossible to collect from them a distinct account of the manner in which these operations were performed. Marl seems to have been the chief manure, next to dung, em- ployed by the Anglo-Normans, as it had been by the Anglo- Saxons and the British husbandry. Summer fallowing of lands designed for wheat, and plowing them several times, appear to AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN, 427 have been the common practices of the English farmer of this period ; for Giroldus Cambernsis, in his description of Wales, takes notice of it as a great singularity in the husbandry of that country, "that they plowed their lands only once a year, in March or April, in order to sow them with oats, but did not, like other farmers, plow them twice in summer and once in winter, in order to prepare them for wheat." On the border of one of the compartments of the famous tapestry of Bayeux, we see the figure of one man sowing, with a sheet about his neck, contain- ing the seed under his right arm, and scattering it with his left hand ; and of another man harrowing .with a harrow drawn by one horse. Agriculture in Scotland seems to have been in a very imper- fect state during this period ; for, in a parliament held in Scone, by King Alexander II., a.d. 12 14, it was enacted that such farmers as had four oxen or cows, or upwards, should labor their lands by tilling them with a plow, and should begin to till fifteen days before Candlemas ; and that such farmers as had not so many as four oxen, though they could not labor their lands by tilling, should delve as much with hand and foot as would pro- duce a sufficient quantity of grain to support themselves and their families. But this law was probably designed for the highlands, the most uncultivated parts of the kingdom ; for, in the very same parliament, a very severe law was made against those farmers who did not extirpate a pernicious weed called guilde out of their lands, which seems to indicate a more advanced state of cultivation. Their agricultural operations, as far as can be gathered from old tapestries and illuminated mis- sals, were similar to those of England. Threshing appears to have been performed by women, and the reaping by men, which is the reverse of the modern practice in that and in most coun- tries. Such is the account of Henry. The field culture of the vine, which had been commenced by the monks for their own use, was more extensively spread by the Normans. William of Malmsbury, who flourished in the early part of the twelfth century, says there was a greater num- ber of vineyards in the vale of Gloucester than anywhere else, and that from the grapes was produced a wine very little infe- rior to that of France. Orchards and cider were also abund- 428 AGRICULTURE, ant, and the apple trees, it is said, lined the roads in some parts of the country, as they still do in Normandy, whence, in all probability, the plants, or at least the grafts, were imported. Agriculture in Britain from the Thirteenth Century to the Time of Henry VIII. — Agriculture in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, it appears, was still carried on with vigor. Sir John Fortescue, in a work in praise of the English laws, mentions the progress that had been made in planting hedges and hedge-row trees, before the end of the fourteenth century. Judge Fortescue wrote his " De Laudibus Legum Angliae " in the fifteenth century, but it was not published till the reign of Henry VIII. In the law book called "Fleta," supposed to have been written by some lawyers, prisoners in the Fleet, in 1340, very particular directions are given as to the most proper times and best manner of plowing and dressing fallows. The farmer is there directed to plow no deeper in summer than is necessary for destroying the weeds, nor to lay on his manure till a little before the last plowing, which is to be with a deep and narrow furrow. Rules are also given for the changing and choosing of seed ; for proportioning the quantity of different kinds of seed to be sown on an acre, according to the nature of the soil and the degree of richness ; for collecting and compounding manures, and accommodating them to the grounds on which they are to be laid ; for the best seasons for sowing seeds of different kinds on all the varieties of soil; and, in a word, for performing every operation in husbandry, at the best time and in the best manner. In the same work, the duties of the steward, bailiff, and overseer of a manor, and all other persons concerned in the cultivation of it, are explained at full length, and with so much good sense that, if they were well performed, the manor could not be ill cultivated. This work, as well as others of the kind, is written in Latin, and even the farming accounts in those days were kept in that language, as they are still in the greater part of Hungary. During the greater part of the fifteenth century, England was engaged in civil wars, and agriculture, as well as other -arts, declined. The laborers, called from the plow by royal procla- mation or the mandates of their lords, perished in battle, or by accident and fatigue, in immense numbers. Labor rose in price. AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 429 notwithstanding various laws for its limitation, and this at last produced a memorable revolution in the state of agriculture, which made a mighty noise for many years. The prelates, barons, and other great proprietors of lands, kept extensive tracts round their castles, which were called their demesne lands, in their own immediate possession, and cultivated them by their villains, and hired servants, under the directions of their bailiffs. But these great landholders haying often led their followers into the fields of war, their numbers were grad- ually diminished, and hired servants could not be procured on reasonable terms. This obliged the prelates, lords, and gentle- men to enclose the lands around their castle, and to convert them into pasturage grounds. This practice of enclosing be- came very general in England, about the middle of this period, and occasioned prodigious clamors from those who mistook the effects of depopulation for its cause. The habit of enclosing lands and converting them into pasture continued after the cause had ceased, and an act was passed to stop its progress, in the beginning of the reign of Henry VII. The dearths of this period furnish another proof of the low state of agriculture. Wheat, in 1437 and 1438, rose from I2>^ to 16 cents, the ordinary price per bushel, to 81 cents. Stow observes that, in these extremities, the common people endeavored to preserve their wretched lives by drying the roots of herbs, and converting .them into a kind of bread. Land in those days was sold for ten years' purchase, so great was the insecurity of possession. Agriculture in Scotland was at a low ebb during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, on account of the long and ruinous wars in which the country was engaged. A law, passed in 1424, enacts that every laborer of " simple estate " dig a piece of ground daily, seven feet square ; another in 1457, that farmers who had eight oxen should sow every year one bushel of wheat, half a bushel of peas, and 40 beans, under the pain of 10 shillings, to be paid to the baron ; and if the baron did not do the same thing to the lands in his possession, he should pay the same penalty to the king. From the accession of Henry VII., in 1485, to nearly the middle of the seventeenth century, England enjoyed peace. To remove the effects of former wars, however, required consider- 430 AGRICULTURE. able time. The high price of labor, and the conversion of so much land to tillage, gave rise to different impolitic statutes, prohibiting the exportation of grain, while a great demand was created for wool by the manufacturers of the Netherlands, which tended to enhance the value of pasture lands, and to depopulate the country. The flocks of individuals, in these times, some- times exceeded twenty thousand, and an edict was issued by Henry VIII. restricting them to a tenth of that number. Had the restraints imposed upon the exportation of grain been trans- ferred to wool, the internal consumption would have soon regu- lated the respective forces of those articles ; the proportion between arable and pasture lands would soon have been adjusted, and the declining cultivation of the country restored. An improved cultivation was reserved, however, for a future period, when persecution extirpated manufa(?tures from the Netherlands ; then, when the exportation of English wool had subsided, and its price diminished, the farmer or landholder, disappointed of his former exuberant profits, discovered the necessity of resuming the plow, and restoring his pastures to culture. Of the state of agriculture in Scotland, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, little can be stated. According to Major, a native of Berwick, the peasants neither enclosed, nor planted, nor endeavored to ameliorate the sterility of the soil. According to Finney's "Moryson," the produce of the country consisted chiefly of oats and barley, but it would appear from Chalmers that wheat was cultivated in Scotland, at least upon the Church lands, as early as the thirteenth century. Different laws were enacted for planting groves and hedges, pruning orchards and gardens, and forming parks for deer ; but it is not the barren injunctions of statutes that will excite a spirit of improvement in a country. From the Time of Henry VIII. to the Revolution in 1688. — Agriculture, soon after the beginning of the sixteenth century, partook of the general improvement which followed the inven- tion of the art of printing, the revival of literature, and the more settled authority of government ; and, instead of the occasional notices of historians, we can now refer to regular treatises, written by men who engaged eagerly in this neglected AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 431 and hitherto degraded occupation. The culture of hops was either introduced or revived early in the reign of Henry VIIL, and that of flax was attempted, but without success, though enforced by law. The legislature at that time endeavored to execute, by means of penalties, those rational improvements which have since been fostered by bounties, or, what is better, pursued from the common motive of self-interest. The breeding of horses, was now much encouraged. To the passion of the age, and the predilection of the monarch for splendid tournaments, may be attributed the attention bestowed upon a breed of horses of a strength and stature adapted to the weight of the complicated panoply with which the knight and his courser were both invested. Statutes of a singular nature were enacted, allotting for deer parks* a certain proportion of breeding mares, and enjoining, not the prelates and nobles only, but those whose wives wore velvet bonnets, to have horses of a certain size for their saddle. The legal standard was fifteen hands in horses, thirteen in mares, and '' unlikely tits " were, without distinc- tion, consigned to execution. James the Fourth of Scotland, with more propriety, imported horses from foreign countries, in order to improve the degenerate breed of his own. The culti- vation of grasses, for their winter provender, was still unknown, nor were asses propagated in England till a subsequent period. The first English treatise on husbandry now appeared, written by Sir A. Fitzherbert, Judge of the Common Pleas. It is enti- tled **The Book of Husbandry," and contains directions for drainage, clearing and enclosing a farm, and for enriching and reducing the soil to tillage. Lime, marl, and fallowing are strongly recommended. The landlords are advised to grant leases to farmers, who will surround their farms, and divide them by hedges into proper enclosures ; by which operation, he says, " If an acre of land be worth sixpence before it is enclosed, it will be worth eight pence by reason of the compost from the cattle." Another reason is, that it will preserve the grain with- out the expense of a herdsman. From the time of the appear- ance of this work, in 1534, Harte dates the revival of husbandry in England. *'The Book of Surveying and Improvements," by the author of the "Book of Husbandry," appeared in 1539. 432 AGRICULTURE, In the former treatise we have a clear and minute description of the rural practices of that period, and from the latter may be learned a great deal of the economy of the feudal system, in its decline. The author of the "Book of Husbandry" writes from his own experience of more than forty years ; and if we except his Biblical allusions, and some vestiges of superstition of the Roman writers, about the influence of the moon, there is very little in his work that should be omitted, and not a great deal of subsequent science that need be added, with regard to the culture of grain, in a manual of husbandry adapted to the present time. "It may surprise some of the agriculturists of the present day," an eminent agricultural writer remarks, " to be told that, after the lapse of nearly three centuries, Fitzherbert's practice, in some material branches, has not been improved upon ; and that, in several districts, abuses still exist which 'were as clearly pointed out by him, at that early period, as by any writer of the present age." His remarks on sheep are so accurate that one might imagine they came from a store-master of the present day. Those on horses, cattle, etc., are not less interesting; and there is a very good account of the diseases of each species, and some just observations on the advantage of mixing differ- ent kinds in the same pasture. Swine and bees conclude this branch of the work. Then he points out the great advantage of enclosures, recommending "quyck settynge, dychynge, and heddgyng," and gives particular directions about settes, and the method of training a hedge, as well as concerning the planting and management of trees. We then have a short information "for a yonge gentylman that intendeth to thryve," and a "pro- logue for the wive's occupation," in some instances rather too homely for the present time. Among other things, she is to " make her husband and herself some clothes," and " she may have the lockes of the shepe, either to make blankettes and coverlettes or both." This is not so much amiss, but what fol- lows will bring our learned judge into disrepute, even among our most industrious housewives. " It is a wive's occupation to wynowe all manner of grains, to make malte, to washe and wrynge, to make heye, shere corn, and in time of nede, to helpe her husbande to fyll the mucke wagyne or dounge cart, drive the ploughe, to loade heye, corne, and suche other, and to AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN, 433 go or ride to the market to sel butter, chese, mylke, chikyns, capons, hennes, pygges, gese, and all manner of grains." The rest of the book contains much useful advice about diligence and economy, and concludes after the manner of the age with much pious exhortation. The state of agriculture in England, in the early part of the sixteenth century, and probably for a long time before, is thus ascertained ; for Fitzherbert nowhere speaks of the practices which he describes or recommends, as of recent introduction. The " Book of Surveying " adds considerably to our knowledge of the rural economy of that age. " Four maner of commens " are described, several kinds of mills for grain and other pur- poses and also, " Guernes that goo with hand" ; different orders of tenants, down to the " Boundmen," who, "in some places contynue as yet, and many tymes, by color thereof, there be many freemen taken as boundmen, and their land and goods is taken from them." Lime and marl are mentioned as common manures, and the former was sometimes spread on the surface to destroy heath. Both drainage and irrigation are noticed, though the latter but slightly. The work concludes with an inquiry, " How to make a township that is worth XX merke a yere worth XXli a yere } " This is to be done by enclosing, by which, he says, live-stock may be better kept and without herds, and the closes, or fields, alternately cropped with grain, and " let lye " for a time. Agriculture had attained a considerable degree of respecta- bility during the reign of Elizabeth. According to Tusser, who wrote in that age, and whose work will be presently noticed, agriculture was best understood in Essex and Suffolk ; at least, enclosures were more common in these counties than in any other, which is always a proof of advancement. "A farmer," according to Harrison, the geographer, " will think his gaine very small towards the end of his terme, if he has not six or seven years* rent lying by him, therewith to purchase a new lease, beside a fair garnish of pewter on his cupboard, with as much more in odd vessels going about the house ; three or four feather-beds ; so many coverlets and carpets of tapestrie ; a sil- ver salt ; a bowle for wine, if not a whole neast ; and a dozen of spoones to finish oute the sute." 434 AGRICULTURE. The condition of a yeoman, before or about Elizabeth's time, is exemplified in the case of Bishop Latimer's father. " My father," says Hugh Latimer, " was a yeoman, and had no land of his own ; only he had a farm of three or four pounds by the year at the utmost ; and hereupon he tilled so much as kept half-a-dozen men. He had a walk for a hundred sheep, and my mother milked thirty kine, etc. He kept his son at school till he went to the university, and maintained him there. He married his daughters with five pounds, or twenty nobles apiece ; he kept hospitality with his neighbors, and some alms he gave to the poor; and all this he did out of the said farm." Cattle were not plentiful in England, at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign. In 1563, it was enacted that no one should eat flesh on Wednesdays or Fridays, on forfeiture of ^3, unless in case of sickness, or of a special license, neither of which was to extend to beef or veal. . Great pains were taken in the act to prove that it was a political, and not a religious measure. The vast number of parks in the kingdom are complained of by Harrison. "There are not less," he says, "than a hundred in Essex alone, where almost nothing is kept but a sorte of wilde and savage beasts, cherished for pleasure and delight " ; and, pursuing the same subject, he says that, " If the world last awhile after this rate, wheate and rie will be no graine for a poore man to feed on." In Scotland the civil dissensions, and even anarchy, which prevailed until a late period in the six- teenth century, operated as a harsh check on every improvement in agriculture, and the total expulsion of ecclesiastical land- holders increased this evil, as the monks were easy landlords, and frequently not uninstructed in georgical knowledge. The tillers of the earth in Scotland had at least . their full share of their country's misfortunes, when private vengeance for private^ wrongs superseded the regular but timid proceedings of public justice. A statute was then formed for their particu- lar benefit, whereby "the slayers and houchers of horses and uther cattle," with their employers and maintainers, are declared "to have incurred the paine of death, and confiscation of alle their gudes movvabil." A second act was passed in 1587, for the further protection of husbandmen, declaring that "all such as destroyed or maimed horses, oxen, etc., cut or destroyed plows AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN, 435 or plow-gears, in time of tilling, or trees and grain, should suf- fer death." Several acts of parliament were made, to protect farmers from petulant tithe-gatherers ; the proper times of notice were herein pointed out, and liberty was given to the tiller of the land to proceed in his work, if this notice were neglected. Great attention was still paid to the breeding of horses in England ; but, during the reign of Elizabeth, it was found neces- sary to lower the standard appointed by Henry VIII. for stallions, from fourteen hands to thirteen. This modification, however, was only to take place in the counties of Cambridge, Huntington, Northampton, Lincoln, Norfolk, and Suffolk. No stallion of less height could be turned out on commons, in forests, etc., for fear of deteriorating the breed. Harrison extols the height and strength of the English draught-horses. " Five or six of them," he says, " will with ease draw three thousand weight for a long journey." An English traveller, who visited Scotland in 1598, observed a great abundance of all kinds of cattle, and many horses ; not large, but high-spirited and patient of labor. Great care, indeed, was taken by the English, while the kingdoms were separate, to prevent the Scots from improving their breed. It was even made felony to export horses thither from England. This unneighborly prohibition was answered by a reciprocal restriction, in 1 567, as to the exportation of Scottish horses : but France rather than England seems to be aimed at by that statute. One circumstance, pointed out by a curious antiquary, is a convincing proof of the modern improvement in the breed. For many years past eight nails have been used to each horse's shoe in the north. Six used to be the number. The proper season for turning horses to grass was thought a consideration worthy the attention of the Scottish government, avowedly to prevent the waste of grain. All horses were, therefore, ordered to be put to grass from May 15 to October 15, on pain of for- feiting each horse, or its value, to the king. In England, the vine continued to be cultivated for wine, but not generally, for the vineyards of Lords Cobham and William of Thames are pointed out by Barnaby Googe as eminently productive. It is probable that this branch of culture declined with the suppression of the monasteries, and the more general culture of barley ; as farmers and others would soon find that 436 AGRICULTURE. good beer was a better and cheaper drink than any wine that could be made in this country. Though, in 1565, in this reign, the potato was introduced from Santa Fe, by Captain Hawkins, yet it did not come into general use, even in gardens, for nearly two centuries afterward. The. principal agricultural authors, in Elizabeth's reign, are Tusser, Googe, and Sir Hugh Piatt. Hops, which had been introduced in the early part of the sixteenth century, and on the culture of which a treatise was published in 1574, by Reynolds Scott, are mentioned as a well- known crop. Buckwheat was sown after barley, and hemp and flax are mentioned as common crops. Enclosures must have been numerou^u in several counties, and there is a very good " comparison between champion (open fields) country, and severall." The seventeenth century is distinguished by some important improvements in agriculture, among which are the introduction of clover and turnips into England, of hedges into Scotland and Ireland, and the execution of extensive embankments and drain- ages. Some useful writers also appeared, especially Norden, Gabriel Plattes, Sir Richard Weston, Hartlibb, and Blythe. For the adoption of the clover, as an agricultural plant, we are indebted to Sir Richard Weston, who, in 1645, gives an account of its culture in Flanders, where he says that he "saw it cutting near Antwerp on the ist of June, 1644, being then two feet long and very thick ; that he saw it cut again on the 29th of the same month, being twenty inches long ; and a third time in August, being eighteen inches long." Blythe, in 1653, is copious in his directions for its cultivation, and Lisle, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, speaks of it as commonly cultivated in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and other counties. Tur- nips were probably introduced as a field crop by the same patri- otic author, though they may have been grown in the gardens of the church establishments long before. "They are culti- vated," he observes, "for feeding kine in many parts of England ; but there is as much difference between what groweth in Flan- ders and here, as between the same thing which groweth in a garden and that which groweth wild in the fields." It is proba- ble that the English turnips he alludes to were rape, which is mentioned by Googe in 1586; but though Gerarde, in 1597, and AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN, 437 Parkinson, in 1629, mention the turnip as a garden vegetable, neither of these authors gives the least hint of their field culture. Be that as it may, Ray, in 1686, informs us that they are sown everywhere in fields and gardens, both in England and abroad, for the sake of their roots. The first notice of sheep being fed on the ground with tur- nips, is given in Houghton's "Collection on Husbandry and Trade," a periodical work begun in 168 1. In 1684, Worlidge, one of Houghton's correspondents, observes : " Sheep fatten very well on turnips, which prove an excellent nourishment for them in hard winters, when fodder is scarce, for they will not only eat the greens, but feed on the roots in the ground, and scoop them hollow, even to the very skin. Ten acres, sown with turnips, clover, etc., will feed as many sheep as one hun- dred acres thereof would before have done." Potatoes, first introduced in 1565, were at this time beginning to attract attention. "The potato," says Houghton, "is a bac- ciferous herb, with esculent roots, bearing winged leaves and a bell flower. This, I have been informed, was brought first out of Virginia, by Sir Walter Raleigh ; and he stopping at Ireland, some was planted there, where it thrived very well, and to good purpose ; for in their succeeding wars, when all the grain above ground was destroyed, this supported them ; for the soldiers, unless they had dug up all the ground where they grew, and almost sifted it, could not extirpate them. From hence they were brought to Lancashire, where they are very numerous, and now they begin to spread all the kingdom over. They are a pleasant food, boiled or roasted, and eaten with butter and sugar. There is a sort brought from Spain that are of a longer form, and are more luscious than ours. They are much set by, and sold for sixpence to eightpence a pound." The exportation of grain was regulated by various laws, during the sixteenth century, and importation was not restricted, even in plenty and cheapness. In 1663 was passed the first statute for levying tolls at turnpikes. Enclosures, by consent and by act of parliament, also began to be made during this century. The agriculture of Scotland, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, continued to languish, especially upon the estates of the barons, where the profession of a soldier was regarded of 438 AGRICULTURE. greater importance than that of a cultivator of the ground. But the ecclesiastical lands were considerably improved, and the tenants of them were generally much more comfortably circum- stanced than those upon the estates of the laymen. The reforma- tion of religion, beneficial as it was in other respects, rather checked than promoted agricultural improvements, because the change of property which then occurred occasioned a similar change of tenantry, and almost took husbandry out of the hands of the monks, the only class of people by whom it was practised upon correct principles. The dissolution of the monasteries and other religious houses was also attended with injurious conse- quences in the first instance ; though latterly the greatest bene- fit had been derived from tithes and church lands having come into the hands of laymen. It is probable that, had not these circumstances occurred, a tithe system would still have remained in force, and Scottish husbandry would have continued under a burden which sinks and oppresses the cultivators in England and Ireland. But tithes having got into the hands of lay titulars, or impropriators, were in general collected or formed with such severity as to occasion the most grievous complaints, not only from the tenantry but also from the numerous class of proprietors, who had not been so fortunate as to procure a share of the general spoil. This, added to the desire shown by the crown to resume the grants made when its power was compara- tively feeble, occasioned the celebrated submission to Charles I., which ended in a settlement that, in modern times, has proved highly beneficial, not only to the interests of the proprietors, but likewise to general improvement. Tithes are a burden, which operate as a tax upon industry, though it was a long time before the beneficial consequences of withdrawing them were fully understood. Of the state of agriculture in Scotland, during the seventeenth century, very little is known. No professed treatise on the subject appeared till after the revolution. The southeastern counties were the earliest improved ; and yet, in 1660, their condition seems to have been very wretched. Ray, who made a tour along the eastern coast in that year, says : " We observed little or no fallow grounds in Scotland ; some ley ground we saw, which they manured with sea-wrack. The men seemed to AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 439 be very lazy, and may be frequently observed to plow in their cloaks. It is the fashion of them to wear cloaks when they go abroad, but especially on Sundays. They have neither good bread, cheese, nor drink. They cannot make them, nor will they learn. Their butter is very indifferent, and one would wonder how they contrive to make it so bad. They use much pottage made of colewort, which they call kail ; sometimes broth of decorticated barley. The ordinary country houses are pitiful cots, built of stone and covered with turfs, having in them but one room, many of them no chimneys, the windows very small holes, and not glazed. The ground in the valleys and plains bears very good grain, but especially bears barley and oats, but rarely wheat and rye." It is probable that no great change had taken place in Scot- land from the end of the fifteenth century, except that tenants gradually became possessed of a little stock of their own, in- stead of having their farms stocked by the landlord. The minority of James V., the reign of Mary Stuart, the infancy of her son, and the civil wars of her grandson, Charles I., were all periods of lasting waste. The very laws which . were made during successive reigns, for protecting the tillers of the soil from spoil, are the best proofs of the deplorable state of the hus- bandman. The accession of James VI. to the crown of Eng- land is understood to have been unfavorable to the agricultural interests of Scotland, inasmuch as the nobles and gentry, being by that event led into great expenses, raised the rents of the tenantry considerably, while the very circumstance which occa- sioned the rise contributed to lessen the means of the tenant for fulfiUing his engagements. Scotland, however, was much benefited by the soldiers of Cromwell, who were chiefly English yeomen, not only well acquainted with husbandry, but, like the Romans at a former period, studious also to iihprove and en- lighten the nation which they had subdued. The soldiers of Cromwell's army were regularly paid, at the rate of eightpence per day, a sum equal to the money value of two shillings of English currency ; and, as this army lay in Scotland for many years, there was a great circulation of money through the country. Perhaps the low country districts were, at this time, in a higher state of improvement than at any 440 AGRICULTURE. former period. In the counties of Lanark, Renfrew, Ayr, and Kirkcudbright, the rentals of various estates were greater in 1660 than they were seventy years afterwards ; and the causes which brought about a declension in value are ascertained with- out flifficulty. The large fines exacted from country gentlemen and tenants, in these counties, during the reign of Charles 11. and his brother James, were almost sufficient to impoverish both proprietors and cultivators, had they even been as wealthy as they are at the present day. In addition to these fines, the dreadful imprisonments, and other oppressive measures pursued by those in power, equally contrary to sound policy and to jus- tice and humanity, desolated large tracts, drove the oppressed gentry and many of their wealthy tenants into foreign coun- tries, and extinguished the spirit of industry and improvement in the breasts of those who were left behind. Yet, in the seventeenth century were those laws made which paved the way for the present improved system of agriculture in Scotland. By statute, 1633, landholders were enabled to have their tithes valued, and to buy them either at nine or at six years' purchase, according to the nature of the property. The statute, 1685, conferring on landlords a power to entail their estates, was indeed of a very different tendency as to its effects on agriculture. But the two acts in 1695, for the division of commons, and the separation of intermixed properties, have greatly facilitated the progress of improvement. The literary history of agriculture, during the seventeenth century, is of no interest, till about the middle of that period. For more than fifty years after the appearance of Googe's work, there are no systematic works on husbandry, though there are several treatises on particular departments of it. From these it is evident that all the different operations of farming were per- formed with more care and correctness than formerly ; that the fallows were better worked ; the fields kept free of weeds ; and much more attention paid to manures of every kind. Bees seem to have been great favorites with these early writers ; and among others there is a treatise by Butler, a gentleman of Ox- ford, called the ** History of Bees," printed in 1609. Markham, Mascall, Gabriel Plattes, Weston, and other authors, belonged to this period. In Sir Richard Weston's discourse on the hus- AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. 441 bandry of Brabant and Flanders, published by Hartlibb in 1645, we may mark the dawn of vast improvements, which have since been effected in Britain. This gentleman was ambassador from England to the Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia, in 1619, and had the merit of being the first who introduced the great clover, as it was then called, into English agriculture, about 1645, and probably turnips also. In less than ten years after its introduction — that is, about 1655, — the culture of clover, exactly according to the present method, was well known in England, and had made its way even to Ireland. A great many works on agriculture appeared during the Commonwealth, of which Blythe's " Improver Improved," and Hartlibb's " Legacy," are the most valuable. The first edition of the former was published in 1649, ^.nd of the latter in 1650, and both of them were enlarged in subsequent editions. In the first edition of the " Improver Improved," no mention is made of clover, nor of turnips in the second, but in the third, published in 1662, clover is treated of at some length, and turnips are recommended as an excellent cattle crop, the culture of which should be extended from the kitchen garden to the field. Blythe's book is the first systematic work in which there are some traces of the convertible husbandry so beneficially estab- lished since, by interposing clover and turnips between culmif- erous crops. He is a great enemy to commons and common fields, and to retaining land in old pastures, unless it be of the best quality. His description of different kinds of plows is interesting, and he justly recommends such as were drawn by two horses, — some even by one horse, — in preference to the clumsy, weighty machines, which required four or more horses or oxen. Nearly all the manures now used were then well known, and he brought lime himself from a distance of twenty miles. He speaks of an instrument which plowed, sowed, and harrowed at the same time ; and the setting of grain was then a subject of much discussion. "It was not many years," says Blythe, " since the famous city of London petitioned the parlia- ment of England against two anusancies or offensive commod- ities, which were likely to come into great use and esteem, and that was Newcastle coals, in regard of their stench, etc., 442 4GRICULTURE. and hops, in regard they would spyle the taste of drinck, and endanger the people." Worlidge's "System of Agriculture" was published in 1668. It treats of improvements in general, of enclosing meadows and pastures, and of watering and draining them ; of clovers, vetches, spurry, Wiltshire long-grass, (probably that of the meadows of Salisbury,) hemp, flax, rape, turnips, etc. A Per- sian wheel was made by his direction, in Wiltshire, in 1665, that carried water in good quantity above twenty feet high, for watering meadows, and another near Godalming in Surrey. Sowing clover and other seeds preserved the cattle in the fatal winter of 1673, in the southern parts of England; whereas, in the western and northern, through defect of hay and pasture, the greater part of their cattle perished. Hops enough were not planted, but were imported from the Netherlands, of a quality not so good as those grown in the country. Among other writers of this century may be mentioned Bacon, who, in his natural history, has some curious observa- tions on agriculture ; Ray, the botanist, whose works are rich in facts ; and Evelyn, a great entourager of all manner of improve- ments, as well as a useful writer on planting. Some of the works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are now very scarce, and most of them little known to the agriculturists of the present day. In almost all of them there is much that is now useless, and not a little that is trifling and foolish ; yet the labor of perusal is not altogether fruitless. He who wishes to view the condition of the great body of the people, during this period, as well as the cultivator who still obstinately resists every new practice, may be gratified and instructed in tracing the gradual progress of improvement, both in enjoyment and useful industry. Agriculture began to be studied, as a science, in the principal countries of Europe, about the middle of the sixteenth century. The works of Crescenzio in Italy, Olivier de Serres in France, Heresbach in Germany, Herrera in Spain, and Fitzherbert in England, all published at about that time, supplied the materials for study, and led to improved practices among the reading agriculturists. The art of farming received a second impulse, about the middle of the seventeenth century, after the general AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 445 Captain John Smith, who visited Virginia in 1609, says: "The greatest labor they take is in planting their corn, for the coun- try is naturally overgrown with wood. To prepare the ground they bruise the bark of trees near the roots, then do they scorch the roots with fire that they grow no more." This custom of theirs, it probably was, that suggested to our ancestors the pro- cess of belting or girdling, which killed the larger trees by cut- ting through the sap-wood, caused the fall of spray and lesser branches, and thereby admitted the sun and air to the crop culti- vated in their intervals — a practice which, as compared with the method of clearing off the entire growth, enables the settler of new lands to increase the area of virgin soil under culture in more than geometrical ratio ; which has kept pace with our ever advancing frontier, and which, more than any other, has enabled the white race " to enter in and possess the good land that lay before them." The land being cleared — and a field once thus prepared was used for many successive years — the squaws would make prep- arations for planting, early each spring. First burning the dead wood on the ground, and often bringing dry branches to burn, that they might obtain their fertilizing ashes, they would then cultivate, or rather root up the surface, with the flat shoulder- blades of the moose, or with crooked pieces of wood. They would then mark the future hills by making small holes (about four feet apart), with rude wooden hoes or clam-shells ; put into each one an alewife from some adjoining stream, or a horse-shoe crab from the sea-shore ; and on this stimulant drop and cover a half-dozen grains of corn. The land thus planted was guarded against the depredations of the birds, and as the corn grew the earth was laboriously scraped up around the stalks with clam- shells, until the hills were two feet high. To u^e the words of Smith, "They hill it like a hop-field." While the stalk and leaves were yet green, the ears were plucked. The next year's seed was selected from those stalks which produced the most ears, and was triced up in their wigwams. The remainder of the crop was carried in back-baskets to stagings, where it was dried in the husk, on stagings, over smouldering fires ; then husked, shelled, packed in large birch-bark boxes, and buried in the ground, below the action of the frost. " O-mo-nee " was 44^ AGRICULTURE, this dried corn, cracked in a stone mortar, and then boiled ; when pounded into meal and sifted through a basket, to be made into ash-cakes, it was caHed " Sup-paun." The warriors, when on a war-path, subsisted on parched corn, which they called "Nokake." Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, speaks of having " travelled with two hundred Indians at once, nearly two hundred miles through the woods, every man carrying a little basket of this at his back, sufficient for one man three or four days." " With their corn," says Smith, "they plant also peas they call assentamus, which are the same they call in Italy fagiolia. Their beans are the same the Turks call garnaness, but these they much esteem for dain- ties." "In May, also, among their corn they plant pumpeons, and a fruit like unto a musk-melon, but less and worse, which they call macocks." These additional crops not only keep the ground around the roots of the growing corn moist, but they supply materials for the celebrated Indian dish called " mu-si- quatush," which has been changed into succotash. This was not then, however, simply composed of corn and beans, for we are told, by Gordkin, that they boiled in it " fish and flesh of all sorts, either new taken or dried — venison, bear's flesh, beaver, moose, otter, or raccoon, cut into small pieces ; Jerusalem arti- chokes, ground-nuts, acorns, pumpkins, and squashes." At the northwest wild rice was gathered and kept for winter use ; and Barlowe, who visited North Carolina in 1584, asserted that he saw there " both wheat and oats." It is not improbable that oats were found growing wild there, as they are known to grow wild on other portions of the continent ; but doubts may be entertained as to the wheat, although he, an Englishman, should have known that grain. Dr. Hawks thinks, however, that he saw some variety of the triticum, and, without critical examina- tion, pronounced it wheat. The sunflower was also cultivated for its seeds, of which bread was made. " Mish-i-min," in the Algonquin tongue, signifies apple; al- though it is the opinion of some learned writers that this fruit was unknown among them before the arrival of the Europeans. Several old printed compilations of early voyages, however, reckon apples among the early native fruits ; and, unless crab- stocks were found, it does not appear how the large orchards. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 447 mentioned by early writers, could have been made productive so soon. Mr. Walcott, a distinguished Connecticut magistrate, wrote in 1635 (certainly not more than five years after his colony was first planted), " I made five hundred hogsheads of cider out of my own orchard in one year." This would have been almost impossible, had he been obliged to raise his orchard from the seed, or had he planted trees of such a size as could have been transported through the trackless wilderness. The apple may not be indigenous to this country, and yet the Ind- ians may have possessed it, as they did corn, which is not a native of their soil. Certain it is that they had orchards of cherries and of plums, large stores of which were dried for winter use. Tobacco was everywhere cultivated ; huge grape- vines entwined many a forest tree, and there was an abundance of berries in the woods. Gourds were raised in great numbers, and of all sizes, from the large " cal-a-bash-es " that would hold two or three gallons each, to the tiny receptacles of pigments used in painting for war. From the sap of the maple they made a coarse-grained sugar, which, when mixed with freshly-pounded ** sap-paun," and sea- soned with dried whortleberries, was baked into a dainty dish for high festivals. The dried meats of oil-nuts, pounded and boiled in a decoction of sassafras, was their only beverage at such feasts ; and from the green wax of the bayberry they made candles, with rush wicks, which gave clear lights, and yielded a pleasant fragrance while burning. Their wigwams were constructed of saplings, set into the ground in a circle, and then drawn together at the top until they formed a conical frame some nine or ten feet high at the apex. This was covered with thick mats of woven grass, or with large sheets of birch-bark, sewed together with the dried sinews of the deer, and then calked with some resinous gum. A mat served as a door ; in the centre was a stone hearth, with an opening above it for the escape of the smoke. The only article of furniture was a large couch, elevated about a foot from the ground, and spread with dressed skins and mats. Birch-bark boxes were used to hold finery and provisions, while the frame- work of the wigwam was hung with war-clubs, bows, bundles of arrows, fish-spears, hoes, axes, and other rude implements which 448 AGRICULTURE. the Indians possessed. Unacquainted with the use of iron, their cutting instruments aiad sharp weapons were pointed with flint-stone, shells, or bones, and their earthen vessels were of the coarsest description. They had no domestic animals except a few small dogs, and no poultry. Such was the primitive agricultural life of the Indians, who have been gradually blotted out from their pleasant homes, to make way for the "pale faces." On many sunny slopes now smiling with cultivation were their cheerless wigwams, their, crabbed orchards, and their ill-tinted corn-patches. Beneath the shade of forests long since felled, and where flourishing communities now dwell, they tracked the wild beast to his lair, or reposed, weary of the chase, to partake of their slaughtered game. Where spires now point heavenward, and the doors of school-houses "swing on their golden hinges," the war-hatchet was unburied, or the " calumet " of peace was whiffed, or the " pow-wows " went through their mystic incantations. And as we meet at cattle-shows and agricultural anniversaries, so the Indians, in their day, celebrated the "green corn dance," or the "feast of the chestnut moon." " Alas for them — their day is o'er ; Their fires are out from hill and shore. No more for them the red deer bounds, The plow is in their hunting grounds. The pale man's axe rings through their woods, The pale man's sail skims o'er their floods, Their pleasant springs are dry." Spanish Colonial Agriculture. — Spain having discovered America, endeavored to colonize the regions of which so many wonderful and mysterious accounts were circulated by the early navigators. As early as 1520 a royal edict, "in order the better to facilitate the emigration and permanent establishment of col- onists," offered to all who wished to go, provisions for a year ; to defray the transportation of their supplies and persons ; exemption from all duties and imposts ; and the perpetual ownership of the houses they might construct, and the lands they might cultivate. But the needy adventurers who flocked to the New World sought gold and glory rather than homes and lands, especially those who landed on the shores of Florida. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 449 The adventurers who landed at Tampa Bay, and followed the stern De Soto to the Mississippi River, were in search of El Dorado, and had no desire to cultivate any of the fertile regions over which they passed during their toilsome march. But the home government desired a more permanent colonization, and, in 1565, we find that Spain granted to Francisco de Eraso " twenty-five leagues square (3,600,000 acres), to be located wherever he pleased, in Florida, with the office of governor, and various other titles and privileges for himself and heirs, exempt- ing them from imposts and duties, on condition that he should provide several caravals for exploration, and colonize his tract, within three years, with 500 settlers, most of whom should be husbandmen, 500 slaves, 100 horses and mares, 200 heifers, 400 swine, and 400 ewes." Several colonies were thus established, but they did not prosper, and little was done to improve the cultivation of the soil until the English took possession in 1763. When the Spaniards regained possession, agriculture was again neglected, fields were allowed to grow up with briers, and sugar- houses to rot down. The Puritan English Colonists. — The English Puritans, who settled in New England, were men who regarded civil and relig- ious liberty as the primary object of rational beings. To use their own words, ** They left their pleasant and beautiful homes in England to plant their poor cottages in the wilderness," that they might worship God as revelation and conscience might teach, and found a free agricultural state equal to Palestine in its palmi- est days, when Israel's kings had " herds of cattle, both in the low country and on the plains, granaries for their abundant crops, husbandmen also, and vine-dressers in the mountains." The sacred light of Biblical history was not to them like the stern- light of a vessel, only illuminating what had been passed over, but rather the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire moving before them on the path of life, giving guidance by day and assurance by night. The fate of Babylon, of Nineveh, of Carthage, of Venice, of Genoa, and many commercial governments of Central Europe, warned them *' That trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay. As ocean sweeps the labored mole away." 450 AGRICULTURE, In England, agriculture has long been regarded as the most favorable occupation for the development of Christianity, and had, prior to the Reformation, received the special attention of the clergy. The first gardens and orchards were those of the Benedictine monks, and the general council of Lateran decreed that, " all presbyters, clerks, monks, converts, pilgrims, and peas- ants, when they are engaged in the labors of husbandry, shall, together with the cattle in their plows and the seed which they carry into the field, enjoy perfect security ; and that all who molest and interrupt them, if they do not desist when admon- ished, shall be excommunicated." Nor were the followers of Luther less devoted to agriculture than their Roman predeces- sors, especially when it was found that the doctrines of the reformed Church made but slow progress in the cities and towns. Dorsetshire and Wiltshire, the English homes of the Puritans ere they made their exodus to a transatlantic Canaan, are even now remarkable for their almost total absence of the usual signs of trade and manufactures ; and we are informed by Ban- croft, that those who first went to Holland were anxious to emi- grate again because they " had been bred to agricultural pursuits," yet were there "compelled to learn mechanical trades." " They sought our shores," said Mr. Webster, " under no high-wrought spirit of commercial adventure, no love of gold, no mixture of purpose, warlike or hostile, to any human being. Accustomed in their native land to no more than a plain country life and the innocent trade of husbandry, they set the example of colonizing New England, and formed the mould for the civil and religious character of its inhabitants." This desire on the part of the Puritans that " New England " should be an agricultural community was strikingly manifested by the corporation of Massachusetts Bay, whose charter ex- tended from a line three miles south of Charles River to another three miles north of " any and every part " of the Merrimac. Each contributor and each stockholder received two hundred acres of land for every £,^0 sterling paid in, while stock- holders and others who emigrated at their own expense received fifty acres for each member of their family and each '' indented servant." This shows that it was a rural home in this land of freedom, and not town lots or semi-annual dividends, that these AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES, 45 1 liberal adventurers sought, and we find further confirmation of their agricultural proclivities in the inventories of the supplies sent by the corporation to the new colony. **Vyne planters" are mentioned usually after " ministers " ; then come hogsheads of wheat, rye, barley, and oats, unthreshed ; beans, peas, and potatoes ; stones of all kinds of fruits ; apple, pear, and quince kernels ; hop, licorice, and madder roots ; flax and woad seed ; currant plants and tame turkeys. Cattle were imported by the colonists, not only from various parts of England, but from Holland, Denmark, and the Spanish Main, forming a noble foundation for that " native stock " which, when carefully reared and well fed, is at least equal to many of the vaunted imported breeds. Horses, sheep, swine, and goats were also imported from Europe in large numbers. Neither was horticulture neg- lected, for we find that Governor Endicott had a vegetable gar- den and vineyard in 1629, and two years afterwards he planted the famous pear orchard of which one venerable survivor still bears the patriarchal honors. The immigrants found that Boston had " sweet and pleasant springs, and good land affording rich corn grounds and fruitful gardens " ; but, as their numbers and the numbers of their cattle increased, they formed colonies in various directions, especially in ** Wonne-squam-sauke " (now Essex County), for amid its "pleasant waters" were unwooded meadows suitable for pasturage and for grass-cutting, while the uplands were well adapted for tillage. Squatter sovereignty was unknown, for no individuals were permitted to establish theniselves within the limits of the colony. Each body swarmed out in community, with a regular allotment of individual farms, based in extent upon the wealth of the settlers, and a great pasture, a peat meadow, a salt marsh, and fishing-grounds held in common. These farms were so laid out that no house was over half a mile from the meeting-house, and it was with astonishing rapidity that agricultural communities sprang up, like the fabled war- riors of Cadmus, into full-armed life. Like those mythological knights, they were armed with weapons, not for their own destruction, but for the defence of their liberties and their homes. From these small farming hamlets have grown up most of the towns and cities of our country, and from one of 452 AGRICULTURE, them afterwards went forth the Alpha of colonization in the Great West. In the log cabin of that agricultural era were first cultivated the true, though austere religion, the domestic virtues, the sturdy habits of frugal industry, the daring spirit, and the devoted love of liberty that have so advanced the prosperity and the glory of this Western Continent. The acorns planted by our fathers have become stately trees, under whose umbra- geous foliage thousands of their descendants and others, whom the grateful shade has invited from less favored lands, find pro- tection, shelter, and repose. The immigrants were supplied with carts, chains, shovels, hoes, and rakes, but it was some years before a plow was intro- duced ; and even so late as 1637 there were but 30 plows in Massachusetts. A yeoman in Salem that year made complaint that "he had not sufficient ground to maintain a plow" on his tract of 300 acres, and he was allowed an addition of 20 acres to his original grant, if he would ''set up plowing." The plows first used were the imported English wheel-plows, but somewhat lighter although clumsy kinds were in time made by the village wheelwright and blacksmith. Then came what was long known as the Gary plow, with clumsy wrought-iron share, wooden landside and standard, and wooden mould-board plated over with sheet-iron or tin, and with short, upright handles, requiring a strong man to guide it. The bar-share plow was another form, still remembered by many for its rudely fitted wooden mould-board and coulter, and immense friction, from the rough iron bar which formed the landside. Massachusetts was the first among the colonies to introduce the manufacture of scythes and other agricultural implements. In 1646 the General Court granted to Joseph Jenckes, of Lynn, a native of Hammersmith, in England, and connected with the first iron works in that colony, the exclusive privilege for four- teen years " to make experience of his abillityes and inventions for making, among other things, of mills for the making of sithes and other edge tooles." His patent "for ye more speedy cutting of grass" was renewed for seven years, in May, 1655. The improvement consisted in making the blade longer and thinner, and in strengthening it at the same time by welding a square bar of iron to the back, as in the modern scythe, thus AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 453 materially improving upon the old English scythe then in use, which was short, thick, and heavy, like a bush scythe. A cen- tury later, a Scotchman named Hugh Orr came to Massachusetts and erected at Bridgewater the first trip hammer in the colony, with which he manufactured scythes, shovels, axes, hoes, and other implements, for which that place has since enjoyed a deserved reputation. Thanks to the industrious antiquarians who have gleaned from manuscripts, traditions, and old publications almost every detail of the domestic life of the first settlers, we can constitute ourselves a "committee on farms," and in imagination visit one of the early yeomen. Riding along a "trail" indicated by marked trees, we find his horse and cattle shed standing near an old Indian clearing, encircled by a high palisade, which also includes the spring, that water may be brought without danger from the "bloody savages." The house, which is over a small, deep cellar, is built of logs, notched where they meet at the corners, with a thatched roof, and a large chimney at one end, built of stones cemented with clay. The small windows are covered with oiled paper, with protecting shutters, and the massive door is thick enough to be bullet-proof. Pulling the "latch string" we enter, and find that the floor, and the floor of the loft which forms the ceiling, are made of "rifted" or split pine, roughly smoothed with the adze, while the immense hearth, occupying nearly an entire side of the house, is of large, flat stones. There are no partition walls, but thick serge curtains are so hung that at night they divide off the flock beds, upon which there are piles of rugs, coverlets, and flannel sheets. A high-backed chair or two, a massive table, a large chest with a carved front, and some Indian birch-bark boxes for wearing apparel, are ranged around the walls, while on a large dressoir we see wooden bowls and trenchers, earthen platters, horn drinking-cups, and a pewter tankard. The corselet, matchlock, and bandoliers are ready for defence, with a halberd, if the senior occupant of the house holds a commission in "ye train band," and from a "lean-to" shed comes the hum of the great wheel, or the clang of the loom, as the busy " helpmates " hasten to finish their "stents." High on the mantel shelf, with a "cresset lamp" on one side and the time-marking hour-glass on 454 AGRICULTURE. the other, is the well-thumbed Bible, which was not left for show. ''Our especial desire is," say the company's instructions, ''that you take especial care in settling these families that the chief in the family be grounded in religion, whereby morning and evening family duties may be duly performed, and a watchful eye held over all in each family by one or more in each family appointed thereto, that so disorders may be prevented, and ill weeds nipt before they take too great a head." The fare of the Puritan farmers was as frugal as it was whole- some : Pease porridge for breakfast ; bread, cheese, and beer or cider for luncheon ; a " boiled dish," or " black broth," or salt fish, or broiled pork, or baked beans, for dinner ; hasty pudding and milk for supper, and a constant succession of fruit or berry pies at every meal, when the housewife had time to make them in addition to her other cooking, her dairy, washing, mending, carding, spinning, weaving, and knitting. Swedish turnips were the staple vegetable. The bread was generally made of corn, barley, or rye meal, and if the diet was rather farinaceous than animal, there was less demand for medicine, and a larger, longer-lived growth of men and women than in these degenerate days of luxury and "progress." The Cavalier English Colonies. — The tide-water regions of Maryland and Virginia, and the Carolinas, were originally settled by the cavalier aristocracy of England, with their servants and their slaves. Next came the Scotch merchants and mechanics, a moral, industrious, and honest race, who located themselves in the towns. Afterwards there was an immigration of French Huguenots, of high character and attainments ; and in later years, the unsuccessful rebellions of the elder and younger Pre- tenders forced large numbers of Scotch Jacobins to seek new homes on the Western Continent. Many indentured white ser- vants, and some transported convicts, were also sent over from England ; but after a generation or so all of these became blended into a homogeneous race of "cavaliers"; aristocratic, because they had an inferior race beneath them. An idea of the immigration by which Virginia, the mother of the South Atlantic States, was colonized, may be formed from the response of Governor Sir William Berkeley to one of the many interrogatories propounded to him by the British Lords AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES, 455 Commissioners of Foreign Affairs ; viz. : " What number of Eng- lish, Scotch, and Irish have for these seven years last past come yearly to plant and inhabit with your government ; and also," what blacks or slaves have been brought in within the same ? " ^* Yearly there comes in of servants about fifteen hundred ; most are English, few Scotch, and fewer Irish, and not above two or three ships of negroes in seven years ! " He says nothing of the free immigrants, though included in the interrogatory, and their number was doubtless too inconsiderable for notice. The feudal system was transplanted to Virginia, and the royal grants of land gave the proprietors baronial power. One of these grants, or "patents," as they were called, gave the paten- tee the right *'to divide the said tract or territory of land into counties, hundreds, parishes, tithings, townships, hamlets, and boroughs ; and to erect and build cities, towns, parish churches, colleges, chapels, free schools, almshouses, and houses of correc- tion, and to endow the same at their free will and pleasure, and ,did appoint them full and perpetual patrons of all such churches so to be built and endowed ; with power also to divide any part or parcel of said tract or territory, or portion of land, into manors, and to call the same after their own or any of their names, or by other name or names whatsoever ; and within the same to hold a court in the nature of a court baron, and to hold pleas of all actions, trespasses, covenants, accounts, contracts, detinues, debts, and demands whatsoever, when the debt or thing de- manded exceed not the value of forty shillings, sterling money of England ; and to receive and take all amercements, fruits, commodities, advantages, perquisites, and emoluments whatso- ever, to such respective court barons belonging or in any wise appertaining ; and further, to l>old within the same manors a court leet and view of frank pledge of all the tenants, residents, and inhabitants of the hundred within such respective manors," etc., etc. The Maryland and Virginia estates were large, extending far back in the country, from their fronts on the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries, near which the buildings were located. . Tide- water was at every cavalier planter's door, and ships from Eng- land brought him his annual supplies of merchandise in exchange for his crop of tobacco, while smaller crafts came with the prod- 456 AGRICULTURE. ucts of the New England fisheries and of the West India planta- tions, to barter for his tobacco, cotton, wheat, or corn. The neighboring waters swarmed with many varieties of wild fowl, and abounded with fish, oysters^ soft crabs, and turtle, while in the woods was an abundance of game. Tobacco became the staple product of Virginia soon after the first settlement of the British colonists, and although many and stringent laws were enacted to prevent its cultivation, little attention was paid to any other crops beyond what was needed for home consumption. Attempts were made to encourage other branches of rural industry. But the Virginia landowners pre- ferred the exhausting tobacco plants, with a continuous cropping, shallow plowing, and no supplies of fertilizers, until every parti- cle of nourishment had been drawn from the soil by the plants, or washed out by the rains. The implements used were small plows and heavy hoes ; and when the tobacco had been gath- ered, cured, and packed into hogsheads, these were rolled to the nearest inspection wharf. The roads were bad, and there were but few. wagons, so a pole and whiffletrees were attached to each hogshead, by an iron bolt driven in the centre of each head, and it was converted into a large roller. For many years the places for deposit and inspection of tobacco on the river were called *' rolling houses." King James the First, prompted doubtless by his antipathy to "the Virginia weed," and "having understood that the soil naturally yieldeth store of excellent mulberries," gave instruc- tions to the Earl of Southampton to urge the cultivation of silk in the colony, in preference to tobacco, "which brings with it many disorders and inconveniences." In obedience to the com- mand, the earl wrote an express letter on the subject to the governor and council, in which he desired, them to compel the colonists to plant mulberry trees, and also vines. Accordingly, "as early as th^ year 1623, the colonial assembly directed the planting of mulberry trees; and in 1656 another act was passed, in which the culture of silk is described as the most profitable commodity for the country, and a penalty of ten pounds of tobacco is imposed upon every planter who shall fail to plant at least ten mulberry trees for every hundred acres of land in his possession. In the same year a premium of 4000 pounds of AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 457 tobacco was given to a person, as an inducement to remain in the country and prosecute the trade in silk ; and in the next year a premium of 10,000 pounds of tobacco was offered to any one who should export ;£^200 worth of the raw material of silk." About the same time, 5000 pounds of the same article were promised "to any one who should produce 1000 pounds of wound silk in one year." Cotton, which is the staple of the Southern States settled by Virginians, was first grown by the early colonists in 1621, but it was not an article of general home consumption, or of export, for many years. In 1748 seven bags of cotton-wool, valued at ;£'3 I IS. ^d. a bag, were among the exports of Charleston, South Carolina ; and after the Revolution the growth and exportation of the sea-island cotton was commenced, seed having been obtained from one of the Leeward Isles. Originally the cotton was separated from the seed with the fingers, and afterwards there were several contrivances used, among them the employ- ment of a long bow fitted with a number of strings, which, being vibrated by the blows of a wooden mallet while in contact with a bunch of cotton, shook the seed and dust from the mass. In 1742, M. Dubreuil, a wealthy planter of New Orleans, invented a cleaning-machine, which was so far successful as to give quite an impulse to the cotton culture in Louisiana, and several other inventions were subsequently used in other sections of the South ; but none of them accomplished the desired work. In 1794, Eli Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, then residing in Georgia, invented the saw-gin, which completely removes all extraneous matters without injury to the fibre, and enables a man to clean 300 pounds a day instead of one pound, as he had been able to do by hand. This wonderful labor-saving machine has exerted an influence on the industrial interests of the world, and has placed cotton foremost among our national exports. The production of wine in the Atlantic colonies was believed to be practicable by many of the early settlers, and several of the governors endeavored to encourage the planting of vineyards. In 1758, the ''London Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Commerce, and Manufactures " proposed the following premium for the wine itself : " As producing wines in our American colo- 45^ AGRICULTURE. nies will be of great advantage to those colonies, and also to this kingdom, it is proposed to give to that planter, in any of our said colonies, who shall first produce, within seven years from the date hereof, from his own plantation, five tuns of white or red wine, made of grapes, the produce of these colonies only, and such as in the opinion of competent judges, appointed by the society in London, shall be deemed deserving the reward — not less than one tun thereof to be imported at London — one hundred pounds." This premium was continued to be advertised to 1765, the period appointed for bringing in the claims, and then dropped. After the year 1759, a nota befie was added to the advertisement, which expressed " that the method of cultivating vines for wines, and the manner of making wines in different countries, were to be found in * Miller's Dictionary,' edit. 1758." The ** London Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Com- merce, and Manufactures " also offered premiums for hemp, opium, olives, pot and pearl ashes, barilla, logwood, scammony (produced from the Convohndus Scauwtonia) , myrtle wax (pro- duced from the candleberry myrtle), sarsaparilla root, and gum from the persimmon tree. It was thought that this gum might take the place of gum-arabic, and directions were given for gathering, but it was ascertained that the cost would be three shillings sterling a pound, and as gum-arabic could be bought at London for less than one-sixth of that price, the premiums were discontinued after having been offered for three years. The French Colonists. — While the tide-water region of the Atlantic coast was being colonized, from the Penobscot to the Altamaha, by the British, by the Dutch, and by the Swedes, the French ascended the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, crossed to the head-waters of the Mississippi, and descended that river to its mouth. They were explorers, not settlers, — and when they established posts it was for hunting, rather than agriculture. Their leaders, stamped with martial virtues and martial faults, ambitiously endeavored to grasp the entire Western Continent, rather than to cultivate a portion of it, and the historian's account of their adventures is a romance. Plumed helmets gleamed in the shade of the forests which bordered the lakes and rivers of what was then the far West, and priestly vestments were to be seen around the fitful light of the camp-fires. Men of courtly d AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 459 nurture, heirs to the polish of a far-reaching ancestry, established their "seigniories" here and there, but paid little attention to the cultivation of the soil. Louisiana was the only French colony in which especial atten- tion was paid to agricultural pursuits. A variety of crops was tried successively, but none proved as remunerative as the sugar-cane, which had been taken from India to Spain, by the Saracens, thence to Madeira, and thence to the West India Isl- ands. In 1 75 1 a French transport, having on board 200 troops for the garrison of the colony of Louisiana, touched at St. Domingo. The Jesuits located in the bay of Port-au-Prince obtained leave to send on board, for their branch establishment at New Orleans, a supply of cane, with a few negroes used to its cultivation and the manufacture of sugar. These canes were landed and planted, but for several years the Jesuits, and those to whom they gave canes, were equally unsuccessful either in their cultivation or in the manufacture of sugar. A quaint engraving, executed in Germany, represents the process of manufacture. The cane was stripped of its leaves and ground, or rather crushed, by a heavy stone, made to revolve by manual force. The expressed juice, after having been boiled in a cauldron, was ladled into large stone jars, which were ex- posed to the rays of the sun until the sugar crystallized. In 1764 the Chevalier De Mazan tried the experiment on his plantation, on the opposite shore of the Mississippi River, with more success. In the following year, Destrehan (then treasurer of the king of France, in the colony), and several other planters, put up works below the city, on the left bank, but with the same result. The planters were disheartened, and in 1769 the manu- facture of sugar in Louisiana was entirely abandoned, and the planters turned their attention to the cultivation of indigo, cot- ton, tobacco, rice, corn, etc. A few small gardeners continued the planting of sugar-cane in the neighborhood of the city, which they retailed in the market for the use of children, or expressed the juice, making syrup, which they sold in bottles. More than twenty-five years elapsed before further efforts were made in its cultivation. . In 1 79 1 A. Mendez, of New Orleans, purchased the apparatus, land, etc., which now forms a part of the Oluren plantation, at 46o AGRICULTURE. Terre aux Boeufs, below the city, and, nothing daunted, resolved to carry on the manufacture of sugar. He secured the services of M. Morie, who had gained some experience in the manufacture at St. Domingo. He was more successful ; and at a grand din- ner with Don Reindin (then Spanish Intendant of Louisiana), given to the public authorities of New Orleans, he exhibited as a curiosity a few small loaves of refined sugar, the first ever pro- duced in Louisiana. In 1792 Etienne Bord, a planter living a few miles above the city, finding his indigo crops a failure, determined, as a dernier resort, to try the cultivation of sugar. At length, in 1795, his success was partial, and in the following year, under the auspices of Morie, it was rendered complete. He was induced to make further improvements and essay new experiments, until he fully established this, one of the most productive branches in Louisiana. At that time there were but two varieties of cane in Louisiana — the Malabar or Bengal, and the Otaheite ; these have disap- peared, or nearly so, and have given place to the purple or red- ribbon cane of Java or Batavia. The Dutch introduced it, about the middle of the last century, to St. Eustatius, Curagoa, Guiana, and Surinam, whence it spread all over the West Indies, and over a portion of the South American continent. In 1 8 14 an American schooner imported a few bundles of this cane into Georgia, and in 18 17 about a dozen of these plants were brought to New Orleans by John Joseph Coiron, who planfed them in his garden at Terre aux Boeufs. Meeting with the most gratifying success in their cultivation, Mr. Coiron, in 1825, imported a sloop load from Savannah, which he planted on his estate, known as the St. Sophie plantation, about thirty-six miles below the city. Thence originated the ribbon-cane, or Javanese, now most generally grown throughout Louisiana and Texas. The French were the first to collect agricultural statistics on this continent. The governors of Canada and of Louisiana, from the year 1689 until the termination of the French rule in those colonies, obtained every year the number of acres cultivated, the amount of crops raised, the number of horses, cows, sheep, and swine, and the success which attended the cultivation of new AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 46 1 crops introduced by order of the home government. These interesting agricultural statistics, with the exception of a few- missing years, are now in the archives- of France. The Revolutionary Period. — The American colonists not only subdued the wilderness, but conquered its savage occupants, and carried on expensive wars, fighting bravely at Quebec and at Louisburg, at Ticonderoga and at Fort Duquesne. As they advanced in civilization, attempts were made to improve their cultivation of the soil, being stimulated by the premiums offered in England. In 1747 Jared Elliot, a Connecticut clergyman, published a useful work on field husbandry, and the invoices of the London tobacco factors show that there was a demand for the works of Jethro Tull, by the Virginia planters. When Dr. Franklin went to England, as the agent of Penn- sylvania, he was not unmindful of its greatest interest, and he sent home for distribution, in 1770, seeds, mulberry cuttings, silkworms' eggs, etc., thus initiating that system of government supply which has been productive of such important results. The glorious aid given by the planters and farmers in the Revolutionary struggle of 1776 forms a bright chapter in the annals of American agriculture. Had we had many large cities then, as now, it is doubtful if independence would have been declared, for we should have been so accessible to attack that it would have been madness to have commenced that " resistance to tyrants " which is "obedience to God." As it was, Tories abounded in the cities, each of which was in turn occupied by the redcoats ; and all must admit that British power was pros- trated on this continent by the hard-handed operatives of iron nerve, a majority of them yeomen, who left their plows in the furrows to aid the farmer of Mount Vernon in unyoking their land from tyranny. In recalling the patriotic devotion of our forefathers, which has since been imitated again and again, when the war-trumpet has been heard in the land, let us bear in mind that when Rome — that victorious imperial mother of nations — suffered her noble urban citizens to "crush out" the cultivators by unjust taxation and the free admission of agricultural prod- ucts, her power began to wane. Long before the race of the patricians had become extinct, the free cultivators had disap- peared from the fields, leaving no recruits for the once victorious 462 AGRICULTURE. cohorts, who now fled before the invading Goths. Truly Gold- smith said : — " Princes or kings may flourish or may fade, A breath can make them as a breath has made ; But a bold yeomanry, their country's pride, When once destroyed, can never be suppHed," General Washington, while ''first in war," never "virtually ceased," we are told by Irving, **to be the agriculturist. Throughout all his campaigns he had kept himself informed of the course of rural affairs at Mount Vernon. By means of maps, on which every field was laid dowri and numbered, he was enabled to give directions for their several. cultivation, and receive account of their several crops. No hurry of affairs pre- vented a correspondence with his overseer or agent, and he ex- acted weekly reports. Thus his rural were interwoven with his military cares ; the agriculturist was mingled with the soldier ; and those strong sympathies with the honest cultivators of the soil, and that paternal care of their interests, to be noted through- out his military career, may be ascribed, in a great measure, to the sweetening influence of Mount Vernon." The deplorable condition of the agriculture of the republic was not unnoticed by the "fathers of the country." Washing- ton commenced making experiments on his farm at Mount Vernon, and John Adams on his farm at Quincy, and Jefferson on his estate at Monticello. Many of the reverend clergy made their parsonage farms and glebe lands models to the counties round, and there was a great demand for agricultural literature. Mr. Jefferson also exercised his mechanical tastes in improving the mould-board of plows, which he afterwards adapted to an improved plow sent him by the Agricultural Society of the Department of the Seine, in France. His son-in-law, Mr. Ran- dolph, whom Mr. Jefferson thought the best farmer in Virginia, invented a side-hill plow, adapted to the hilly regions of that State. Mr. Jefferson advocated an adherence to scientific principles in the construction of the plow. The first attempt to carry out these suggestions was made by Robert Smith, of Pennsylvania, who took out the first patent for the mould-board alone of a plow. Peace spread her wings over the new republic, and her AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 463 soldiers returned to their farms. Their system of agriculture, however, was of a low order and, as such, was deprecated by all who understood its importance. Washington, Adams, and others, both by precept and example, sought to instruct and encourage the farmers to more methodical habits and better cultivation. It was not, however, until after the War of 18 12 that such an idea was seriously considered ; but when it did come it took a strong hold, and the improvements of the present are the results of it. There were many causes for this. The rich and abun- dant lands of the United States, the variety of soil and climate, together with the rapid increase in immigration, and the almost universal desire to be independent in every sense of the word, led the bulk of the people to choose agriculture as a calling. It required but little skill, and was cheap, and the idea of having a home of their own seemed to obtain quite generally among the people. Then, too, each farmer was a pioneer, and as such learned to do without many of those helps and conveniences that are now seen on every hand. After peace had again been secured, the real work of building a nation began. Statesmen were not wanting who could clearly discern the potent, conservative force that waited upon a perma- nent and contented element of farmers. The purchase of lands was made comparatively easy, the interests of the farmer cared for, and a general desire was manifested to aid and protect that industry. The growth of agriculture in the United States has been marvellous, and is yet really in its infancy. The possibil- ities of this branch of the economy of the nation, under kindly laws, would be difficult to conceive. With the invention of farm machinery has come a rapid increase in production. New terri- tory has been opened up, and the railroad has almost eliminated the idea of distance. Taken altogether, American farmers, with a proper and just method of distribution, would stand at the head of the world's producers. There have been several periods of great prosperity among the farmers, and again like periods of distress. The farmers of America are at the present time suffering from a series of years of business depression, and are calling loudly for a change of conditions. They assert that, during the last quarter of a cen- 464 AGRICULTURE. tury, laws have been made that bear unevenly upon their inter- ests, in consequence of which they are the losers. They show, by statistics, that, notwithstanding their production has in- creased, the remuneration that should follow has been dimin- ished. President L. L. Polk, of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, said, in his speech before the Committee on Agriculture : — ** With kindly climatic conditions ; with varieties of soil admirably adapted to the successful cultivation of all the staple products demanded by commerce ; with transportation facilities equal to the productive power of the country ; with the world as his customer ; with all the natural facilities and conditions for making his home the happiest, the most prosperous, the proudest heritage which the God of nature ever vouchsafed to man ; urgent and extraordinary indeed must be the exigencies which thus impel the farmer to break his long and wonted silence. "Never in our history have we witnessed such marvellous progress and development as have marked the two past decades. The flourishing growth of cities, towns, and villages ; the rapid expansion of our railway system ; the unparalleled prosperity of manufacturing enterprise, in all its departments ; the easy and ready accumulation of prodigious fortunes; — all conspire to impress the superficial observer with the happy belief that all departments of effort, and all interests, share in common this apparently unparalleled condi- tion of prosperity. We are, therefore, not wholly unprepared for the argument presented by some, even in high official position, that our straitened financial condition, as farmers, is largely, if not entirely, due to the munificent and bounteous provisions of a merciful Providence. Nor, indeed, in the wild rush of this almost bewildering progress, are we surprised to hear, in response to our earnest protestations of suffering and distress, a proposition to send a commission, at heavy expense, throughout the country, to visit money centres and marts of trade, to investigate and report whether or not, after all, this universal cry for relief, by the wealth producers all over the land, does not proceed from their total misconception of the situation. ** In justification, therefore, of this most unusual proceeding on the part of the farmers, in applying to the law-making power for relief, we must appeal to facts and truth — facts as substantiated by statistics, and to the truth of his- tory — and I shall endeavor to present nothing which is not derived from, and supported by, official records. Testimony carrying with it the argument, rather than argument itself, is what is desired. ** In 1850 the farmers of the United States owned 70 per cent of the total wealth of the country. In i860 they owned about one-half of the wealth of the country. In 1880 they owned about one-third of the wealth of the coun- try. In 1889 they owned a fraction less than one-fourth of the wealth of the country. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 465 '* Depreciation in the Value and Acreage of Farms. In i860 the value of farms $6,645,045,007 In 1850 the value of our farms 3,271,575,421 Total increase of value in 10 years . . $3,373,469,586 Average yearly increase in value 337.346,958 •* Now take the 20 years following : — In 1880 the value of farms $10,197,096,776 In i860 the value of farms 6,645,045,007 Total increase of value in 20 years . . $3,552,051,769 Average yearly increase in value 177,602,588 "That is, the average yearly increase in the value of our farms dropped from 10^ per cent, as in the years 1850 to i860, to 2^ per cent, as in the years i860 to 1880. And this fearful depreciation in the value of our farms occurred during a period of unexampled prosperity and development in the commercial, financial, and manufacturing enterprises of the country. Acres. Again, increase of the acreage of farms from 1850 to i860, was 113,640,000 Average yearly increase 11,364,000 Increase from i860 to 1880, 20 years 128,881,835 Average yearly increase 6,444,090 ♦' That is, the increase in the farm acreage, from 1850 to i860, was 38 per cent, while, from i860 to 1880, it dropped to 31 per cent. This heavy decrease took place during the same prosperous period to which I have referred, and during which the population of the country had more than doubled. Per cent. From 1850 to i860, farm values increased loi From i860 to 1870, farm values increased 43 From 1870 to 1880, farm values increased 9 *' Yet notwithstanding this alarming decline in farm values, the aggregate wealth of the country increased, from 1870 to 1880, 45 per cent, and the agricultural population increased over 29 per cent. "AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURING. '* It may not be uninteresting or uninstructive to notice, in this connection, the comparative progress between agriculture and manufacturing. "From 1850 to i860, agriculture led manufacturing, in increased value of products, 10 per cent. From 1870 to 1880, manufacturing led agriculture 27 per cent ; showing a difference of zy per cent in favor of the growth of manu- facturing. 466 . AGRICULTURE, *' The exports of American labor products show equally disparaging and discouraging exhibits : — Agriculture. Manufactures. In 1881 $730»394.943 $89,219,380 In 1888 500,840,086 130,300,087 " An increase during these seven years, in our exports of manufactures, of 46 per cent, and a decrease in those years, of agricultural products, of 31 per cent. • '* Values of Staple Crops. In 1866 the wheat, corn, rye, barley, buckwheat, hay, oats, potatoes, cotton, and tobacco sold for $2,007,462,231 The same crops for the year 1884, eighteen years later, sold for 2,043,500,481 "Notwithstanding the cultivated acreage had nearly doubled, and farm hands had doubled, and agricultural implements and machinery had vastly improved, yet the crops named for the year 1884 sold for only thirty-six millions, or less than 2 per cent more than they did for the year 1866. •' The average price of our cereal crops, in 1867, was very nearly one dollar per bushel, and in the year 1887 it was less than fifty cents per bushel. The loss on the crop of 1887, as compared with that of 1867, was over thirteen hundred million dollars. " For ten years from 1867, the average value of yield per acre of oats was $12.10. For the past six years the average value has been less than eight dollars, and is lower to-day than ever before in our history. For the period named, the average value per acre, in yield of wheat, was $14.39; ^•'^^ the past six years it has been less than $9. For the period named, the average value per acre, in yield of corn, was $14.16; for the past six years it has averaged less than $9 per acre. The average value per acre, in yield of all our crops, in 1867, was $19; in 1887, twenty years later, it was about nine dollars. " To show that this depression in prices, this shrinkage in values, does not proceed from local conditions, and is not confined to any section, or crop, or department of husbandry, let us examine the statistics of the four leading staple crops of the country : — " Wheat. Crop. Bushels. Price. Value. 1885 421,086,160 $1.10 $463,194,776 1889 490,560,000 .86 to-day. 421,881,600 " As will be seen, the crop of 1889 exceeded the crop of 1885 by 69,473,840 bushels, yet the crop of 1885 would have brought, at point of export, $41,313,186 more than that of 1889. " The wheat crop of 1880, although 41,090,595 bushels less than the crop of 1889, would have brought, at point of export, $280,036,551 more money. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 467 i860 to 1870, average price per bushel $1.99 1870 to 1880, average price per bushel 1.38 1880 to 1887, average price per bushel 1.07 Price to-day, 86 cents at point of export. •' So that the wheat farmer to-day pays, of the products of his labor, two and one-third times as much for a dollar as he did from i860 to 1870. "Corn. Crop. Bushels. Value. 1888 1,987,790,000 $677,561,580 1889 2,112,892,000 597,918,820 •' So, while the crop of 1889 exceeded that of 1888 by 125,102,000 bushels, yet it would have brought, at point of export, $79,642,760 less money. Cents. i860 to 1870, average price per bushel . 96 1870 to 1880, average price per bushel 63 1880 to 1887, average price per bushel 46 Price to-day 37 "So that the corn farmer to-day pays, in the products of his labor, over two and one-half times as much for a dollar as he did during the years i860 to 1870. Indeed, throughout the great corn belt of the Northwest and West, it is claimed that he cannot sell it to-day at a price covering the cost of its production. The State Board of Agriculture of the great corn State of Illinois recently published, officially, that the farmers of that State lost on the corn crop of last year $9,935,823; that is, it cost that much more to produce it than it is worth on the market. "The yield of the three great staple crops of corn, wheat, and oats, for 1889, exceeded the yield of 1888 by 242,355,840 bushels, and yet the crop of 1888 was worth $144,599,178 more to the farmers. " Cotton. Crop. Dales. Price. Value. 1871 4,352,317 20 cents. $391,708,630 1887 6,513,623 10 cents. 293,093,035 " So that the crop of 1871 was 2,161,306 bales less than the crop of 1887, yet it brought the cotton farmers $98,613,595 more money. The two crops of 1886 and 1887 aggregated 13,063,838 bales, three times ^s many bales as the crop of 1871, and yet these two crops brought our farmers only $196,164,080, or about 50 per cent more than the crop of 1871. "In 1870 the value of agricultural lands, in the ten cotton States, was $1,478,000,000. In 1880 they were $1,019,000,000, a decrease of $459,000,- 000, or 3 1- per cent. Cents. i860 to 1870, average price per pound 48} 1870 to 1880, average price per pound I5tV 1880 to 1887, average price per pound Il Price to-day Ii 468 AGRICULTURE. •• So that the cotton farmer pays, in the products of his labor, over four times as much for a dollar as he did in the years i860 to 1870. *♦ If a farmer had given a mortgage, in 1870, for $1000, he could have paid it with 1052 bushels of corn ; but if he has paid one-half of it, the remaining $500, without interest, would now require 135 1 bushels of corn to pay it. He could have paid the $1000 with 606 bushels of wheat, in 1870; but if he owed $500 of the debt to-day, it would require 593 bushels to pay it. He could have paid the $1000, in 1870, with 10 bales, or 5000 pounds of cotton; but if he owed $500 of it to-day, it takes 10 bales, or 5000 pounds, to pay it. In other words, the farmer must pay his debts with the products of his labor, and he must work twice as hard, and give twice as much cotton, corn, or wheat to-day, as was required in 1870, to pay the same debt. But we are told, by those high in position, that the law of supply and demand controls prices. That may have been true before the operations of this ancient law of trade were practically supplanted by the more imperious law of greed, as now enforced under the mandates of monopolistic combinations for the pillage of honest labor. ** In 1881 we produced 498,549,867 bushels of wheat, or 9J bushels per capita, and its price was $1.15 per bushel. In 1889 we produced 490,560,000, or 7J per capita, and its price is 79 cents per bushel. We should not forget that the financial history of all countries and of all ages shows that the law of supply and demand, as applied to money, is inexorable and never-failing in its operations. Scarcity of money has never failed to enhance its price ; a plentiful supply means cheap money, A contraction of the circulating medium always raises the price of the dollar, and, as a natural result, it always depre- ciates the price of labor products. Nothing can so surely control or annul the law of supply and demand in labor products, as a reduction of the volume of currency below the legitimate requirements of business and trade. ♦• But, granting that the law of supply and demand is in full force and effect, there are two ways in which prices change under this law : Either a change in demand, supply remaining the same ; or a change in supply, demand remaining the same. But I assert, and statistics will sustain the assertion, that there has been no change in the great staple products, relatively to demand or to population, to justify this great depreciation in prices ; unques- tionably the demand has not diminished. Where then has been the change.? Has the weight of the dollar been increased? Has the area of our acre of land been curtailed, that it should have fallen in value from 33 to 50 per cent ? Does not a pound of beef weigh now 16 ounces? Do we not now measure our wheat or corn by the same measure ? Does not the cotton farmer give now the same number of ounces to every pound ? Has the change been made in the quantity or quality of the commodity, or has it been made in money, the measure of its value ? This is the great question that the farmers of the country desire and expect this Congress to explain. " But I apprehend that the most zealous advocate of the theory that the law of supply and demand controls the prices of products, would not attempt to claim that it is applicable to all farm values. Farm lands, all over the AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 469 country, have shared the general depreciation or shrinkage in values, and in this, perhaps, is to be found the clearest and most undeniable proof of the alarming depression which prevails among the agriculturists of the country. Let us look briefly at the condition of the farmers, in some of the representa- tive States of the different sections of the country. " In Massachusetts, the value of the farm lands, in 1875, was $1 16,629,849. In 1885 it was $110,700,707; a loss, in ten years, of $5,929,142. In 1865 that State produced 70,000,000 pounds of beef; and in 1885, twenty years later, it produced only 10,000,000 pounds. In 1845 it produced 1,015,000 pounds of wool; in 1865, 609,000 pounds, and in 1885, 255,000 pounds. " The farm lands of the New England States : — Value. 1850 j55 372,348,543 i860 476,303,837 1870 585,167,473 1880 580,579,418 "Showing a yearly increase, for twenty years — 1850 to 1870 — of $10,69®, 946, ^^^ t^^ yearly decrease, from 1870 to 1880, was $458,850. "Take Georgia, one of the most progressive and enterprising States of the South. In i860 the value of agricultural lands, returned for taxation, $157,000,000. In 1886 it was $105,000,000, a loss of 33 per cent. In 1866 the farmers of Georgia owned 72 per cent of the wealth of the State ; in 1888 they owned only 24 per cent ; yet during that time the population increased 60 per cent. In a recent address, made by Hon. L. F. Livingston, of that State, he said, that, during the past ten years, the property in the towns and cities of that State had increased in value $60,000,000, while in the agri- cultural districts it had decreased $50,000,000. " From this State, great in resources and enterprise, let us turn to its peer in the Northwest : — "In Illinois. All mortgages and totals of indebtedness, principal, and interest. 1880 — Lands $112,367,054 Lots 79,346,851 Chattels 12,747,429 Total $204,461,334 1887 — Lands $147,320,054 Lots 246,704,827 Chattels 22,354,187 Total $416,379,068 "An increase of this class of indebtedness, in seven years, of $211,917,734, or 103 per cent. " On land alone, the increase of indebtedness, in seven years, was $44,953,000, or 40 per cent. 470 AGRICULTURE. "According to the report of Hon. J. R. Dodge, the surplus of the corn and wheat crops over home consumption, for the last year, was : — Bushels. Value. Corn . 64,781,250 $14,899,687 Wheat 20,907,700 14,635,390 Total value of surplus corn and wheat .... $29,535,077 ** If every bushel of surplus corn and wheat of last year's crop were applied to the mortgage indebtedness in 1887, on the farm lands of the State, there would still remain $117,784,977 to be paid out of other crops or earnings. Or, after applying every bushel of the surplus to the mortgage indebtedness of 1887 on lands, lots, and chattels, there would still remain $386,843,991 unpaid. Or, applying every bushel of the surplus wheat and corn to the interest for one year, at 8 per cent, on the mortgage indebtedness, there would still remain unpaid, of interest, $3,875,250. Of this mortgage indebt- edness, non-residents and building and loan associations hold claims to the amount of $69,355,639, or over double the amount of the surplus corn and wheat. ** The increase in mortgage indebtedness on lands, for loans, from 1870 to 1880, was 21 per cent, and from 1880 to 1887 it was 23 per cent. '* The great State of Pennsylvania is not exempt from the general depres- sion which has been indicated by the cases before cited. In Lancaster County, the largest in agricultural products of all counties in the United States, the farmers are feeling most keenly the pressure. From one of the leading attorneys of Lancaster, I obtain the following statement : * The assessed valuation of all the real estate of Lancaster County, including city, town, and farm property, is about $82,000,000. The amount of indebtedness on this property is about $25,000,000. The depreciation in farm values, in the past ten years, in Lancaster County, is fully 40 per cent, and still decreasing.' '* Recently one of the assessors for the State of New York reported to the New York Tribune that he had visited fourteen counties, in one of its finest agricultural districts, and that, while city property is advancing, farm property is growing less and less valuable. " Why multiply proofs? The depression is widespread and universal. *' In a somewhat elaborate presentation of * agricultural depression and its causes,' in his March report, Hon. J. R. Dodge, agricultural statistician, says: 'Diversification is essential to agricultural salvation.' That is, to secure reasonable reward for labor and investment, the farmers should culti- vate a greater variety of crops. To arrest the downward tendency in the market values of crops, and to restore the values of lands, a greater effort should be made to meet all the demands for all kinds of food products. Has this system been tried, and has it failed? Let us see. Take the energetic and enterprising State of Michigan, than which no State in the Union, perhaps, has a broader system of diversified farming. Its whole surface is dotted with thriving villages, towns, and cities, and the farmers have easy AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 471 access to large outside markets. The State Labor Bureau of Statistics reports that the farms of that State are mortgaged to the amount of $130,000,000, or 47 per cent of them, and at an average interest of 7 per cent. The wheat crop of that State, for 1889, was 23,709,000 bushels; required for home consumption, 9,246,510 bushels; leaving net amount for sale, 14,462,490 bushels. To pay the interest on farm mortgages for one year, at 7 per cent, would require 455,544 bushels more than the entire net crop. " The Commissioner says in his report: * The indications are that mort- gage indebtedness is rapidly increasing, and that farmers are not getting out of debt.' From his investigations he deduces .the following facts : — " ' I . That one-half of the farms of Michigan are mortgaged, and are paying a double tax. *' ' 2. That by reason of this mortgage indebtedness and double taxation, business of all kinds is seriously affected. " ' 3. That men who loan money do not bear their just proportion of public expenses, in return for the protection given them, while the majority escape taxation.' "In the year 1887 there were 1667 mortgages foreclosed, and of that number only 131 were redeemed. This, briefly stated, is the condition of a people who possess peculiarly favorable facilities for the prosecution of diversified farming. But it may be said that it is a Western State, one of the younger in the great family of States, and is, therefore, not a criterion. We might grant the exception, but it applies as well to the great States of Kansas and Nebraska. I quote from the Alliance Motor, published at Broken Bow, Nebraska, and dated April 17, 1890: — '• ' The denial that the State is heavily covered with mortgages, is met with the following table, compiled from the official record of Saline County, one of the wealthiest counties in the State.' " 'Real estate mortgages unsatisfied, on record. Lands $1,816,388 23 Town lots 370*963 23 Total amount real estate mortgages $2,187,351 46 Bonded debt, cities and schools 97.739 15 Bank loans and discounts 1,418,954 41 Chattel mortgages held by private parties (banks not in- cluded), unreleased, filed since January i, 1889 .... 332,584 44 Total $4,036,629 46 " * The assessors' value of property against this indebtedness is, viz. : — Lands $1,234,958 00 Lots 425,773 00 Personalty 808,266 00 Total $2,468,997 00 472 AGRICULTURE, ♦' So that, in this single county, the assessed value of the property is $1,567,649.96 less than the recorded indebtedness of that county. "Let us come, then, to a State possessing, pre-eminently, advantages superior to any other State in the Union, for the successful and profitable prosecution of that ' diversification ' which is ' essential to our agricultural salvation.' I refer to that beautiful garden spot in the broad field of American agriculture, the State of New Jersey. Diversified farming, I presume no one will deny, should be most profitable where it has easy access to ready mar- kets, or to great centres of population. Not only have the farmers of New Jersey advanced to the front rank in all the appliances and most improved systems of agriculture, but the whole State is, or should be, the kitchen garden of a population, in towns and cities, within and immediately on its borders, of not less than four and three-quarter millions of people. The County of Salem has splendid facilities for reaching markets. It is adapted to truck growing. The board of agriculture of that county made an official report to the governor of the State, only a few weeks since, in response to inquiries propounded by him to the various boards, in which it was stated that the lands of that county had decreased in value 40 per cent. "Go to the States of Vermont and New Hampshire, whose every farm, almost, is within the sound of the bells or whistles of villages, towns, cities, workshops, mills, or factories — the land where the farmer is peculiarly blessed with what are popularly known as ' home markets.' Where are the picturesque beauty and charming loveliness that once crowned those hills, in the glories of * diversified farming ' ? The doleful answer comes back from fields aban- doned to brier and brush, and from thousands of once happy homes, now given over to the spider and the bat. I hold in my hand a pamphlet of 104 pages, descriptive of some of these abandoned farms in New Hampshire, and issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration for that State. On page 9 he tells us : * There have been reported to us, by the selectmen of the various towns (townships), 1442 vacant farms, with tenantable build- ings.' The reasons given for the abandonment of these farms, whose * large and comfortable buildings, substantial fences, and permanent improvements make them in every way desirable,' is, in some instances, by death of former occupant, but chiefly the occupants have gone into other business. He dis- tinctly states that it is for * reasons traceable to other sources than inferiority of soil.' " I hold in my hand a circular from the * Commissioner of the Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests' of the State of Vermont, * prepared,' as he says, * in answer to the many letters of inquiry relative to the unoccupied lands of Vermont,' and it is but a repetition of the same sad, sad story. " The same appalling story may be told of the farms tributary to the Balti- more market. " The Philadelphia Times of last week asserted that the farm lands in the vicinity of that city had depreciated in value 33 to 50 per cent, within the past decade. " Within the sweep of vision from the dome of this Capitol, with its 300,000 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 473 mouths in this city to feed, hundreds and thousands of acres of as fine farm land as may be found on the Atlantic slope, have depreciated in value from 33 to 50 per cent. What do these startling facts and figures demonstrate ? They do not disprove that, under ordinarily favorable conditions, a judicious diver- sification in farm husbandry is most conducive to comfort, prosperity, and success, but they do conclusively demonstrate that, with our present environ- ments and surroundings, to adopt it as a factor ' essential to our agricultural salvation ' would be to follow a fatal delusion. " But, Mr. Chairman, there are other and still more serious and important phases of this subject to be considered. " From 1870 to 1880 the number of farms in the United States, under 3 acres, decreased 38 per cent, while those of 100 to 500 acres increased 300 per cent. The number of farms of 3 to 10 acres decreased 21 per cent, while those from 500 to 1000 acres increased 478 per cent. The number of 10 to 20 acres decreased 13 per cent, while those of 1000 or more acres increased 770 per cent. In 1880 we had 145,553 less farms under 50 acres than we had in 1870, and yet our agricultural population had increased, during that decade, 29 per cent. •' To my mind, no more serious aspect of the situation, or of the downward tendency of the times, can be found than is presented in these figures. They stand as a strong witness to the fearful and deplorable truth that, through the rapid congestion of wealth, enriching the few at the expense of the many, our population is being rapidly resolved into two classes — the extremely rich and the extremely poor — classes which, in all ages, have proven themselves to be the weakest defenders of civil liberty. To the student of history, and to those who have given thought to the theory of our government and the genius of our free institutions, this rapid absorption of the small farms, and this rapid ex- pansion of large landed estates, portends the sure approach of the crucial era of our republican form of government. And when that day shall come, upon whom will devolve the responsibility and task of preserving and perpetuating the blessings of free government and of civil liberty, but the great conserva- tive, patriotic middle class of our population? Will that people be pre- pared to meet it? In seeking a true answer, we cannot turn a deaf ear to the ominous declaration proclaimed in the following figures, which point un- erringly the road which is strewn with the ruins of wrecked republics : — " Wealth of the United States. 1850. Total value of taxed and untaxed property . $13,500,000,000 Assessed value of property 5,275,000,000 Of which the farmers were assessed . . . 4,500,000,000 i860. Total value of taxed and untaxed property . $31,000,000,000 Assessed value of property 12,000,000,000 Of which the farmers were assessed . . . 10,500,000,000 474 AGRICULTURE. 1870. Total value of taxed and untaxed property . $30,000,000,000 Assessed value of property 15,350,000,000 Of which the farmers were assessed . . . 12,500,000,000 1880. Total value of taxed and untaxed property . $43,500,000,000 Assessed value of property 17,000,000,000 Of which the farmers were assessed . . . 14,000,000,000 ** In 1850 the farmers of the United States owned 70 per cent of the total wealth of the country, and paid 85 per cent of its taxes. In i860 they owned half the wealth of the country, and they paid 87 per cent of its taxes. In 1880 they owned only one-fourth of the wealth of the country. The increase in their farm values, during the twenty years from i860 to 1880, had dropped from 10 1 per cent to only 9 per cent, and yet, in this desperately reduced and weakened condition, they paid 80 per cent of the taxes of the country. ** Mr. Chairman, is the agricultural interest of the country depressed? And is it due to a want of energy, of industry, and of economy, on the part of the farmer? All over the country, he has been told for years, by a certain school of political economists, that indolence, inattention to business, and extrava- gance were the prime causes of his increasing poverty. But when he comes to the capitol of the nation, venerable Senators and prominent government officials inform him that his financial ruin has been wrought through his industry and the merciful providence of nature's God ; that he is absolutely bowed to the earth under a crushing load of overproduction. Are either of his advisers correct? In answer to the first, I assert, without hesitation, that no class of citizens in our country work so hard, live so hard, and receive so little reward for their labor, as the average American farmer. In answer to the second, I ask : Overproduction in what ? Is it in breadstuffs ? We pro- duced 9] bushels of wheat, per capita, in 1888, which was worth $1.15 cents per bushel. We produced, in 1889, only 7I bushels per capita, and it was worth only 79 cents per bushel. Our exports of food products, under proper and just conditions, should be the true measure of our production. But is it so ? The normal ration of flour, as established by our government, and which has been kindly furnished me by the Secretary of War, is i^ pounds per day, or 410 pounds per year. Assuming that our population numbers 65,000,000, to give each one a normal ration would require 26,650,000,000 pounds, whereas we produced last year (deducting 56,000,000 bushels for seed), only 17,282,- 400,000 pounds, a deficit of 7,267,600,000 pounds. But if our population had consumed 2\ ounces per day, per capita, more than they did consume, nothing would have remained for export. Will any sane man doubt, with our millions of people in our crowded cities, in our towns, in our mines, and all over the land, in their hovels of poverty, who are existing in a state of semi- starvation, that we could have consumed this additional pittance? And if the ruinous decline in prices be due to overproduction, why should it not be con- fined to those commodities for which a surplus is claimed ? Why should all AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 475 departments of labor share this universal depression in prices? No, Mr. Chairman, it is not overproduction, but under-consumption. There can be no overproduction in a land where the cry for bread is heard. "But we are told that we should be content and happy; that 'a dollar will buy more to-day than ever before.' Mr. Chairman, the American farmer stands a faithful and sorrowing witness of the truth of that declaration. No man living knows better than he the purchasing power of the dollar. He knows that its power has been so augmented that it now demands double the amount of his labor, and the surrender of his profits, to meet its unjust and cruel exactions. Indeed, so arbitrary and domineering has its power become, that it has forced upon the public mind the grave question, whether the citizen or the dollar is to be the sovereign in this country. But with all its power, will it pay for the farmer more interest.'* Will it pay more on his mortgage? Will it pay more debt? Will it pay more taxes? Will it pay more physicians' and lawyers' fees ? *' From all sections of this magnificent country comes the universal wail of hard times and distress. The farmer sows in faith, he toils in hope, but reaps in disappointment and despair. He sees a 4 per cent United States bond, due in 1907, selling at a premium of 28 per cent ; a bond that would be valueless, but for the sturdy blows of his strong arm ; and yet he knows that there are few farms in all this country that could be mortgaged for one-third" their value, at 7 per cent, for the same length of time, which mortgage would sell for its face value. He sees centralized capital allied to irresponsible corporate power, overriding individual rights, controlling conventions, corrupt- ing the ballot-box, subsidizing the press, invading our temples of justice, intimidating official authority, fostering official corruption, robbing the many to enrich the few, destroying legitimate competition, dictating legislation, defying the Constitution, and annulling the law of supply and demand. In vain do the people plead for relief. In vain have they suffered and endured — patiently, submissively, uncomplainingly. Over one thousand years ago the old Shiek Ilderim, of Medina, said to certain Romans : ' Do you dream that, because the prophet of Allah dwells now beyond the bridge of Al Sirat, there- fore, he is deaf, and dumb, and blind? I tell you, by the splendor of God, that a tempest is brooding on his brow ; there is lightning gathering in his soul for you.' Do men dream that, because the sovereign, oppressed people have thus suffered, thus endured, therefore they have become deaf, and dumb, and blind? But we are told that these forms of oppression are not prohibited by law. There are no people on earth who have greater reverence for law than the farmers of these United States, but they know that no tyranny is so degrading as legalized tyranny ; that no injustice is so oppressive as that which stands entrenched behind the forms of law ; and, worthy descendants as they are of a grand old revolutionary ancestry, they may not forget that the tyrannical mandates of George the Third were accompanied by the boastful declaration that he, too, was the rightful occupant of the British throne, under the forms of law. *'Mr. Chairman, retroo;ression in American agriculture means national 476 AGRICULTURE, decline, national decay, and ultimate and inevitable ruin. The glory of our civilization cannot survive the neglect of our agriculture ; the power and grandeur of this great country cannot survive the degradation of the American farmer. "Struggle, toil, and suffer as he may, each recurring year has brought to him smaller reward for his labor, until to-day, surrounded by the most won- derful progress and development the world has ever witnessed, he is confronted and appalled with impending bankruptcy and ruin. Crops may fail, disaster may come and sweep away his earnings as by a breath, prices may go below the cost of production, but the inevitable tax-collector never fails to call upon him with increased demands. Is it any wonder that these struggling and oppressed millions are organizing for relief and protection ? "THE CAUSES. ** We protest, and with all reverence, that it is not God's fault. We protest that it is not the farmers' fault. We believe, and so charge, solemnly and deliberately, that it is the fault of the financial system of the government — a system that has placed on agriculture an undue, unjust, and intolerable pro- portion of the burdens of taxation, while it makes that great interest the helpless victim of the rapacious greed and tyrannical power of gold : — a system through which, despite the admonitions of history and the experience of all countries, in all ages ; despite the teachings and warnings of the ablest men in the science of political economy, in this and in all countries; our currency has been contracted to a volume totally inadequate to the necessities of the people and the demands of trade, and with the natural and inevitable result — high-priced money and low-priced products." Such is the condition of American agriculture at the present time, as given by the president of the greatest farmers* organi- zation the world ever saw. And here we will leave it, hoping that those who shall come after may be able to give a more gratifying statement of the condition of agriculture in America. 4 ^-1 1 -1' f 1» CHAPTER V. THE FARM AND FARM BUILDINGS. ** There is more difference between farmers than there is between farms," wrote a veteran agriculturist to his son, many years ago. That this statement is true the most superficial observer must admit. A poor farmer always has a poor farm, while a good farmer, in nearly all cases, will have a good farm in the end. The one begins in ignorance, and, as a rule, ends in disaster, while the other begins with a desire to learn, and forces success by persistency and increased intelligence. The successful farmer is the inquiring, intelligent, careful farmer. No matter if he knows but little outside his farm, he is always sure to know at least what pertains to its successful conduct. Usually such a person works hard, observes closely, and remem- bers his own and others' experiences. He is quick to perceive an advantage, and is always content with his calling. Another class, greater in number, and usually found enjoying the blessings of life, are those who read, think, and make care- ful deductions. Their homes are filled with books and papers, and their evenings are spent in profitable and pleasant com- munion with the best thoughts of others, on general topics of information. This is the class of American citizens that make up that conservative element of society, alike valuable in times of peace and plenty, as in periods of trouble and distress. It may seem humiliating to other classes who assume superiority, but it is none the less true that these farmers are the final adju- dicators of all legislation. Disciplined in the school of cause and effect, always seeking for legitimate results, their minds are peculiarly fitted to analyze and bring to light the ultimate bear- ing and final effect of measures, either material or economic. It is true, their conclusions are not rapidly matured, and in not a few instances have been deferred much longer; than seemed necessary ; but when once formed, they were a fiat against which nothing could prevail. 477 478 AGRICULTURE. It is in the hands of this class of farmers, and its counterpart found in other branches of productive industry, that the future of this nation Ues. And it is through them that the glory and perpetuity of this government must be secured. The grandeur of this republic is not reflected by a. few mighty intellects, a certain number of immense cities, or here and there examples of vast accumulations of wealth. These serve only as objects of emulation or envy, and, in either case, may lead to vicious rivalry. The greatness of our country, and the results of its free institutions, are disclosed in the thousands of happy farm homes, and their millions of intelligent, conservative, and indus- trious inhabitants. The careless observer is often led to look with wonder upon the rapid advancement in the arts and sciences, during the cen- tury, and fall into the error of consenting that it is the greatest of all. The railroad, the steamship, the telegraph and tele- phone, are considered the acme of intellectual research and, without farther inquiry, placed at the head of all modern im- provements. Such conclusions are erroneous, and \yill not bear the test of candid reflection. During the last three-quarters of a century, there has been going on, among the agricultural por- tion of our people, a silent but constant evolution that is truly wonderful in its extent. Dotted here and there, over hill and valley, across the boundless prairie, and among the mountains and sterile portions of our country, can be seen the dwellings of the farmers. These men are industriously plying their voca- tion ; nature is being successfully combated at every point, and forced to yield fruit and products for the feeding and clothing of the nation. The very elements even are made to serve them in beneficial capacities, not in their regular sphere. This pur- suit is so intelligently, manfully, and successfully carried on that the idea must honestly obtain among the thoughtful, and find expression through honest convictions, that the American farmer is the finished product of the nineteenth century. This conclusion may seem unwarranted, but the proof is abun- dant and at hand. For example, it has taken greater skill, required more persistent effort^ and a much larger outlay of time and money, to evolve from the kinds of farm stock known and used at the beginning of the present century, the magnifi- THE FARM AND FARM BUILDINGS. 479 cent specimens now seen on every hand, than it did to perfect the present system of railways. It has taken brains and busi- ness aptitude to accompUsh this, as well as to build up the greatest of modern improvements. Then why should the call- ing of the farmer be considered as conducive to a lower order of intelligence, or as being barren of intellectual results ? Such conclusions are wanting, both in common sense and a proper conception of human effort, and disclose a prejudice equalled only by its folly, and the ultimate harm that it may produce. " But," says one, " the life of a farmer is isolatounds; hemlock bark, one pound; ginger root, one pound; cayenne pepper, two ounces; cloves, two ounces; all finely pulverized and well mixed. Dose. — Take one-half of a teaspoonful of it, and a spoonful of sugar, and put them into a teacup, and pour it half full of boiling water; let it stand a few minutes and fill the cup with milk, and drink freely. If no milk is to be obtained, fill up the cup with hot water. This, in the first stages, and less violent attacks of disease, is a valuable medicine, and may be safely employed in all cases. It is good in relax, pain in the stomach and bowels, and to remove all obstructions caused by cold. A few doses of this, the patient being in bed with a steaming stone at the feet, or having soaked the feet fifteen or twenty minutes in hot water, drinking freely of the tea at the same time, will cure a bad cold, and often throws off disease in its first stages. Asthma Remedy. — Grindelia, fine powder, eight ounces; jaborandi, fine powder, eight ounces; eucalyptus, fine powder, four ounces; digitalis, fine powder, four ounces; cubeb, fine powder, four ounces; stramonium, fine powder, sixteen ounces; nitrate of potassium, fine powder, twelve ounces; cascarilla bark, fine powder, one ounce. Mix, and dry thoroughly. Used by burning one-quarter to a teaspoonful or more, and inhaling the smoke. Horse Liniment. — Alcohol, ninety-five per cent, eight ounces ; spirits turpentine, eight ounces; oil sassafras, one ounce; oil pennyroyal, one ounce; oil origanum, one ounce; British oil, one ounce ; tincture arnica, one ounce; tincture caHtharides, one ounce; spirits of camphor, one ounce; water of ammonia, one ounce. Mix. Magic Liniment. — Alcohol, one quart; gum camphor, four ounces; turpentine, two ounces; oil origanum, two ounces; sweet oil, one ounce. For cuts or calks in winter, must be applied often, Radway's Ready Relief. — Tincture of capsicum, sixty-four grams; liquid am- monia caustic, four grams; castile soap, one-quarter gram; camphor, four grams; oil of rosemary, two grams. Dr. R. W. Hutchings' Indian Healing, formerly Peckham's, Cough Balsam. — Take rosin, five pounds, and melt it, adding spirits of turpentine, one quart; bal- sam of tolu, one ounce; balsam of fir, four ounces; oil of hemlock, origanum, with Venice turpentine, of each, one ounce; strained honey, four ounces; mix well and bottle. It is a valuable preparation for coughs, internal pains or strains, and works benignly upon the kidneys. Dose. — Six to ten drops; for a child of six, three to five drops, on a little sugar or molasses. The dose can be varied according to ability to bear it upon the stomach. It is highly recommended also for burns and bruises, as an external application. For Baldness. — White liquid vaseline, one hundred grams; pilocarpine, fifty grams. Mix, and dissolve with light heat. Note. — This solution makes the finest kind of a cosmetic. No " brilliantine " can be compared to it; it glosses the hair. The idea of its use is derived from the fact that pilocarpine acts on the glands of the skin. Sage's Catarrh Remedy. — Hydrastis Canadensis, grs. v.; indigo, grs. ss.; cam- phors pulverized, acidum carbolicum, aa grs. ij.; sodii chloridum, grs. i. Powder the camphor by means of a drop of alcohol, and mix with the salt previously reduced to a moderately fine powder; rub the indigo and carbolic acid together, and lastly add the powdered hydrastis, and intimately mix, without much pressure, in a mortar. Camphor Ice, for Chapped Hands or Lips. — Take Spermaceti tallow, one and RECIPES. 689 one-half ounces; oil of sweet almonds, four teaspoonfuls; gum camphor, three-quarter ounce, made fine. Set on the stove until dissolved, constantly stirring. Use only just sufficient heat to melt them together. While warm, pour into moulds, if desired to sell ; then paper and put up in tinfoil. If for your own use, put up in a tight box. Apply to the chaps or cracks two or three times daily, especially at bed-time. It is also good for salt-rheum and piles. Burns, Salve to Cure Without Pain ; also Sore or Cracked Nipples. — Take equal parts of turpentine, sweet oil, and beeswax; melt the oil and wax together, and when a little cool add the turpentine and stir until cold, which keeps them evenly mixed. Apply by spreading upon thin cloth (linen is best), and only apply a thin cloth over the one on which the salve is spread, unless the burn is very extensive, and more covering is needed to keep the patient warm. Felon, if Recent, to Cure in Six Hours. — Take Venice turpentine, one ounce; and put into it half a teaspoonful of water, and stir them with a rough stick until the mass looks like candied honey; then spread a good coat on a cloth and wrap around the finger. If the case is only recent, it will remove the pain in six hours; but if of long standing, it will require a longer time. Frost Bites and Itching Feet, a Liniment to Cure. — Take alcohol, one quart; Thompson's No. 6, one quart; and camphor gum, one ounce; this cures frost bites, itching feet, etc. Use it freely and often; it makes a good liniment also for common purposes. Cure for Corns. — If a cripple will take a lemon, cut off a piece, then nick it so as to let in the toe with the corn, the pulp next the corn, tie this on at night so that it cannot move, he will find next morning that, with a blunt knife, the corn will come away to a great extent. Two or three applications of this will make " a poor cripple happy for life." Syrup for Consumptives. — Take a peck of tamarack bark; spikenard root, one- half pound; dandelion root, one-quarter pound; hops, two ounces. Boil these suffi- ciently to get the strength, in two or three gallons of water; strain and boil down to one gallon. When blood warm, add three pounds of honey and three pints of best brandy; bottle and keep in a cool place. Dose. — Drink freely of it three times a day before meals, at least a gill or more, according to the strength and age of the patient. Ointment for Old Sores. — Take red precipitate, one-half ounce; sugar of lead, one-half ounce; burnt alum, one ounce; white vitriol, one-quarter ounce, or a little less; all to be very finely pulverized; have mutton tallow made warm, one-half pound; stir all in, and stir until cool. Dr. Peabody's Cure for Jaundice, in its Worst Forms. — Take red iodide of mercury, seven grains; iodide of potassium, nine grains; aqua dis. (distilled water), one ounce. Mix, Commence by giving six drops three or four times a day, increas- ing one drop a day, until twelve or fifteen are taken at a dose. Give in a little water, immediately after meals. If it gives a griping sensation in the bowels, and fullness in the head when you get up to twelve or fifteen drops, go back to six drops, and up again as before. Pinusine Corn Killer. — Tincture of pine needles, four hundred parts; liquid ammonia caustic, four hundred parts; tincture of iodine, two hundred parts. This fluid may also be employed for frost bites. Mexican Oil. — Petroleum, two ounces, fluid; aqua ammonia, one ounce, fluid; brandy, one drachm, fluid. Mix. This is also known as Mexican Mustang Liniment. 690 HOME AND HOUSEHOLD. Lyon's Kathairon. — Alcohol, ninety- five per cent, twelve fluid ounces; oil ricinis, four fluid ounces; tincture cantharis, one-half fluid ounce; acid, tannic, thirty grains; oils, citronnella, bergamot, and cloves, one-half fluid drachm each; oils lavender, flo., and rosemary, one fluid drachm. M. Sec. art. Filter. Diphtheria. — For treatment of this terrible disease, the following recipes are said to be excellent : — No. I. — Take of sulphuric acid, four drops; water, three-quarter tumblerful. Mix, and stir well, and give at one dose to an adult; children in proportion to age. Repeat as occasion requires. It is said to coagulate the diptheritic membrane, and cause its ready removal by coughing; and is considered by some almost as a specific. No. 2. — Take one teaspoonful of sulphur and two ounces of water, and stir with the finger, instead of a spoon, until it is well mixed; then use it as a gargle; also have the patient take a teaspoonful of the sulphur in two ounces of water, and repeat the dose four or five times during the day, and repeat the gargle every hour until improvement takes place. If the patient is so badly off that he cannot use the gargle, put a teaspoonful of the sulphur on a live coal, and let the patient stand over it and inhale the smoke made by its burning; or, in some bad cases, where the throat is nearly closed, it might be well to blow a little of the sulphur through a quill into the throat. It is said that Dr. Field of England has treated many cases in this way, and all recovered. Earache. — Take equal parts of tincture of opium and glycerine. Mix, and from a warm teaspoon drop two or three drops into the ear, and stop the ear tight with cotton, and repeat every hour or two. If matter should form in the ear, make a suds with Castile soap and warm water, about one hundred degrees F., or a little more than milk warm, and have some person inject it into the ear, while you hold that side of the head the lowest. If it does not heal in due time, inject a little carbolic acid and water, in the proportion of one drachm of the acid to one pint of warm water, each time after using the suds. DIVISION V. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. CHAPTER I. COMMERCIAL FORMS AND USEFUL TABLES. Law Points for Farmers. — If a note is lost or stolen, it does not release the maker. He must pay it, if the consideration for which it was given and the account can be proven. Notes bear interest only when so stated. Principals are responsible for the acts of their agents. Each individual in partnership is responsible for the whole amount of debt of the firm, except in cases of special partnership. Ignorance of the law excuses no one. The law compels no one to do impossibilities. An agreement without consideration is void ; a note made on Sunday is void ; contracts made on Sunday cannot be enforced. A note made by a minor is void ; contracts made with a minor are void ; a contract made with a lunatic is void. A note obtained by fraud, or from a person in a state of intoxication, can- not be collected. It is fraud to conceal a fraud. Signatures made with a pencil are good in law. A receipt of money is not always conclusive. " Value received '' is usually written in a note, and should be, but it is not necessary. If not written, it is presumed by the law, or may be supplied by proof. The maker of an " accommodation " bill or note — one for which he has received no consideration, having lent his name or credit for the accommoda- tion of the holder — is bound to all other parties precisely as if there was a good consideration. No consideration is sufficient in law, if it be illegal in its nature. If the drawer of a check or draft has changed his residence, the holder must use all reasonable diligence to find him. If one holding a check, as payee or otherwise, transfers it to another, he has a right to insist that the check be presented that day, or the next day following. 691 692 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. A note indorsed in blank — the name of the indorser only written — is transferable by delivery, the same as if made payable to bearer. The time of payment of a note must not depend upon a contingency : the promise must be absolute. A bill may be written upon any paper or substitute for it, either with ink or pencil. The payee should be distinctly named in the note, unless payable to bearer. An indorsee has a right of action against all whose names were on the bill when he received it. If the letter containing a protest of non-payment be put in the post-ofRce, any miscarriage does not affect the party giving notice. Notice of protest may be sent either to the place of business or of residence of the party notified. Any oral agreement must be proved by evidence. A written agreement proves itself. The law prefers written to oral evidence, because of its pre- cision. Articles of Agreement. — An agreement is a contract, by which a certain person, or persons, agrees or contracts to perform certain duties within a spec- ified time. It is of much importance, in all matters, upon which may arise a difference of opinion, or misunderstanding, that contracts be reduced very explicitly to writing. Agreements should show that they are made for a rea- sonable consideration ; otherwise they are void in law. The contract expires at the end of a year, unless it is expressly stipulated that the agreement is binding for a longer time. A signature should always be written with pen and ink, for safety, although a pencil signature is legal. Misrepresentation, or discovery of fraud, or changing of date by one party to the agreement, renders the contract void. Agreements should state explicitly within what time their conditions are to be complied with. Always duplicate copies of an agreement, that each party may retain a copy. Bills of Sale. — A written agreement, by which one party transfers to another, for a consideration on delivery, all his right, title, and interest in per- sonal property, is a bill of sale. The ownership of personal property, in law, is not changed until the delivery, and the purchaser takes actual possession of such property; though in some States a bill of sale \^ prima facie evidence of ownership, even against creditors, unless the sale was fraudulently made for the purpose of avoiding the payment of debts. Deeds. — A deed is an instrument in writing, by which lands and appurte- nances thereon are conveyed from one person to another, signed, sealed, and properly subscribed. A deed may be written or printed on parchment or paper, and must be executed by parties competent to contract. One witness is required in New York, and two in Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Indiana. Should the deed be proven by witnesses, two are also required in Tennessee, Delaware, and South Carolina. In the other States, no witnesses are necessary, the deed being acknowledged by a person duly authorized by law. There must be a realty to grant, and a sufficient consideration, to render a deed valid. LAW POINTS. 693 The following requisites are necessary to enable a person to legally convey property to another: First, he or she must be of sane mind ; second, of age ; and third, he or she must be the rightful owner of the property. The grantor is the person who makes the deed, and the grantee the person who receives the deed. The wife of the grantor, in the absence of any statute regulating the same, must acknowledge the deed, or else, after the death of her husband, she will be entitled to one-third interest in the property, as dower during her life. Her acknowledgment of the deed must be of her own free will and accord, and the officer before whom the acknowledgment is taken must sign his name as a witness to the fact that her consent was without compulsion. Special care should be taken to have the deed properly acknowledged and witnessed, and the "proper seal attached. The deed takes effect upon its de- livery to the properly authorized person. Any alterations or interlineations in the deed should be noted at the bottom of the instrument, and properly witnessed. After the acknowledgment of a deed, the parties have no right to make the slightest alteration. An alteration after the acknowledgment, in favor of' the grantee, vitiates the deed. By a general warrantee deed, the grantor agrees to warrant and defend the property conveyed, against all per- sons whatsoever. A quitclaim deed releases what interest the grantor may have in the land, but does not warrant and defend against others. Deeds, upon their delivery, should be recorded in the Recorder's office without delay. Chattel Mortgages. — A mortgage on personal property, given by a debtor to a creditor, as security for the payment of a sum that may be due, is a chat- tel mortgage. The property mortgaged may remain in the possession of either party while the mortgage is in force. In order to hold the property secure against other creditors, the mortgagee, or person holding the mortgage, must have a true copy filed in the Clerk's or Recorder's office of the place where the mortgagor, or person giving the mortgage, resides, and where the property is when mortgaged. A justice of the peace, according to the laws of some States, in the voting precinct where such property mortgaged is located, must acknowledge and sign the mortgage, taking a transcript of the same upon his docket, while the mortgage itself should be recorded, the same as real estate transfers. When the person giving the mortgage retains pos- session of the property, he may empower the party holding the mortgage with authority to take the goods and chattels mortgaged into his possession at any time he may deem the same insufficient security for his claims ; or if he shall be convinced that an effort is being made to remove such property, whereby he would be defrauded of his claim ; or for other reasons, when he may deem it necessary to secure his claim, he can proceed to take possession of it; and said property, after legal notice of sale has been given, according to the law of the State governing the same, he is allowed to sell at public sale, to the highest bidder. Out of the money obtained therefrom he can retain sufficient to liquidate his demand and defray the necessary expenses, turning over any moneys remaining to the mortgagor. Landlord and Tenant. — No particular form of wording a lease is neces- sary. It is important, however, that the lease state, in a plain, straightfor- 694 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. ward manner, the terms and conditions of the agreement, so that there may be no misunderstanding between the landlord and tenant. The lease must state all the conditions, as additional, verbal promises avail nothing in law. It is held, generally, that a written instrument contains the details, and states the bargain entire, as the contracting parties intended. The tenant can sub- let a part, or all, of his premises, unless prohibited by the terms of the lease. A lease by a married woman, even if it be upon her own property, is not valid at common law ; but, by recent statutes, in many States, she may lease her own property and have full control of the same; neither can the husband effect a lease that will bind her after his death. His control over her property continues only so long as he lives. Neither a guardian nor a minor can give a lease extending beyond the ward's majority, which can be enforced by the lessee ; yet the latter is bound unless the lease is annulled. If no time is specified in a lease, it is generally held that the lessee can retain possession of the real estate for one year. A tenancy at will, however, may be terminated in the Eastern States by giving three months' notice in writing; in the Middle and Southern States, six months ; and in the Western States, one month ; though recent statutes, in some States, have modified the above somewhat. The lease that specifies a term of years, without giving the definite number, is without effect at the expiration of two years. A lease for three or four years, being signed by the Commissioner of Deeds and recorded in the Recorder's ofllice, is an effectual bar to the secret or fraudulent conveyance of such leased property; and it further obviates the necessity of procuring witnesses to authenticate the validity of the lease. Duplicate copies of a lease should al- ways be made, and each party retain a copy of the same. A new lease invali- dates an old one. A landlord misrepresenting property that is leased, thereby subjecting the tenant to inconvenience and loss, such damages can be recov- ered from the landlord by deduction from the rent. A lease on property that is mortgaged ceases to exist when the person holding such mortgage fore- closes the same. A landlord consenting to take a substitute, releases the first tenant. Where there is nothing but a verbal agreement, the tenancy is un- derstood to commence at the time of taking possession. Where there is no time specified in the lease, tenancy is regarded as commencing at the time of delivering the writing. If it is understood that the tenant is to pay the taxes on the property he occupies, such fact must be distinctly stated in the lease, as a verbal promise is of no effect. Partnership. — An agreement between two or more persons to invest their labor, time, and means together, sharing in the loss or profit that may arise from such investment, is termed a partnership. This partnership may consist in the contribution of skill, extra labor, or acknowledged reputation upon the part of one partner, while the other, or others, contribute money, each sharing alike equally, or in fixed proportion, in the profit ; or an equal amount of time, labor, and money may be invested by the partners, and the profits equally divided, the test of partnership being the joint participation in profit, and joint liability to loss. A partnership formed without limitation is termed a general partnership. An agreement entered into for the performance of only LAW POINTS. 695 a particular work, is termed a special partnership ; while the partner putting in a limited amount of capital, upon which he receives a corresponding amount of profit, and is held correspondingly responsible for the contracts of the firm, is termed a limited partnership, the conditions of which are regulated by statute in different States. A partner signing his individual name to negotia- ble paper, which is for the use of the partnership firm, binds all the partners thereby. Negotiable paper of the firm, even though given on private account by one of the partners, will hold all the partners of the firm, when it passes into the hands of holders who are ignorant of the facts attending its creation. Partnership effects may be bought and sold by a partner ; he may make con- tracts ; may receive money ; indorse, draw, and accept bills and notes ^ and while this may be for his own private account, if it apparently be for the use of the firm, his partners will be bound by his action, provided the parties dealing with him were ignorant that the transaction was on his private account ; and thus representation or misrepresentation of a partner, having relation to business of the firm, will bind the members in the partnership. An individual lending his name to a firm, or allowing the same to be used after he has with- drawn from the same, is 'still responsible to third persons, as a partner. A partnership is presumed to commence at the time articles of copartnership are drawn, if no stipulation is made to the contrary, and the same can be dis- continued at any time, unless a specified period of partnership is designated in tht agreement ; and even then he may withdraw, by giving previous notice of such withdrawal from the same, being liable, however, in damages, if such are caused by his withdrawal. Should it be desired that the executors and representatives of the partner continue the business in the event of his death, it should be so specified in the articles, otherwise the partnership ceases at death. Should administrators and executors continue the business under such circumstances, they are personally responsible for the debts contracted by the firm. If it is desired that a majority of the partners in a firm have the privilege of closing the affairs of the company, or in any way regulating the same, such fact should be designated in the agreement ; otherwise such right will not be presumed. Partners may mutually agree to dissolve a partner- ship, or a dissolution may be effected by a decree of a court of equity. Dis- solute conduct, dishonesty, habits calculated to imperil the business of a firm, incapacity, or the necessity of partnership no longer continuing, shall be deemed sufficient causes to invoke the law in securing a dissolution of part- nership, in case the same cannot be effected by mutual agreement. After dissolution of partnership, immediate notice of the same should be given in the most public newspapers, and a notice likewise should be sent to every person having special dealings with the firm. These precautions not being taken, each partner continues liable for the acts of the others, to all persons who have no knowledge of the dissolution. Wills. — The legal declaration of what a person determines to have done with his property after death is termed a will. All persons of sufficient age, possessed of sound mind, excepting married women in certain States, are entitled to dispose of their property by will. Children at the age of four- 696 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION, teen, if males, and females at the age of twelve, can thus dispose of personal property. No exact form of words is necessary in order to make a will good at law ; though much care should be exercised to state the provisions of the will so plainly that its language may not be misunderstood. The person making the will is termed the testator ; if a female, a testatrix. A will is of no force until the death of the testator, and can be cancelled or modified by the maker at any date. The last will made annuls the force of all preceding wills. The law regards marriage, and offspring resulting, as a prima facie evi- dence of revocation of a will made prior to such marriage, unless the wife and chil(^ren are provided for by the husband in some other way, in which case the will remains in full force. To convey real estate by will, it must be done in accordance with the law of the State where such land is located ; but personal property is conveyed in harmony with the law that obtains at the place of the testator's residence. There are two kinds of wills, namely, written and verbal, or nuncupative; the latter, or spoken wills, depending upon proof of persons hearing the same, generally relate to personal property only, and are not recognized in all the States, unless made within ten days previous to the death. Verbal or un- written wills are usually unsafe, and, even when well authenticated, often make expensive litigation ; hence the necessity of having the wishes of the testator fully and clearly defined in a written will. To give or make a devise of property by will, and subsequently dispose of the same, without altering the will to conform to such sale, destroys the valid- ity of the entire will. A will made by an unmarried woman is legally revoked by marriage ; but she can take such legal steps in the settlement of property, before marriage, as will empower her to dispose of the same as she may choose, after marriage. No husband can make a will that will deprive the wife of her right of dower in the property ; but the husband can will the wife a certain amount in lieu of her dower, stating it to be in lieu thereof. Such bequest, however, will not exclude her from her dower, provided she prefers it to the bequest made in the will. Unless the husband states distinctly that the bequest is in lieu of dower, she is entitled to both. Property bequeathed must pay debts and encumbrances upon the same, before its distribution can be made to the lega- tees of the estate. Though property may be willed to a corporation, the cor- poration cannot accept such gift unless provision is made for so doing, in its charter. A will may be revoked by marriage, codicil, destruction of the will, disposing of property devised in a will, or by the execution of another will. The person making a will may appoint his executors, but no person can serve as such executor if he or she be an alien at the time of proving the will ; if he be under twenty-one years of age, a convict, a drunkard, a lunatic, or an imbecile. No person appointed as an executor is obliged to serve, but may renounce his appointment by legal written notice, signed before two witnesses, which notice must be recorded by the officer before whom the will is proved. In case a married woman possesses property, and dies without a will, her PROMISSORY NOTES. 697 husband is entitled to administer upon such property, in preference to any one else, provided he be of sound mind. Any devise of property made to a subscribing witness is invalid, although the integrity of the will in other respects is not affected. In all wills, the testator's full name should be made at the end. If he be unable to write, he may have his hand guided in making a mark against the same. If he possesses a sound mind, and is conscious at the time of the import of this action, such mark renders the will valid. Witnesses should always write their respective places of residence after their names, their signatures being written in the presence of each other and in the presence of the testator. It should be stated, also, that these names are signed at the request of, and in the presence of, the testator, and 'in the presence of each other. The following States require two subscribing witnesses: Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, Utah, Texas, California, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Virginia, and New York. Three witnesses are required to authenticate a will in the following States : Florida, Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Ore- gon, Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Proof of signature of the testator, by, the oath of two reputable witnesses, is sufficient to establish the validity of a will in Pennsylvania, no subscribing witnesses being absolutely necessary. Witnesses are not required to know the contents of a will. They have simply to know that the document is a will, and witness the signing of the same by the testator. Codicils. — An addition to a will, which should be in writing, is termed a codicil. A codicil is designed to explain, modify, or change former bequests, made in the body of the will. It should be done with the same care and pre- cision as was exercised in the making of the will itself. Forms of Notes. — Wo. I. — Wegfotiable Witliout Indorsement. $100. New York, Sept. 2, 1883. Ninety days after date, I promise to pay Leonard Smith, or bearer. One Hundred Dollars, value received. H. B. McIntyre. No. 2. — Negotiable Only by Indorsement. $100. New York, Sept. 2, 1883. Ninety days after date, I promise to pay Leonard Smith, or order. One Hundred Dollars, value received. H. B. McIntyre. No. 3. — Not Negotiable. $100. New York, Sept. 2, 1883. Ninety days after date, I promise to pay Leonard Smith One Hundred Dol- lars, value received. H. B. McIntyre. 698 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. No. 4. —Payable on Demand. $100. New York, Sept. 2, 1883. On demand, I promise to pay H. C. Spencer, or bearer, One Hundred Dol- lars, value received. John Thomas. Ho. 5.— Principal and Surety. I345.40. Flint, Mich., Dec. 4, 1883. Three months after date, I promise to pay L. L. Walker, or order, Three Hundred Forty-five and ^^f^ Dollars, with interest, value received. Frank Stone, Principal. Jay C. Worcester, Surety. Ho. 6.— PayaWe at Bank. $200. New York, Oct. 8, 1883. Ninety days after date, I promise to pay H. W, Fairbanks, or order, at the Park National Bank, Two Hundred Dollars, value received. Wheat Howard. Ifo. 7.— Joint and Several Notes. $100. Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. i, 1870. Three months after date, we jointly and severally promise to pay to the order of James Finn, One Hundred Dollars, at City National Bank, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Value received, with interest at ten per cent per annum. John Dunn. Charles Dunn. Ho. 8.— Joint Hotes. $100. Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. i, 1870. Three months after date, we jointly promise to pay to the order of James Finn, One Hundred Dollars, at City National Bank, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Value received, with interest at ten per cent per annum. John Dunn. Charles Dunn. In addition to the notes above given, there are two other kinds of notes sometimes used: (i) The chattel note, where the payment is to be made in something besides money ; and (2) a note payable in money to a particular person, without the word " order" or " bearer." Ho. 9.- Chattel Hote. Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. i, 1870. Three months after date, I promise to pay James Finn, one hundred bushels of white wheat. Value received. John Dunn. Ho. 10.— Money Hote — Hot HegotiaWe. $100. Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. i, 1870. Three months after date, I promise to pay James Finn, One Hundred Dol- lars. Value received, with interest. John Dunn. PROMISSORY NOTES. 699 A promissory note is a written promise to pay a certain sum of money, at a future time, unconditionally. A note may be payable at a particular place, as in numbers 6, 7, and 8 ; or may be payable to the payee simply, as in i and 2. In a joint and several note, like No. 7, the makers are liable jointly or sev- erally ; that is, the holder may sue both the makers in one suit ; or, if he choose, may sue one of them alone, each maker being liable to pay the whole amount to the payee ; but payment by one satisfies the debt, and it cannot be twice collected. In No. 4, the makers are jointly liable, and cannot be sued separately. A note signed by more than one person, but using the singular number in the body of the note (as, I promise to pay), is a joint and several note ; while one using the plural number (as, we promise to pay) is a joint note. It is always desirable for a farmer to have the notes he gives payable at a place designated, as the holder may not at the time of maturity of the note be known to the maker, and he may be put to the expenses of a suit, as suit may be brought without previous notice. Indorsement is simply writing the name of the payee, with or without other words, across the back of the note. There are two kinds : — First, Blank indorsement, in which the payee writes his name and nothing else; as, "James Finn." Second, Where the payee indorses it to some person called the indorsee ; as, — Pay to the order of John Lun, James Finn. In the first place, the blank indorsement makes the note payable to the holder, and it may, after indorsement, be transferred, like a note payable to bearer. In the second place, the indorsee must again indorse it, if he desires to transfer it. Indorsers are liable in the order in which they indorse ; the first is liable to the second, the second to the third, etc. A note given for patent right is as collectible as though given for any other consideration. The chattel note may be made payable to order, and may call for so much money payable in wheat, at a certain price named, or at current prices, etc. Neither Nor. 9 nor No. 10 is negotiable. They may be assigned like any other contract, and made payable at a particular place. If assigned, the pur- chaser gets no greater right than the assignor, and if there is any fraud or want of consideration, which would render the note void in the hands of the original payee, it is equally void in the hands of the purchaser, even though he purchased in good faith, with no notice of the fraud. Any material alteration of any note, after it passes out of the hands of the maker, renders it void. The liability of an indorser is not absolute. 700 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. In order to hold an indorser, the holder of the note must present it to the maker on the very day of its maturity {i.e. the third day of grace), demand payment, and before the expiration of the next day notify the indorser that the note has been presented for payment to the maker, and that payment has been refused, and that he, the holder, looks to the indorser for payment. The following form may be used : — Grand Rapids, March 4, 1871. Please to take notice that a promissory note of one hundred dollars, dated December i, 1870, payable three months after date, made by John Dunn and indorsed by you, has been duly presented by me, and payment demanded, which was refused. I therefore look to you for payment of said note. Yours, etc., To James Finn. . John Lun. A carefully compared copy of tlie notice served should always be kept, in order to make proof of the notice served, if it should become necessary. All negotiable notes have three days of grace ; that is, three days longer to run than the time mentioned in the note. If a note is made payable January I St, it is really not due until January 4th ; and that is the day for presentation and demand, and the notice should be given the next day, unless the same should be Sunday, when it may be given on Monday. If the third day of grace falls on Sunday, or a legal holiday, then the note is due on the day before ; and if the day before is Sunday or a legal holiday, then the note will mature on the first day of grace. The indorser may, at the time of making the indorsement, or afterwards, waive demand on the maker and notice. The following form is sufficient : — Presentation, demand, and notice of non-payment are hereby waived. James Finn. In order to prevent the danger of failure to make the demand on the maker of the note, and of not giving sufficient notice, it is always well to have the indorser waive presentation, demand, and notice. If a note is payable at a particular place, it must be at such place at matur- ity ; and if payable at a bank, should be left at the bank, where it will be properly attended to. If an indorser does not wish to render himself liable, he can indorse as follows : — James Finn, Without recourse. Which means that the holder will have no recourse on him for payment. This indorsement is sufficient to transfer the note, but does not render the in- dorser liable for its payment. If a party indorses a note payable to bearer, before the delivery of the note to the payee, he is liable the same as the maker. NOTES AND RECEIPTS. 70 1 A person can sign his name below the maker, with the word "surety" after his name, which will make him liable to pay the note. Guaranty. There are two kinds of guaranty. First, Of collection, which may be as follows : — For value received, I hereby guarantee the collection of the within note. James Finn. Second, Guaranty of payment, which may be as follows : — For value received, I hereby guarantee the payment of the within note. James Finn. Neither guaranty requires notice to the guarantor. In the first case, the holder cannot look to the guarantor until he has exhausted the remedy against the maker. In the second case, he may bring suit directly against the guar- antor, without any notice to the maker or guarantor before suit. This security is preferable to an indorsement, and should be obtained in preference to it, in all cases where practicable. A guaranty is applicable to mortgages, contracts, etc. Receipts — On Account. $500. Chicago, April 25, 1883. Received of H. B. Mclntyre, Five Hundred Dollars on account. Field, Leiter & Co. In Full of All Demands. $300. New York, April 15, 1883. Received of S. S. Pierce, Three Hundred Dollars, in full of all demands to date. Chas. Fellows. For a Note. $500. Charleston, S.C, Dec. 31, 18 — . Received of Goldwin Hubbard, his note at sixty days for Five Hundred Dollars, in full of account. Murray Campbell. For a Note of Another Person. $200. Pensacola, Fla., May 2, 18—. Received of Herbert Spencer, a note of Robt. Hatfield, for the sum of Two Hundred Dollars, which, when paid, will be in full of all demands to date. Sampson & Collins. Form of Due-Bill payable in Money. $100. Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 2, 18 — . Due Walter W. Kimball, or order, on demand. One Hundred Dollars, value received. C. T. Marsh. 702 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION, Payable in Flour. $400. Kalamazoo, Mich., Feb. i, 18 — . Due, on demand, to Stanford Burton, Four Hundred Dollars, in flour, at the market value when delivered. Value received. C. H. Walker. Time Draft. $50. Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 18 — . Thirty days after date, pay to the order of Cobb & Co., Fifty Dollars, value received, and charge to our account. To Harmon Mosher & Co., Buffalo, N.Yc A. B. Moore. Siffht Draft. $400. Cincinnati, O., June 10, 18 — . At sight, pay to the order of Higgins & Co., Four Hundred Dollars, value received, and charge the same to our account. To B. L. Smith, Milwaukee, Wis. Pollok Bros. & Co. Common Form of Bill of Sale. Know all Men by these Instruments, That I, Philetus Howe, of Mid- dlebury, Vermont, of the first part, for and in consideration of Four Hundred and Fifty Dollars, to me paid by Charles Rose of the same place, of the second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have sold, and by this instru- ment do convey unto the said Rose, party of the second part, his executors, administrators, and assigns, my undivided half of twenty acres of grass, now growing on the farm of Lorenzo Pease, in the town above mentioned ; one pair of mules, ten swine, and three cows, belonging to me, and in my possession at the farm aforesaid : to have and to hold the same unto the party of the second part, his executors and assigns, forever. And I do, for myself and legal rep- resentatives, agree with the said party of the second part, and his legal repre- sentatives, to warrant and defend the sale of the afore-mentioned property and chattels unto the said party of the second part, and his legal representa- tives, against all and every person whatsoever. In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my hand, this tenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and seventy. Philetus Howe. General Form of Agreement or Contract. This agreement, made the first day of August, 18 — , between Isaac E. Hill, of Irish Grove, County of Atchison, State of Missouri, of the first part, and Vard Blevins, of the same place, of the second part — Witnesseth, that the said Isaac E. Hill, in consideration of the agreement of the party of the second part, hereinafter contained, contracts and agrees to and with the said Vard Blevins, that he will deliver, in good and marketable condition, at the village of Corning, Missouri, during the month of September, of this year. One Hundred Tons of Prairie Hay, in the following lots, and at the following specified times ; namely : twenty-five tons by the seventh of September ; twenty-five tons additional by the fourteenth of the month ; twenty- COMMERCIAL FORMS. 703 five tons more by the twenty-first ; and the entire one hundred tons to be all delivered by the thirtieth of September. And the said Vard Blevins, in consideration of the prompt fulfilment of this contract, on the part of the party of the first part, contracts to and agrees with the said Isaac E. Hill, to pay for said hay six dollars per ton, for each ton, as soon as delivered. In case of failure of agreement by either of the parties hereto, it is hereby stipulated and agreed that the party so failing shall pay to the other One Hundred Dollars, as fixed and settled damages. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hand, the day and year first above written. Isaac E. Hill. Vard Blevins. A bond is a written admission of an obligation on the part of the maker, whereby he pledges himself to pay a certain sum of money to another person or persons, for some botiafide consideration. Common Form of Bond. Know all Men by these Presents, That I, Jonas Clayton, of Wilming- ton, Hanover County, State of North Carolina, am firmly bound unto Henry Morse, of the place aforesaid, in the sum of One Thousand Dollars, to be paid to the said Henry Morse, or his legal representatives ; to which payment, to be made, I bind myself, or my legal representatives, by this instrument. The condition of this bond is such that, if I, Jonas Clayton, my heirs, administrators, or executors, shall promptly pay the sum of Five Hundred Dollars in three equal annual payments from the date hereof, with annual interest, then the above obligation to be of no effect ; otherwise to be in full force and valid. Dated this first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three. Signed and delivered in presence of \ Jonas Clayton, [l. s.] George Downing. Short Form of Lease for a House. This instrument, made the first day of May, 1872, witnesseth that Theodore Shonts, of Asheville, County of Buncombe, State of North Carolina, hath rented from Tilgham Schnee, of Asheville aforesaid, the dwelling and lot No. 46 Broadway, situated in said town of Asheville, for four years from the above date, at the yearly rental of Two Hundred and Forty Dollars, payable monthly, on the first day of each month, in advance, at the residence of said Tilgham Schnee. At the expiration of said above-mentioned term, the said Shonts agrees to give the said Schnee peaceable possession of the said dwelling, in as good condition as when taken, ordinary wear and casualties excepted. 704 MISCELLANEOUS INEORMATION. In witness whereof, we place our hands and seals the day and year afore- said. Signed, sealed, and delivered "^ ^ ^ ^ ^ in presence of \ Theodore Shonts. l. s.] JOHN EDMIN.STER. j TiLGHAM SCHNEE. [L.S.] Notice to Quit. To Chandler Peck: — Sir : Please observe that the term of one year, for which the house and land, situated at No. 14 Elm Street, and now occupied by you, were rented to you, expired on the first day of May, 1873; and, as I desire to repossess said premises, you are hereby requested and required to vacate the same. Respectfully yours, Denslow Moore. Newton, Mass., May 4, 1873. Tenant's Notice of Leavingr. Dear Sir: — The premises I now occupy as your tenant, at No. 14 Elm Street, I shall vacate on the first day of May, 1873. You will please take notice accordingly. Dated this first day of February, 1873. Chandler Peck. To Denslow Moore, Esq. Chattel Mortg^ages. The following form may be used in ordinary cases : — Know all Men by these Presents, That I, John Dunn, of the town- ship of Greenfield, Wayne County, Michigan, party of the first part, being justly indebted unto James Finn, of the same place, of the second part, in the sum of Three Hundred Dollars, have, for the purpose of securing payments of said debt, and the interest thereof, granted, bargained, sold, and mort- gaged, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, and mortgage unto the said James Finn, the following goods, chattels, and personal property, to wit : One bay gelding, seven years old, being the same horse this day purchased by me of said James Finn (describe the property fully and particularly), which said above-described goods, chattels, and property, at the date hereof, are situated at my farm in the township of Greenfield, Wayne County, Michigan, and are free and clear from all liens, conveyances, encumbrances, and levies; and for a valuable consideration I hereby warrant the above representations to be true. To have and to hold the same forever, provided always, and the condition of these presents is such, that if the said John Dunn will pay, or cause to be paid, the said James Finn the debt aforesaid, with the interest at seven per cent, on or before the first day of March, a.d. i88r, then this instrument shall be void and of no effect. And I, the said John Dunn, agree to pay the same accordingly. But if default be made in such payment of the said sum of Three Hundred Dollars, or any part thereof, the second party is hereby authorized COMMERCIAL FORMS. 705 to and shall sell at public auction, after the like notice as is required by law for constables' sales, the goods, chattels, and personal property hereinbefore mentioned, or so much thereof as may be necessary to satisfy the said debt, interest, and reasonable expenses, and to retain the same out of the proceeds of such sale, the overplus or residue, if any, to belong to and be returned to me, the said John Dunn. In witness whereof, the said party of the first part has hereunto set his hand and seal, the first day of December, in the year of our Lord, one thou- sand eight hundred and eighty. John Dunn. Every chattel mortgage, or a copy, should be filed in the office of the town clerk of the township where mortgagor resides, except in cases where the mortgagor resides out of the State, in which cases it should be filed in the township where the property is situated. The filing must be renewed every year, by making and attaching to the mortgage or copy on file an affidavit, in substance as follows : — n State of Michigan, County of Wayne James Finn, of the township of Greenfield, in said county, being duly sworn, deposes and says he is the mortgagee named in the annexed mortgage ; that his interest, by virtue of said mortgage, in the goods and chattels in said mortgage particularly described, is the sum of Three Hundred Dollars, and further saith not. James Finn. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this first day of January, a.d. 1881. Thomas Wright, Notary Public, Wayne County, Mich. The renewal may be at any time within thirty days before the expiration of the year from the filing of the mortgage. In some States the mortgage is good as between the mortgagor and mort- gagee without filing, 'but is void as against a purchaser or subsequent mort- gagee, who has no knowledge of the unrecorded mortgage. Power of Attorney, in a Short Form. Know all Men by these Presents, That I {name of principal), have made, constituted, and appointed, and by these presents do make, constitute, and appoint (jtatne of attorney), my true and lawful attorney, for me and in my name, place, and stead to {here describe the thijig to be done), giving and granting unto my said attorney full power and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing whatsoever requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully, to all intents and purposes, as I might or could do if personally present, with full power of substitution and revocation ; here- by ratifying and confirming all that my said attorney or his substitute shall lawfully do, or cause to be done, by virtue hereof. 7o6 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the day of , in the year one thousand eight hundred and (Signature.) [Seal.] Executed and delivered in the presence of Form of a Will. In the name of God. Amen. I, , of the town of , in the County of , being of sound mind and memory, do make and publish this my last will and testament. I give and bequeath to my sons, , eight hundred dollars each, if they shall have attained the age of twenty-one years before my de- cease ; but if they shall be under the age of twenty-one at my decease, then I give to them one thousand dollars each, the last mentioned to be in place of the first mentioned. I give and bequeath to my beloved wife, , all my household furniture and all the rest of my personal property, after paying from the same the several legacies already named, to be hers forever; but if there should not be at my decease sufficient personal property to pay the aforesaid legacies, then so much of my real estate shall be sold as will raise sufficient money to pay the same. I also give, devise, and bequeath to my beloved wife, , all the rest and residue of my real estate, as long as she will remain unmarried, and my widow ; but on her decease or marriage, the remainder thereof I give and devise to my said children and their heirs, respectively, to be divided in equal shares between them. I do nominate and appoint my beloved wife, , to be the sole executrix of this my last will and testament. In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand and seal, and publish and decree this to be my last will and testament, in presence of the witnesses named below, this day of , in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and [L.S.] Signed, sealed, declared, and published by the said as and for his last will and testament, in presence of us, who, at his request, and in his presence, and in presence of each other, have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto. residing at in county. residing at in county. Assignment of Wages, with Power of Attorney. Know ALL Men by these Presents, that I, , of , in the County of , State of , in consideration of to me paid by of , the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby assign and transfer to said all claims and demands which I now have, and all which, at any time between the day hereof and the day of COMMERCIAL FORMS. 707 next, I may and shall have against for all sums of money and demand which, at any time between the date hereof and the said day of next, may and shall become due to me, for services as , to have and to hold the same to the said , his executors, administrators, and assigns forever. And I, , do hereby constitute and appoint the said and his assigns, to be my attorney irrevocable in the premises, to do and perform all acts, matters, and things touching the premises, in the like man- ner, to all intents and purposes, as I could if personally present. In witness whereof, I have set my hand and seal, this day of , 18.... (Signature.) [Seal.] Assigrnment of Mortgage. I hereby assign the above {or within) mortgage to Witness my hand and seal, this of (Signature.) [Seal] Release on Satisfaction of a Mortgage. I hereby release the above {or within) mortgage. Witness my hand and seal, this day of (Signature.) [Seal.] An assignment is a transfer to another of the entire lawful right which one has in any property, as the transfer of debts or obligations, judgments, wages, bonds, and the like. Assignments are sometimes written on the backs of the instruments to be transferred by the assignment. The forms here given do not include assignments of deeds, of mortgages, or of leases. Form of Assignment of a Promissory Rote, or any Similar Promise or Agreement. I hereby, for value received, assign and transfer the within written {or the above written) , together with all my rights under the same, to {name of the assigftee). (Signature.) General Form of Assignment, wltb Power of Attorney. Know All Men by These Presents, That I, , for value receive 1, have sold, and by these presents do grant, assign, and convey unto {Here insert a description of the thing or things assigned.) To have and to hold the same unto the said , his executors, administrators, and assigns forever, to and for the use of the said , hereby constituting and appointing him my true and lawful attorney irre- vocable, in my name, place, and stead, for the purposes aforesaid, to ask, demand, sue for, attach, levy, recover, and receive all such sum and sums of 7o8 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. money, which now are, or may hereafter become due, owing and payable for, or on account of, all or any of the accounts, dues, debts, and demands above assigned to him ; giving and granting unto the said attorney full power and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing whatsoever requisite and necessary, as fully, to all intents and purposes, as I might or could do, if personally present ; with full power of substitution and revocation, hereby rati- fying and confirming all that the said attorney or his substitute shall lawfully do, or cause to be done by virtue thereof. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day of , one thousand eight hundred and Executed and delivered in presence of [Seal.] Sbort Form of Lease for Farm and Boildlngs Thereon. This Indenture, made this first day of March, one thousand eight hun- dred and ninety, between N. A. Dunning, of the township of Stafford, County of Tolland, and State of Connecticut, of the first part, and L. C. Hascall, of the said township and county, of the second part ; Witnesseth, That the said N. A. Dunning, for, and in consideration of the yearly rents and covenants hereinafter mentioned, and reserved on the part and behalf of the said L. C. Hascall, his heirs, executors, and administrators, to be paid, kept, and performed, hath demised, set, and to farm let, and by these presents doth demise, set, and to farm let, unto the said L. C. Hascall, his heirs and assigns, all that certain piece, parcel, or tract of land situate, lying, and being in the township of Stafford aforesaid, known as lot No. {here describe land) now in the possession of , containing one hundred acres, together with all and singular the buildings and improvements, to have and to hold the same unto the said L. C. Hascall, his heirs, executors, and assigns, from the day of next, for, and during the term of, five years, thence next ensuing, and fully to be complete, and ended, yielding and pay- ing for the same, unto the said N. A. Dunning, his heirs and assigns, the yearly rent, or sum of dollars, on the first day of in each and every year, during the term aforesaid, and at the expiration of said term, or sooner if determined upon, he, the said L. C. Hascall, his heirs or assigns, shall and will quietly and peaceably surrender and yield up the said demised premises, with the appurtenances, unto the said N. A. Dunning, his heirs and assigns, in as good order and repair as the same now are, reasonable wear, tear, and casualties, which may happen by fire, or otherwise, only excepted. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals. Signed, sealed, and delivered ^ xt a t^ r n ^ . ' , ^ { N. A. Dunning, [l. s.] in the presence of)- t^tt r"; ^ ^^^ j L- C. Hascall. [l. s.] Surrender of a Lease. In consideration of one dollar, to me paid by John Clark, I do hereby surrender to the lessor, the within written lease of the premises therein men- tioned, and all my ©state yet unexpired, which premises are free from encum- COMMERCIAL FORMS. yog brances through me : to hold the same to the said lessor and his assigns forever. Witness my hand and seal, this ist day of April, a.d. i88i. Executed in presence of > xt a t^ r •^ „ ^^ S N. A. Dunning, [l. s.l R, Doe. S Landlord's Agreement. This is to Certify, That I have, this first day of April, 1881, let and rented unto Peter Jones my house and lot, known as Number 638 Wabash Ave., in the city of Chicago, 111., with the appurtenances and sole and unin- terrupted use thereof, for one year, to commence on the first day of May next, at the yearly rent of Six Hundred Dollars, payable in equal sums of Fifty Dol- lars, on the first day of each and every month. R. Doe. An Assignment of a Copyright. To ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Whereas I, (name of assignor) of , in the County of , and State of , did obtain a copyright from the United States for a work entitled , and the certifi- cate of said copyright bears date a.d. eighteen hundred and Now this deed witnesseth, That for a valuable consideration, viz to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, I have assigned, sold, and set over, and by these presents do assign, sell, and set over unto the said {name of assignee) all the right, title, and interest I have in the above book {or design, etc.) as secured to me by said copyright ; the same to be held and enjoyed by the said {name of assignee) for his own use and behoof, and for the use and behoof of his legal representatives, to the full end of the term for which said copyright was issued, as fully and entirely as the same would have been held and enjoyed by me, had this assignment and sale not been made. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this day of , in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and (Signature.) [Seal.] Sealed and delivered in presence of Rule to Find the Horse Power of a Stationary Engine. — Multiply the area of the piston by the average pressure in pounds per square inch. Multi- ply this product by the travel of the piston in feet per minute ; divide by 33,000. This will give the horse power. Example. — Diameter of the cylinder, 12 inches; squared = 144 square inches ; multiplied by 7854 =1,1 30,976, as the area of the piston. The pressure is 70; the average pressure is 50 pounds to the square inch. Multiply last product by 50, gives 5,654,880 ; and that multiplied by the travel of the piston per minute, which is 300 inches, gives 1,696,454; and that divided by 33,000, gives 5 1 as the number of horse power. Power of Engines. — Horse power in steam engines is calculated as the power which would raise 33,000 pounds a foot high in a minute, or 90 pounds 7IO MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. at the rate of 4 miles an hour. One-horse power is equal to the lifting, by a pump, of 250 hogsheads of water 10 feet in an hour; or it would drive 100 spindles of cotton yarn twist, or 500 spindles of No. 48 mule yarn, or 1000 of No. no, or 12 power looms. One-horse power is produced by 19 pounds of Newcastle coal, 50 pounds of wood, or 34 pounds of culm. Coal i, wood 3, and culm 2, give equal heats in the production of steam. The Law of Friction. — As an exponent of the laws of friction, it may be stated that a square stone, weighing 1080 pounds, which required a force of 758 pounds to drag it along the floor of a quarry, roughly chiselled, required only a force of 22 pounds to move it when mounted on a platform and rollers, over a plank floor. A power of 250 tons is necessary to start a vessel weigh- ing 3000 tons, over greased slides, on a marine railway. When in motion, 150 tons only is required. Coal and Water Used. — Good practice requires combustion of the carbon and hydrogen available in the fuel. Insufficient air causes a dense, black smoke to issue from the chimney, and the loss of heating effect and too much air lower the temperature of the flame and dissipate the heat. Of good coal, 62.2 per cent goes to form steam, and i pound will, in good practice, evaporate 'j\ pounds of water. Shrinkage of Grain. — Farmers rarely gain by holding on to their grain after it is fit for market, when the shrinkage is taken into account. Wheat, from the time it is threshed, will shrink 2 quarts to the bushel, or 6 per cent, in 6 months, in the most favorable circumstances. Hence it follows that 94 cents a bushel for wheat, when first threshed in August, is as good, taking into account the shrinkage alone, as %\ in the following February. Corn shrinks much more from the time it is husked. One hundred bush- els of ears, as they come from the fields in November, will be reduced to not far from 80. So that 40 cents a bushel for corn in the ear, as it comes from the field, is as good as 50 in March, shrinkage only being taken into account. In the case of potatoes, taking those that rot and are otherwise lost, to- gether with the shrinkage, there is but little doubt that, between October and June, the loss to the owner who holds them is not less than 33 per cent. This estimate is taken on the basis of interest at 7 per cent, and takes no account of loss by vermin. Measuring Grain. — By the United States standard, 2150 cubic inches make a bushel. Now, as a cubic foot contains 1728 cubic inches, a bushel is to a cubic foot as 2150 to 1728 ; or, for practical purposes, as 4 to 5. There- fore, to convert cubic feet to bushels, it is necessary only to multiply by | or .8. To measure the bushels of grain in a granary : Rule. — Multiply the length in feet by the breadth in feet, and that again by the depth in feet, and that again by |. The last product will be the num- ber of bushels the granary contains. In Pennsylvania, 80 pounds coarse, 70 pounds ground, or 62 pounds fine salt, make one bushel ; and in Illinois, 50 pounds common, or 55 pounds fine salt, make one bushel. In Tennessee, 100 ears of corn are a bushel. A heap- ing bushel contains 2815 cubic inches. In Maine, 64 pounds of rutabaga tur- nips or beets make i bushel. RULES FOR MEASUREMENTS. 711 A cask of lime is 240 pounds. Lime in slacking absorbs 2\ times its volume, and 2J times its weight, in water. To Measure Corn on the Cobs, in Cribs. — Corn is generally put up in cribs made of rails ; but the rule will apply to a crib of any size or kind, whether equilateral or flared at the sides. When the crib is equilateral : Rule. — Multiply the length in feet by the breadth in feet, and that again by the height in feet ; which last product multiply by 0.63 (the fractional part of a heaped bushel in a cubic foot), and the result will be the heaped bushels of ears. For the number of bushels of shelled corn, multiply by 0.42 (two- thirds of 0.63), instead of 0.63. In measuring the height, of course the height of the corn is intended. And there will be found to be a difference in measuring corn in this mode, between fall and spring, because it shrinks very much in the winter and spring, and settles down. When the crib is flared at the sides : Rule. — Multiply half the sum of the top and bottom widths in feet by the perpendicular height in feet, and that again by the length in feet, which last product multiply by 0.63 for heaped bushels of ears, and by 0.42 for the num- ber of bushels of shelled corn. Note. — The above rule assumes that 3 heaping half-bushels of ears make I struck half-bushel of shelled corn. This proportion has been adopted upon the authority of the major part of our best agricultural journals. Measurement of Hay. — The only correct way of measuring hay is to weigh it. This, on account of its bulk and character, is very difficult, unless it is baled or otherwise compacted. This difficulty has led formers to esti- mate the weight by the bulk or cubic contents, — a mode which is only approximately correct. Some kinds of hay are light, while others are heavy, their equal bulks varying in weight. But for all ordinary farming purposes of estimating the amount of hay in meadows, mows, and stacks, the following rules will be found sufficient : — As nearly as can be ascertained, 25 cubic yards of average meadow hay, in windrows, make a ton. When loaded on wagons, or stored in barns, 20 cubic yards make a ton. When settled in mows or stacks, 15 cubic yards make a ton. l^ote. — These estimates are for medium-sized mows or stacks ; if the hay is piled to a great height, as it often is where horse hay-forks are used, the mow will be much heavier per cubic yard. When hay is baled, or closely packed for shipping, 10 cubic yards will weigh a ton. To find the number of tons in long, square stacks : Rule. — Multiply the length in yards by the width in yards, and that by half the altitude in yards, and divide the product by 15. To find the number of tons in circular stacks : Rule. — Multiply the square of the circumference in yards by 4 times the altitude in yards, and divide by 100 ; the quotient will be the number of cubic yards in the stack; then divide by 15, for the nuniber of tons. 712 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Produce of One Acre. One acre will produce 224 pounds mutton, 186 pounds beef, 2900 pounds milk, 300 pounds butter, and 200 pounds cheese ; a fair crop of potatoes from 16 bushels of seed is 340 bushels. names and Dimensions of Various Sizes of Paper. PRINT. Medium 19 x Royal (20x24) 20 X Super Royal • . 22 x Imperial 22 x Medium and a half 24 x Small Double Medium .... 24 x Double Medium 24 x Double Royal 26 x Double Super Royal 28 x Double Super Royal 29 x Broad Twelves 23 x Double Imperial 32 x FOLDED. Billet Note 6 x Octavo Note 7 x Commercial Note 8 x Packet Note 9 x Bath Note 8V2X Letter 10 x Commercial Letter 11 x Packet Post 11V2X 18 Foolscap 12V2X 16 FLAT. Legal Cap 13 x 16 Flat Cap 14 X 17 Crown 15 X 19 Double Flat Letter 16 x 20 Demy 16 x 21 Folio Post 17 X 22 Check Folio 17 x 24 Double Cap 17 x 28 Extra Size Folio 19 x 23 ♦Medium 18 x 23 ♦Royal 19 X 24 ♦Super Royal 20 x 28 ♦Imperial 22 x 30 Double Demy 21 x 313^ Elephant 22V4X 27% Columbier 23 x 3iVi Atlas 26 X 33 Double Elephant 26 x 40 Amount of Seed Po^toes Required when cut or uncut, and when set at different distances apart, in drills 28 inches from crown to crown. Whole. Halved, 6 in. apart, 77 bushels per acre. Halved, 18 in apart, 13 9 " 50 • Quartered, 6 19 12 " 38 • 9 " . 13 18 26 • " 12 " 10 24 19 ' Five parts, 6 IS 6 48 < 9 10 9 " 24 • Six parts, 6 13 12 " 16 •• ' Amount of Butter and Cheese from Milk. 100 pounds of milk contain about 3 pounds pure butter. loo " " " " 7.8 " cheese. 100 " " average about 3.5 pounds common butter. 100 " " " " 1 1.7 " " • cheese, loo " of skim-milk yield about 13.5 pounds skim-milk cheese. Ingredients contained in various kinds of milk. In 100 parts there are of Cow. Water 87.0 Milk Sugar 4.8 Butter 3.1 Casein 4.5 Ass. Goat. Ewe. 91.7 86.7 85.6 6.1 5-3 S-o 0,1 3-3 4.2 1.8 4.1 4.5 A man walks . . . A horse trots . . MISCEL Average Miles per hour. • . 3 . . 7 LANE Velocity Feet per sec. 4 lo 29 26 14 4 OUS TABLES. of Various Bodies. Rapid rivers flow . . Moderate wind blows . A storm moves . . . A hurricane moves A rifle ball moves , . Miles per hour 7 7 . 36 . 80 . 1,000 Feet per sec 10 lO 52 117 1,466 1,142 Steamboat runs . . Sailing vessel runs . . . . i8 . . lO • . 3 Slow rivers flow . . Sound moves .... . 743 Light moves 192,000 miles per sec. Electricity moves 288,000 miles per sec. Evaporative Powers of Fuel, etc. I pound of coal evaporates 9 pounds of water. I pound of coke evaporates 7^^ to 9 pounds of water. I pound of wood evaporates 4% pounds of water. I pound of turf (peat) evaporates 6 pounds of water. Stationary engines use from 3 to 7 pounds coal per horse power an hour. Locomotive passenger engines, 26 to 30 pounds of coal per mile. Locomotive freight engines, 45 to 55 pounds of coal per mile. Comparative Table. 100 Pounds of Hay are Equal to 275 pounds of green Indian corn. 300 pounds of carrots. 442 " rye straw. 54 " rye. 360 '• wheat straw. 46 •' wheat. 164 " oat 59 " oats. 180 barley " 45 " beans and peas mixed. 153 " pea " 64 '• buckwheat. 200 " buckwheat straw. 57 " Indian corn. 201 raw potatoes. 68 acorns. 175 " boiled " 105 " wheat bran. 339 " mangel wurtzel. 109 " rye bran. 504 turnips. 167 " wheat, pea, and oat chaff. 179 •• rye and barley mixed. The following table shows the amount of hay, or its equivalent per day, required by each 100 pounds of live weight of various animals : — Working horses 3.08 pounds. Working oxen 2.40 " Fatting oxen 5.00 " Fatting oxen, when fat . . . 4.00 " Milch cows . . from 2.25 to 2.40 " Dry cows 2.42 pounds. Young growing cattle . . . 3.08 " Steers 2.84 " Pigs 3.00 Sheep 3.00 Growtb and Life of Animals. Years Grow. Years Live, Years Grow. Years Live. Man .... .... 20 90 to 100 Dog . . . 2 12 to 14 Camel .... .... 8 .... 5 40 25 Cat . . . . 1V2 9 or 10 8 Horse .... Hare ... I Ox .... 4 IS to 20 Guinea pig . . . . . . 7 mos. 6 or 7 Lion . . . . .... 4 20 714 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Shrinkage in Drying Fruits. The following table will show, pre«y nearly, the loss in drying some of the principal fruits : — Pounds Fruit. Green Fruit. Apples loo Peaches loo Pears loo Apricots loo Plums loo Blackberries loo Pitted cherries loo Gooseberries loo Grapes loo Per cent Pounds of Waste. Dried Fruit 88 12 88 12 88 12 86 14 86 14 84 16 84 16 80 20 80 20 Measures. Long Measure— -For ^.f/z^/Zz and Distance. 12 inches 3foet 5V2 yd., or 16V3 ft. make 40 rods 8 furl's, or 320 rods 3 miles 60 geographic miles, ) or 69y2 statute miles ) The entire round of circle, say of the earth, is 360 degrees. I foot. I yard. I rod, perch, or pole. I furlong. I mile. I league. I degree. Square 1\tl^SMVJL— For Surfaces. 144 inches make i foot. 9 feet 30V4 yards, or I 272V4 feet J 40 rods 4 roods, or 160 rods 640 acres I yard. I rod, pole, perch. I rood. I acre. I mile. Cubic or Solid Measure — i^?r Solids. 1728 cubic inches make i cubic ft. 27 cubic feet 40 ft. of round, or ) „ 50 ft. of hewn tirab'r J 42 cubic feet " • 16 cubic feet 8 cord feet, or 128 cubic feet Beer Measure - 2 pints 4 quarts I cubic yd. I ton. I ton of ship- ping. I foot of wood, or a cord foot. I cord. ■For Ale, Porter, Milk, etc. make i quart. " I gallon. 36 gallons make i barrel. 52 gallons (1V4 bbl.) " i hogshead. Wine Measure— /or Wines, Spirits, Oils, etc. 4 gills make i pint. 2 pints " I quart. 4 quarts " i gallon. 3114 gallons " I barrel. 42 gallons " I tierce. 63 gallons, or 2 bbl. " i hogshead. 2 hogsheads " i pipe, or butt. 2 pipes " I tun. Cloth Measure — /^or Z)rj/ Goods. 2V4 inches make i nail. 4 nails, or 9 inches " i quarter of a yard. 4 quarters " i yard. 3 quarters, or ) % of a yard J 5 quarters, or iV^ yd. 6 quarters, or 1% yd. Time Measure. make i minute " I hour. I Flemish ell. I English ell. I French ell. 60 seconds 60 minutes 24 hours 7 days 4 weeks 12 calendar months.or 365 days, 6 hrs., nearly 13 lunar months, or 52 weeks 100 years Circular Measure. 60 seconds (") make i minute ('). 60 minutes ( ) " i degree (°). 30 degrees (°) " i sign (s.). 12 signs (s.) " 1 circle (c). I day. I week. I lunar month. I civil year. I year. I century. MISCELLANEOUS TABLES. 715 Measures. — Continued. Miles, 1 An English mile contains 1,760 yards. Russian 1,100 " Irish and Scotch 2,200 '• Italian " 1,467 " Polish 4,400 " Spanish " 5,028 " German " ' ' 5.866 " Swedish and Danish" 7.233 " Hungarian " ' 8,800 " In France they measure by the mean league of 3666 yards. Dry Measure — /^or Gram, Salt, Roots, Fruits, Coal, etc. 2 pints (pt.) make i quart (qt.). 8 quarts " i peck (pk.). 4 pecks, or 32 qts. " i bushel (bu.). 8 bushels " i quarter (qr.). 32 bushels '■ I chaldr'n(ch.) Weights. Troy Weight — For Gold, Silver, Liquors, etc. 24 grains make i pennyweight. 20 pennyweights " I ounce. 12 ounces " i pound. Avoirdupois Weight — For Groceries and Heavy Goods. 16 drams make i ounce. 16 ounces " i pound. 14 pounds " I stone. 28 pounds " I quarter. 4 quarters " i hundred. 20 cwt. " I ton. N.B. — There appears to be a change in progress in the U. S., by which the ton will be only 2000 lbs., instead of 2240 lbs., thus: — 25 pounds make 1 quarter. 4 quarters, or 100 lbs. '* i cwt. 20 cwt. " I ton. Apothecaries' Weight. 20 grains make i scruple. 3 scruples " i dram. 8 drams " i ounce. 12 ounces " i pound. Wool Weight. 7 pounds make I clove. 2 cloves I stone. 2 stones I tod. 6V2 tods I wey. 2 weys I sack. 12 sacks I last. 12 score 1 pack. Bread and Flour. Peck loaf 17 lbs. 6 oz. 1 dr. Half-peck loaf 8 lbs. II oz. 11V2 dr. Quartern " 4 lbs. 5 oz, 8V4 dr. V2 " 2 lbs. 2 oz. 12% dr. A peck of flour 14 lbs. A bushel of flour 56 lbs. A sack of flour 290 lbs. Coal BY Measure. 4 pecks make i bushel. 3 bushels I sack. 9 bushels " I vat. 12 sacks " I chaldron. 5V4 chaldrons I room. 21 chaldrons " I score. ' Paper. 24 sheets make i quire. 20 quires I ream. 2 reams " I bundle. 5 bundles " I bale. Books. 4 pages make i sheet folio (fol.). 8 pages " I " quarto (410). 16 pages " I " octavo (8vo). 24 pages " I " duodecimo (i2mo). 36 pages " I " eighteen mo (i8mo). Hay and Straw. 36 lbs. make i truss of straw. 56 lbs. " I " old hay. 60 lbs. " I " new hay. 35 trusses " i load. 7i6 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Weights and Measures. As recognized by the Laws of the United States. Bushel of Wheat . . Shelled corn Corn in the ear Rye . . . Oats . . . Barley . . White beans Irish potatoes Sweet potatoes Castor beans Clover seeds lbs. 60 56 70 56 32 48 62 60 55 46 60 Bushel of Timothy seed . Flax seed . . Hemp seed . Millett seed . Peas .... Blue-grass seed Buckwheat . . Dried peaches Dried apples . Onions . . . Salt .... lbs. 45 56 40 50 60 45 52 33 24 57 65 Peanuts, per bushel : African, 32 lbs. ; Tennessee, 28 lbs. A box 24 by 16 inches, 22 deep, contains i barrel. A box 16 by i6Vi inches, 8 deep, contains i bushel. A box 8 by 8^/2 inches, 8 deep, contains i peck. A box 8 by 8 inches, 414 deep, contains y^ peck. Bushel of lbs. Stone coal 80 Malt 38 Bran 20 Plastering hair .... 8 Turnips 55 Unslacked lime ... 30 Corn-Meal 48 Fine Salt 55 Hungarian grass seed . 54 Ground peas .... 20 Virginia, 22 lbs. RoiULd Tim1)er. Round timber, when squared, is estimated to lose one-fifth ; hence (50 cubic feet, or) a ton of round timber is said to contain only 40 cubic feet. Round, sawed, and hewn timber are bought and sold by the cubic foot. Rule to measure round timber : Take the girth in feet at both the large and small ends ; add them, and divide their sum by 2, for the mean girth ; then multiply the length in feet by the square of one-fourth of the mean girth, and the quotient will be the contents in cubic feet, according to the common practice. Rule to measure round timber, as the frustum of a cone ; that is, to measure all the timber in a log: Multiply the square of the circumference at the middle of the log, in feet, by 8 times the length, and the product divided by 100 will be the contents. (Very near the truth.) Interest Tables : Seven Per Cent. Time. $^ $-z U ^4 u J556 $1 %Z %9 ^10 5100 ^lOOO 1 Day 2 Days 3 Days 4 Days 5 Days 6 Days IS Days I Month 3 Months. .. 6 Months. .. 9 Months. .. I Year .01 .02 .04 •OS .07 .01 .01 .04 .07 .11 .14 .01 .02 •OS .11 .16 .21 .01 .02 .07 .14 .21 .28 .01 .01 •03 .26 •35 .01 .01 .02 .04 .11 .21 •32 •42 .01 .OI .01 .02 .04 .12 •25 •37 •49 .01 .01 .01 .02 .05 .42 •56 .01' .01 .01 .01 •03 :°i .32 •47 •63 .01 .01 .01 ,01 .18 .35 .53 .70 .02 :ol .08 .10 .12 % 1^75 3^50 5^25 7.00 .19 •78 .97 I.I7 2.92 5.83 17-50 35.00 52.50 70.00 MISCELLANEOUS TABLES. 717 Interest TaUes: Ten Per Cent. Time. $1 ^2 »3 $^ is $6 $1 $8 %9 $ro ^100 ^1000 I Day .... .... .03 .28 15 Days .01 .01 .02 .02 .03 •03 .03 .04 .04 .42 4.17 30 Days .01 .02 .03 •03 .04 .05 .06 .07 .08 .08 •»3 ».33 2 Months. . . .02 •03 •OS .07 .08 .10 .12 •13 .15 •17 1.67 16.67 4 Months. . . .03 .07 .10 .13 .17 .20 •23 .27 •30 •33 3-33 33.33 6 Months. . . .0=; .iq •I"; .20 •s"; .30 •a"; .40 •4.S •.SO 5.00 50.00 8 Months. . . .07 •13 .20 .27 •33 .40 •47 •.S3 .60 .67 6.67 66.67 I Year .10 .20 .30 40 ■50 .60 .70 .80 .90 1. 00 10.00 100.00 Weights Per Bushel of Grain, etc. The following table shows the number of pounds per bushel required, by law or cus- tom, in the sale of articles specified, in the several States : — States. cS ^ >. % •s iS 3 PQ PQ 48 48 48 48 48 48 4S 48 48 48 50 47 48 48 48 47 48 48 48 48 52 48 SO 48 56 40 32 48 S2 48 SO 48 S2 48 so 48 48 48 so 48 S2 48 so 48 42 48 S2 48 52 SO .so 48 52 SO 40 46 42 Ti C .•s 1. -i in 1 c3 id (5 I I 1> P< 1 c 1 Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland District of Columbia. Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Louisiana Arkansas Tennessee Kentucky Ohio Michigan Indiana Illinois Wisconsin Minnesota . . ,". Iowa Missouri Kansas Nebraska California Oregon 56 56 58 56 ^\ 56 56 56 I 48 56 50 60 60 60 60 56 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 6?r 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 56 60 60 50 70 85 50 58 62 60 64 60 64 j 60 42 44 60 45 64 45 7i8 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Cubic Weight Table. 13 cubic feet of marble I3i 34 29 30 51 60 65 granite . mahogany oak . . ash . . beech . elm . . fir . . . Weights of Cordwood. Pounds. I cord of hickory .... 4,468 hard maple . . . 2,864 beech 3.234 ash 3449 birch 2,398 Various Tables. Pounds. Carbon Weight. I cord of pitch pine . . . 1,903 43 I ton. Canada pine . . 1,870 42 yellow oak . . . 2,920 61 I white oak . . . 1,870 81 I " Lombardy poplar, 1,775 41 I " red oak . . • . 3.255 70 I " A Table of Daily Savings, at Com- I " POUND INTEREST. Per Day. Per Year. Ten Yrs. Fifty Yrs j^ .023 $xo ;^i3o ^2,900 Carbon. .054 20 260 5,800 100 .11 40 520 11,600 58 .27i 100 1,300 29,000 64 .55 200 2,600 58,000 79 I.IO 400 5.290 116,000 49 1.37 Soo 6,500 145.000 Power Required for Various Purposes. To drive a 20 to 30-inch circular saw, 4 to 6 horse power. 32 to 40 " " " 12 " " 48 to 50 " " " IS 50 to 62 *' " " 25 " *' Power Necessary to Grind Grain with Portable Mills. orse Power. Size of Stones. Revolutions per Minute. Bu. Corn ground per Hour. Bu. Wheat ground per Hour. 2 to 4 1 2-inch 800 to 900 I to 4 I to 3 2 to 6 20-inch 650 to 700 5 to 8 4 to 6 6 to 8 30-inch 550 to 600 10 to 15 7 to 10 7 to 12 36-inch 450 to 500 18 to 25 12 to 15 12 to 15 48-inch 350 to 400 25 to 35 15 to 18 CHAPTER II. POSTAL, INTERNAL REVENUE, AND NATURALIZATION LAWS. United States Postal Regulations. As Revised under Act of March 3, 1885. First Class Mail Matter. — Letters. — This class includes letters, postal cards, and anything sealed or otherwise closed against inspection, or anything containing writing not allowed as an accompaniment to printed matter, under class three. Postage. — 2 cents each ounce, or additional fraction of an ounce, to all parts of the United States. On local or drop-letters, at free-delivery offices, 2 cents. At offices where there is no delivery by carrier, i cent. Prepayment by stamps invariably required. . Postal cards, i cent. Registered letters, 10 cents in addition to the proper postage. The Post- Office Department, or its revenue, is not by law liable for the loss of registered mail matter. For immediate delivery, 10 cents additional postage, prepaid by special stamp, only at offices designated by the Post-Office Department. Second Class. — Regular Publications. — This class includes all news- papers, periodicals, or matter exclusively in print, and regularly issued at stated intervals, as frequently as four times a year, from a known office of publication or news agency. Postage, i cent a pound or fraction thereof, pre- paid by special stamps. Publications designed primarily for advertising or free circulatioo, or not having a legitimate list of subscribers, are excluded from the pound rate, and pay third class rates. On newspapers and periodicals, mailed by other than publishers or news agents, i cent for each 4 ounces or fractional part thereof. Third Class. — Mail matter of the third class includes books, circulars, unsealed publications for advertising purposes, and other matter wholly in print, legal and commercial papers filled out in writing, photographs, proof- sheets, corrected proof-sheets, and manuscript copy accompanying the same. MS., accompanied by proof-sheets, letter rates. Limit of weight, 4 pounds each package, except single books — weight not limited. Postage, I cent for each 2 ounces or fractional part thereof, invariably pre- paid by stamps. Fourth Class. — Embraces merchandise, and all matter not included in the first, second, or third class, Which is not liable to injure the mail matter. Limit of weight, 4 pounds. Postage, I cent each ounce or fraction thereof, prepaid. 719 720 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION, All packages of matter, of the third or fourth class, must be so wrapped or enveloped that their contents may be examined by postmasters, without destroying the wrappers. Matter of the second, third, or fourth class, containing any writing, except as here specified, or except bills and receipts for periodicals, or printed com- mercial papers filled out in writing, as deeds, bills, etc., will be charged with letter postage ; but the sender of any book may write names or addresses therein, or on the outside, with the word " from " preceding the same, or may write briefly on any package the number and names of the articles inclosed. Postal Money Orders. — An order may be issued for any amount, from i cent to $ioo inclusive, but fractional parts of a cent cannot be included. The fees for orders are: For sums not exceeding $5, 5 cents; $5 to $10, Scents; %\o to $15, 10 cents; $15 to $30, 15 cents; $30 to $40, 20 cents; $40 to $50, 25 cents ; $50 to $60, 30 cents ; $60 to $70, 35 cents ; $70 to $80, 40 cents ; ^80 to $100, 45 cents. When a larger sum than $100 is required, additional orders must be ob- tained ; but no more than three orders will be issued in one day, fronf the same post-office, to the same remitter, in favor of the same payee. Postal Notes, for any sura under $5, are sold at any money-order post- office ; price, 3 cents each. These are payable to the bearer at any designated post-office, within three months after their date. Free Delivery. — The free delivery of mail matter, at the residences of people desiring it, is required by law in every city of 50,000 or more popula- tion, and may be established at every place containing not less than 20,000 inhabitants. Number of free-delivery offices, 178. The franking privilege was abolished July i, 1873, but the following mail matter may be sent free by legislative saving-clauses, viz. : — 1. All public documents printed by order of Congress, the Congressional Record and speeches contained therein, franked by members of Congress, or the Secretary of the Senate, or Clerk of the House. 2. Seeds transmitted by the Department of Agriculture, or by any member of Congress, procured from that Department. 3. All periodicals sent to subscribers, within the county where printed. 4. Letters and packages relating exclusively to the business of the govern- ment of the United States, mailed only by officers of the same ; publications required to be mailed to the Librarian of Congress by the copyright law, and letters and parcels mailed by the Smithsonian Institution. All these must be covered by specially printed " penalty" envelopes or labels. All communications to government officers, and to or from members of Congress, are required to be prepaid by stamps. United States Internal Revenue Tax. Ale, per barrel of 31 gallons $1 00 Banks and bankers, on capital and deposits. By act ot March 3, 1883, " To reduce internal revenue taxation," etc., all taxes on capital and deposits ot banks and bankers were repealed, after March 3, 1883. INTERNAL REVENUE TAX. 72 1 Banks and bankers, on average amount of circulation, each month, 1-12 of i per cent. Banks, on average amount of circulation, beyond 90 per cent of the capital, an ad- ditional tax each month, 1-6 of i per cent. Banks, persons, firms, associations, etc., on amount of notes of any person, firm, association (other than a national banking association), corporation. State bank, or State banking association, town, city, or municipal corporation, used and paid out as circulation 10 per ct. Banks, persons, firms, associations (other than national bank associations), and every corporation, State bank, or State banking association, on the amount of their own notes, used for circulation and paid out by them 10 per ct. Beer, per barrel of 31 gallons $1 00 Brandy, per gallon 90 Brewers, manufacturing 500 barrels or more annually 100 00 — manufacturing less than 500 barrels annually 50 00 Cigars, manufacturers of, special tax 6 00 Cigars of all descriptions, made of tobacco or any substitute, per looo 3 00 Cigarettes, not weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand, per 1000 50 Cigarettes, weight exceeding 3 pounds per thousand, per 1000 3 00 Cigars or cigarettes, imported, in addition to import duty to pay same as above. Liquors, fermented, per barrel 1 00 Liquors, distilled, per gallon go Liquor dealers (wholesale), special tax 100 00 Malt liquor dealers (wholesale) 50 00 Liquor dealers (retail), special tax 25 00 Malt liquor dealers (retail) 20 00 Manufacturers of stills 50 00 Manufacturers of stills, for each still or worm made 20 00 Oleomargarine, per pound 02 Manufacturers of oleomargarine, or other substitutes for butter. Special annual tax . 600 00 Wholesale dealers in oleomargarine. Special annual tax 480 00 Retail dealers in oleomargarine. Special annual tax 48 00 Rectifiers, special tax, less than 500 barrels loo 00 — above 500 barrels 200 00 Snuff, or snuff flour, manufactured of tobacco or any substitute, per pound. . . 08 Spirits distilled, per proof gallon 90 Stamps for distilled spirits for export, wholesale liquor dealers, special bonded warehouse, distillery warehouse, and rectified spirits, each 10 Stamps, on bank checks, drafts, etc. Tax repealed after July i, 1883. Tobacco, all kinds, per pound, after May i, 1883 8 Tobacco, dealers in manufactured, after May i, 1883 2 40 Tobacco, manufacturers of, after May i, 1883 6 00 Tobacco, dealers in leaf, wholesale, after May i, 1883 12 00 Tobacco, dealers in leaf, retail, after May i, 1883, $250, and 30 cents per dollar on sales above ^500 per annum. But farmers and producers may sell tobacco of their own raising to consumers, to an amount not exceeding $100 annually. Tobacco peddlers, travelling with more than 2 horses, mules, etc., after May i, 1883. 30 00 Tobacco peddlers, travelling with 2 horses, mules, or other animals, after May i, 1883 15 00 Tobacco peddlers, travelUng with i horse, mule, or other animal, after May i, 1883 7 20 Tobacco peddlers, travelling on foot, or by public conveyance, after May i, 1883. . 3 60 Tobacco, snuff, and cigars, for export, stamps for, each, after May i, 1883. ... 10 722 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Whiskey, per proof gallon 90 Wines and champagne (imitation), not made from grapes grown in the United States, and liquors not made from grapes, currants, rhubarb, or berries, grown in the United States, but rectified or mixed with distilled spirits, or by infusion of any matter in spirits, to be sold as wine or substitute for it, per dozen bottles of more than a pint, and not more than a quart 2 40 Imitation wines, containing not more than i pint, per dozen bottles i 20 The Copyright Laws of the United States. Every applicant for a copyright must state distinctly the name and resi- dence of the claimant, and whether right is claimed as author, designer, or proprietor. No affidavit or formal application is required. A printed copy of the title of the book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph, or a description of the painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, or model or design for a work of the fine arts, for which copyright is desired, must be sent by mail or other- wise, prepaid, addressed " Librarian of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia." This must be done before publication of the book or other article. A fee of 50 cents, for recording the title of each book or other article, must be inclosed with the title as above, and 50 cents in addition (or |i in all), for each certificate of copyright under seal of the Librarian of Congress, which will be transmitted by early mail. Within ten days after publication of each book or other article, two com- plete copies must be sent, prepaid, or under free labels furnished by the Libra- rian, to perfect the copyright, with the address, "Librarian of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia." Without the deposit of copies above required, the copyright is void, and a penalty of $25 is incurred. No copyright is valid, unless notice is given by inserting in every copy published : " Entered according to act of Congress, in the year , by , in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington ; " or, at the option of the person entering the copyright, the words, "Copyright, 18 — , by ." The law imposes a penalty of $100 upon any person who has not obtained copyright, who shall insert the notice, " Entered according to act of Con- gress," or *♦ Copyright," or words of the same import, in or upon any book or other article. Each copyright secures the exclusive right of publishing the book or arti- cle copyrighted, for the term of twenty-eight years. Six months before the end of that time, the author or designer, or his widow or children, may secure the renewal for the further term of fourteen years, making forty-two years in all. Any copyright is assignable in law by any instrument of writing, but such assignment must be recorded in the office of the Librarian of Congress, within sixty days from its date. The fee for this record and certificate is one dollar. NATURALIZATION LAWS. 723 A copy of the record (or duplicate certificate) of any copyright entry will be furnished, under seal, at the rate of 50 cents. Copyrights cannot be granted upon trademarks, nor upon labels intended to be used with any article of manufacture. If protection for such prints or labels is desired, application must be made to the Patent Office, where they are registered, at a fee of $6 for labels, and $25 for trademarks. Naturalization Laws of the United States. The conditions under and the manner in which an alien may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States, are prescribed by section 2, 165-174, of the Revised Statutes of the United States. Declaration of Intention. — The alien must declare upon oath, before a circuit or district court of the United States, or a district or supreme court of the Territories, or a court of rdtord of any of the States having common- law jurisdiction, and a seal and clerk, two years at least prior to his admis- sion, that it is, bona fide^ his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince or state, and particularly to the one of which he may be at the time a citizen or a subject. Oath on Application for Admission. — He must, at the time of his appli- cation to be admitted, declare on oath, before some one of the courts above specified, that he "will support the Constitution of the United States, and that he absolutely and entirely renounces and abjures all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which he was before a citizen or subject ; " which proceedings must be recorded by the clerk of the court. Conditions for Citizenship. — If it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court, to which the alien has applied, that he has resided continuously within the United States for at least five years, and within the State or Territory where such court is at the time held, one year at least ; and that, during that time, **he has behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same," he will be admitted to citizenship. Titles of Nobility. — If the applicant has borne any hereditary title or order of nobility, he must make an express renunciation of the same at the time of his application. Soldiers. — Any alien of the age of twenty-one years and upward, who has been in the armies of the United States, and has been honorably discharged therefrom, may become a citizen on his petition, without any previous declara- tion of intention ; provided that he has resided in the United States at least one year previous to his application, and is of good moral character. Minors. — Any alien under the age of twenty-one years, who has resided in the United States three years next preceding his arrival at that age, and who has continued to reside therein to the time he may make application to be admitted a citizen thereof, may, after he arrives at the age of twenty-on§ 724 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. years, and after he has resided five years within the United States, including, the three years of his minority, be admitted a citizen ; but he must make a declaration on oath, and prove to the satisfaction of the court, that for two years next preceding it has been his bona fide intention to become a citizen. Children of Naturalized Citizens. — The children of persons who have been duly naturalized, being under the age of twenty-one years at the time of the naturalization of their parents, shall, if dwelling in the United States, be considered as citizens thereof. Citizens' Children who are bom Abroad. — The children of persons who are now, or have been, citizens of the United States are, though born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, considered as citizens thereof. Protection Abroad to Naturalized Citizens. — Section 2000 of the Revised Statutes of the United States declares that "all naturalized citizens of the United States, while in foreign countries, are entitled to and shall receive from this government the same protection of person and property which is accorded to native-born citizens." Right of Suffrage. — The right to vote comes from the State, and is a State gift. Naturalization is a Federal right, and is a gift of the nation, not of any one State. In nearly one-half the Union, aliens who have declared intentions, vote, and have the right to vote equally with naturalized or native- born citizens. In the other half, only actual citizens may vote. The Federal naturalization laws apply to the whole Union alike, and provide that no alien male may be naturalized until after five years' residence. Even after five years' residence and due naturalization, he is not entitled to vote unless the laws of the State confer the privilege upon him, and he may vote in one State (Michigan) six months after landing, if he has immediately declared his inten- tion, under United States law, to become a citizen. CHAPTER III. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, PRESIDENTS, AND SENATORS. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Adopted by Congress, July 4, 1776. A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that, whenever any form of gov- ernment becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such a government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies ; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establish- ment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world : — He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. 725 726 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature ; a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large, for their exercise ; the State remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convul- sions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for that pur- pose, obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new officers, and sent hither swarms of officers, to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of* peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : — For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States ; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; For imposing taxes on us, without our consent ; For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences ; For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the s^me absolute rule into these Colonies ; DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 727 For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and alter- ing, fundamentally, the powers of our governments ; For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. . He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and de- stroyed the lives of our people. He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with cir- cumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms ; our repeated petitions have been answered by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circum- stances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war; in peace, friends. We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as Free and Independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. John Hancock. 728 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. New Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thorn- ton. Massachusetts Bay. — Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, El bridge Gerry. Rhode Island, etc. — Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. Connecticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott. New York. — William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris. New Jersey. — Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. Pennsylvania. — Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. Delaware. — Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas M'Kean. Maryland. — Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Car- roll, of Carrollton. Virginia. — George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Ben- jamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. North Carolina. — William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. South Carolina. — Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hayward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton. Georgia. — Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. Presidents of the United States. The following is a list of the Presidents of the United States, with the date of their election, vote of electoral college, name of opposing candidate, and leading features of political differences in each campaign : — George Washington, 1789. Received the unanimous vote of the elec- toral college for the presidency. Political differences had not as yet crystal- lized into parties. George Washington, 1792. Received a second time the unanimous vote of the electoral college for the presidency. While there was no opposition to the election of Washington for a second term, yet public opinion had become divided upon questions of policy, and the people had taken sides upon these issues. One party, headed by Mr. Jefferson, was called both Democratic and Republican. The other party, led by Alexander Hamilton, was styled Fed- eralists. The first demanded that the government should confine its action strictly within the specific and limited sphere defined by the Constitution. The second asked for the enlargement of such action by inference and implication. John Adams, 1796. Received in the electoral college 71 votes. His op- ponent, Thomas Jefferson, received 68. As the rule was at that time, the person receiving the highest number of votes was elected President, while the one receiving the next highest became Vice-President. The doctrine of strict PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 729 construction of the Constitution was contended for by the Democratic- Repub- lican party, (this party was commonly known as Republican, until 1812, when it took the name Democratic, which name it has since retained) . The Fed- eralists demanded the utmost flexibility consistent with good government. Thomas Jefferson, 1800. Received in the electoral college 72^ votes. His opponent, Aaron Burr, received 71 votes also. There being no choice, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives. On the thirty- sixth ballot, Mr. Jefferson received 10 votes and Mr. Burr 4. This result elected Mr. Jefferson President, and Mr. Burr Vice-President. The political parties were divided upon the "alien and sedition laws." By the one, the President might order any foreigner whom he believed to be dangerous, out of the country ; and by the other it was a crime, with heavy penalties, to '* write, print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, or malicious writing against either house of Congress or the President, with intent to defame or bring either of them into contempt or disrepute." Thomas Jefferson, 1804. Received in the electoral college 162 votes. His opponent, Charles C. Pinckney, received but 14 votes. During Mr. Jeffer- son's first term, many important measures, touching American institutions, were brought to a successful termination ; such as the purchase of Louisiana from France, additional amendments to the Constitution, and the repeal of the odious "alien and sedition laws." His administration was so popular that little opposition was made to his re-election. James Madison,. 1808. Received in the electoral college 122 votes. His opponent, Charles C. Pinckney, received 47 votes. The political differences entering into this contest were over the " embargo act." The war between England and France was followed by decrees which prohibited American trade with either. Also the right to search American vessels was claimed by Great Britain. These demands led to the "embargo act," as a retaliatory measure. James Madison, 181 2. Received in the electoral college 128 votes. His opponent, De Witt Clinton, received 89 votes. The War of 1812 with Eng- land, and the cry of " Free trade and sailors' rights," carried Mr. Madison to his second term, although opposed by a portion of the old Federalists and the anti-Administration party. James Monroe, 1816. Received in the electoral college 183 votes. His opponent, Rufus King, received 34 votes. What was known as the "era of good feeling" began at the close of the war, and but little opposition was made to the election of Mr. Monroe. James Monroe, 1820. Received every vote in the electoral college but one, which was cast for John Quincy Adams. With such a unanimity of choice, but little party difference was possible. John Quincy Adams, 1824. The result of the vote in the electoral college was, Andrew Jackson, 99; John Quincy Adams, 84; William H. Crawford, 41 ; Henry Clay, 37 — no choice. For a second time the election of President went to the House of Representatives, where Mr. Adams was chosen. The main issues in this election were the questions of internal improvement, and the American system of protective tariff. 730 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Andrew Jackson, 1828. Received in the electoral college 178 votes. His opponent, John Quincy Adams, received 83 votes. The powers and limita- tion of government, with the protective tariff, made up the issues during this contest. At this time the parties were divided into the Democratic party, led by Mr. Jackson, and the National-Republican party, headed by Mr. Clay. Andrew Jackson, 1832. Received in the electoral college 209 votes ; Henry Clay, 49; and William Wirt (Anti-Masonic), 7. The parties during this campaign divided on questions of the tariff, State rights, internal im- provements, and the United States bank. Martin Van Buren, 1836. Received in the electoral college 170 votes. His opponents: Daniel Webster, 14; William H. Harrison, 73; Willie P. Mangum, 1 1 ; Hugh L. White, 26. Mr. Van Buren was the acknowledged successor of President Jackson, and, with the opposition divided into factions, was easily elected. About the same issues as in the preceding campaign were discussed, but with much less bitterness. William Henry Harrison, 1840. Received in the electoral college 234 votes. His opponent, Martin Van Buren, received 60 votes. The questions following the money panic of 1837, and the sub-treasury, together with the military record of General Harrison, formed the issues during this campaign. President Harrison died within a month after his inauguration, and Vice- President John Tyler became President instead, James K. Polk, 1844. Received in the electoral college 170 votes. His opponent, Henry Clay, received 105 votes. In this election, James G. Birney, Abolition candidate, received about 65,000 votes. During this campaign the issues between the Whigs and Democrats were, the reoccupation of Oregon, the annexation of Texas, currency, and a tariff for revenue. Zachary Taylor, 1848. Received in the electoral college 163 votes. His opponent, Lewis Cass, received 127 votes. The Free Soil party nominated Martin Van Buren, who received about 300,000 votes. The war with Mexico, non-interference with slavery, tariff, and the Missouri compromise furnished the political issues for this contest. General Taylor died in July following his inauguration, and Millard Fillmore became President. Franklin Pierce, 1852. Received in the electoral college 251 votes. His opponent. General Winfield Scott, received 42 votes. The Anti-Slavery party put in nomination John P. Hale, who received about 155,000 votes. The questions entering into this campaign were those of a strict construction of the Constitution, and the fugitive slave law. State rights and the question of slavery assumed prominence in the discussions before the people. James Buchanan, 1856. Received in the electoral college 174 votes. His opponent, John C. Fremont, received 114 votes. The American or Know Nothing party nominated Millard Fillmore, and gave him 8 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan represented the Democratic party, while Mr. Fremont headed the new Republican party. Slavery in the Territories was the all-absorbing issue. Abraham Lincoln, i860. Received in the electoral college 180 votes. His opponents: John C. Breckenridge, 72; Stephen A. Douglas, 12; and John PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 73 1 Bell, 39. The popular vote cast for Mr. Lincoln was 1,857,610, while the aggregate vote cast against him was 2,804,560. The issues in this election are too well known to need recapitulation. Slavery, State rights, and a general distrust between the northern and southern portions of the country, conspired to make the results of the campaign one of great importance, as was subse- quently proved. Abraham Lincoln, 1864. Received in the electoral college 212 votes. His opponent, George B. McClellan, received 21 votes. The issues in this cam- paign were principally those arising from the war then in progress. Presi- dent Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865, and Andrew Johnson became President. Ulysses S. Grant, 1868. Received in the electoral college 217 votes. His opponent, Horatio Seymour, received J7 votes. The results of the war, such ^s reconstruction, public debt, reduction of the army, currency, and universal amnesty, made up the issues in this political contest. Ulysses S. Grant, 1872. Received in the electoral college 286 votes. His opponent, Horace Greeley, would have received 65 ; but, dying soon after election, no votes in the college were cast for him. The split in the Republican party was caused by a strong dislike to the renomination of President Grant. The dissenters nominated Mr. Greeley, and the Democratic party indorsed his nomination. The public debt, currency, and the condition of the Southern States, formed the basis for the political discussion of this campaign. Rutherford B. Hayes, 1876. The result of this election was the closest ever held in the United States. The returns from some States were duplicated, and general chaos seemed to prevail. It required 185 electoral votes to elect. Samuel J. Tilden, Democratic candidate, claimed 203 votes. In the contro- versy which followed, a joint high commission was formed, to whom the ques- tion of which candidate was elected was referred. After much investigation, a decision was made March 2, 1877, which gave 185 electoral votes to Mr. Hayes, and 184 to Mr. Tilden. The justice and correctness of this decision have both been questioned. Peter Cooper was a candidate of the Greenback party, and received nearly 100,000 votes. This party demanded radical changes in financial legislation. James A. Garfield, 1880. Received in the electoral college 214 votes. His opponent, General W. S. Hancock, received 155 votes. General James B. Weaver was nominated by the Greenback party, and received 307,000 votes. While the Democratic and Republican parties discussed, in a mild manner, the tariff and a few minor measures, they ignored, by concerted agreement, the demands of the reform party. That party, however, made a vigorous campaign, and did much to open the eyes of the people to the true financial policy of government. President Garfield was assassinated July 2, 1 88 1, and Chester A. Arthur became President. Grover Cleveland, 1884. Received in the electoral college 219 votes. His opponent, James G. Blaine, received 182 votes. John P. St. John, Pro- hibition candidate, received 151,000, and Benjamin F. Butler, Greenback, 133,000. During this canvass, the usual charges and counter-charges were 73^ MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION, made by the two old parties ; the tariff came in for a share, as usual. Butler, being unpopular with many reformers, failed to materialize much strength, and, as a consequence, the Greenback party practically disbanded with this campaign. But the reform movement continued to grow among the people, and manifested its strength in many ways. Benjamin Harrison, 1888. Received in the electoral college 233 votes. His opponent, Grover Cleveland, received 168 votes. Clinton B, Fisk, Pro- hibition candidate, received 250,000 votes, and Alanson J. Streeter, Union Labor candidate, 147,000. The question of tariff again monopolized the entire attention of the people, almost to the exclusion of all other issues. The Union Labor party, headed by Mr. Streeter, did all in their power to awaken an interest among the people to their own welfare, but the task was hopeless. Both the old parties saw in the contest that failure meant political death, and they fought with all the energy of despair. After the campaign was over, the country seemed to realize the trap they had fallen into, and organized labor has been gaining rapidly since that time. United States Senators. One of the demands of the Farmers' Alliance is for the election of senators directly by the people. It may be interesting to say something as to how the Senate came to have its present form. There was no Senate in the Continental Congress. There was but one house, and each State had a single vote in it. The constitutional convention of 1787, following the model of the British government, then the best form known, was in favor of two houses, but sorely puzzled how to con- stitute an upper house which would be different from the lower one, and a check upon it. It was a long while before the idea of a Senate was conceived, and it really grew out of the jealousy of the smaller States of the larger ones. But eleven States took part in the earlier proceedings of the convention. Two of the four delegates from New Hampshire came in later, and no dele- gates were appointed by Rhode Island. The "small States" — five in num- ber — were Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The "large States" were Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. The small States feared that they would be overslaughed by the large ones, and so they hung out stubbornly for equal voice in Congress. Several of the plans suggested did not contemplate an upper house, but the Virginia plan, which was eventually made the basis of Congress, did. It, however, gave no name to the upper house, but proposed that its members should be chosen by the House of Representatives, out of a number of persons nominated by the legislatures of the several States. Three ways in all were suggested to con- stitute the membership : — I. Appointment by the chief executive, from nominations by the legisla- tures. UNITED STATES SENATORS. "J^^) 2. Election by the people. 3. Election by the legislatures. Alexander Hamilton urged, as an amendment, that the members should be chosen by electors chosen by the people of the States, and that they should serve during good behavior. Pinckney proposed a term of three years. The committee of the whole digested these propositions, and reported in favor of a "second branch"; the members of which were to be elected by the legis- latures for seven years, and to be ineligible to any office for a year after the expiration of their term, and the number was to be in proportion to the popu- lation. This was the shape in which it appears in the first draft of the Constitu- tion. June 24-25, 1787, the convention adopted the report of the committee, except that the term was changed from seven to six years, and the ineligibility clause was stricken out. The convention then entered upon a protracted struggle as to the representation of each State, and various propositions were urged. One scheme gave Rhode Island and Delaware each one, and Virginia five, with the other States proportioned between these. Dr. Franklin pro- posed that each State have an equal representation, with a vote on money bills proportionate to its share of the taxes. Delaware threatened to withdraw from the confederation if the small States were not given an equal representation, and finally, after the debate had gone on for six weeks, the plan of giving each State two members was adopted, and the small States concentrated their efforts upon giving the " second branch " the utmost power and importance. August 6 the name "Senate" was formally given the "second branch." September 6 the office of Vice-President was agreed upon, and he was made the presiding officer of the Senate, in order to give him something to do. The Constitution was finally adopted September 17. The Farmers' Alliance platform confines itself to a mere demand for the election of senators by the people, and does not specify how this is to be done. Here is opportunity for a wide diversity of opinion. Shall it be by the whole vote of a State, as a governor is elected, or shall each State be divided into two senatorial districts? Shall the present rule of two senators for each State — large or small — continue, or shall each State have a vote in the Senate in proportion to its population? Before any change can be made it will be necessary to get section 3, article I, of the Constitution amended. This reads : — " The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six vears, and each senator shall have one vote." To secure this amendment it will be necessary to have it proposed by two- thirds of the members of both houses of Congress, and it must then be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States. That is, assuming that the house will consist of 356 representatives, it will have to receive the votes of 234 representatives and 59 senators, and be ratified by the legislatures of 2>2> States. CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN. So much has been said about the origin of the sub-treasury plan, that a brief mention of its history will doubtless be read with interest. The sub-treasury plan originated with Dr. C. W. Macune. During the session of the Texas State Alliance, in 1888, Brother Macune delivered an address, in which he ad- vanced the proposition of inaugurating a system of trade cur- rency, one that would "purchase goods. and make exchanges." His plan was to establish trading centres where goods were sold at about cost ; issue currency payable in such goods, and receive nothing but such currency in payment ; refuse all other kinds of currency, and force customers to obtain this trade currency in order to purchase the low-priced goods. The fact that this currency would pay for goods at a much cheaper rate than other currency, would induce people to take it in the ordinary transac- tions of business, and keep it at or above par. " Nothing was done about it, however, and Brother Macune came to Washing- ton during the winter of 1889, and started the National Econo- mist. The idea of supplying a volume of currency to the people, free from the tribute of the money changer, continued to occupy his attention more or less. Some time during the summer following, in discussing the matter at home, the idea of the sub-treasury plan presented it- self. The more he considered it, the more practicable it ap- peared, and it soon developed into the true theory of a flexible volume of currency. He reasoned from every point that pre- sented itself, and failed to find an error in the principle involved. Some time in the month of November he wrote it out and sub- mitted the main points to Brother Harry Tracy and myself. Then he prepared it in full, and read it to the men connected with the office. It was received with much favor. Others were consulted in regard to it ; among them, Brothers Polk and Liv- ingston, and it was agreed to bring it before the national meet- 734 THE SUB-TREASURY PLAN. 735 ing at St. Louis, in December. The country seemed prepared for it, as a similar proposition had been made in California and one or two other localities. It was presented and argued before the meeting, and adopted with but a few dissenting votes. The propaganda began in earnest, and in less than ninety days from its presentation at St. Louis, petitions began to come in, asking Congress to enact it into law. The next thing in order was to draft a bill that would meet the requirements. This was no small task. Finally recourse was had to Secretary Windom's silver bill, that he had prepared with great care, and which was then before Congress. That bill was made the basis upon which the sub-treasury bill was drawn. If any one will take it and read in the place of silver, corn, and in the place of market value, eighty per cent, and add the warehouse and help, the sub-treasury plan can easily be discerned. The same prin- ciple was involved, and about the same provisions required for the enforcement of one that became necessary in the other. After the bill was drafted, a consultation was held with Presi- dent Polk, and it was introduced in the House by Brother J. A. Pickler, and, with slight modifications, introduced in the Senate by Senator Vance. Since this time it has become the one eco- nomic question, and may truly be said to be the most potent factor at the present time in national politics. It was reaffirmed at the national meeting at Ocala, with but seven dissenting votes, out of a representation of twenty-nine States and Terri- tories. It may be justly considered the leading demand of the Alliance, and the one on which the success or failure of the order depends. It has been thoroughly discussed in another part of this book. APPENDIX. TEN USEFUL RULES OF PARLIAMENTARY USAGE. 1. No motion is in order unless the person making the motion has the floor, and no person has the floor until recognized by the President. A motion is not before the house for any remarks or discussion until it has been seconded and has been stated by the President. 2. A motion to adjourn is always in order, provided the person making it has secured the floor and been recognized by the chair, and provided the body is a convention or any public meeting that closes its sessions by adjournment. If, however, the body is a secret society, the motion to adjourn may not be in order, because there are usually regular closing exercises and forms that the President is under obligations to see carried out. When a motion to adjourn is properly made, and is in order, it is not subject to amendment, discussion, or modification in any way ; it must be voted on. However, a qualified mo- tion to adjourn, as to a certain specified time or place, is debatable, and may be amended. 3. Questions that are subject to amendment may be modified twice and not more ; that is to say, the question may be amended, and the amendment may be amended. 4. A motion to lay on the table is not debatable, cannot be amended ; if carried, cannot be reconsidered, and requires a simple majority vote. When a motion to table an amendment or a substitute, or any modification of the main question, is carried, the original question goes to the table with it, and is subject to all the restrictions imposed by the vote. 5. A motion to limit debate may be amended, and usually requires a two- thirds vote. 6. The following motions or calls do not require a second, and are in order even when some other person has the floor : First, a call to order ; second, objection to the consideration of a question ; motions for orders of the day or regular order of business ; third, question whether subject shall be discussed. A motion to appeal from ruling or decision of the President may be in order when some other person has the floor, but it always requires a second. 7. A motion for the "previous question" is intended to shut off debate and bring the body at once to a vote on the question. It should not be en- tertained by the chair unless it has three seconds. Large bodies usually re- quire five. This motion should be avoided as much as possible, because it is not generally advisable to refuse any one the right to discuss a subject. When the motion is properly made and seconded, the President immediately says: '* Shall the main question be now put? " If two-thirds of the votes are in the affirmative, he declares it carried, and proceeds to put the main ques- 736 PARLIAMENTARY RULES, 737 tion, commencing with the amendments if there be any pending. The effect of the call and vote on the previous question, as it is called, is simply to shut off all debate and have the voting proceeded with in the regular way. 8. A motion to reconsider must be made by a person who voted in the affirmative when the question was adopted ; is debatable when the main ques- tion was, and opens up the whole subject for discussion. The following motions cannot be reconsidered : First, to reconsider ; second, to adjourn ; third, to refer a question ; fourth, that the committee do not rise ; fifth, to suspend the rules ; sixth, to take up from the table, and probably some others. 9. A person claiming a question of privilege may interrupt another who has the floor, by rising to his feet and addressing the President with a " ques- tion of privilege." The President will ask him to state his question of privi- lege. He should then state why the subject he wishes to speak on is a privileged question, and if the President rules that it is, he may keep the floor and speak on the question, and when he has concluded the floor will revert to the person interrupted. A person wishing to make a point of order has a similar right to the floor for that purpose at any time. He should rise and say: "Mr. President," and when recognized say, *♦ a point of order." The President will say: " State the point of order." When stated the President shall rule the point of order " well taken " or " not well taken." If the ruling does not give satisfaction, an appeal may be taken to the house. An appeal on a simple point of order is not debatable, but if it involves a question of law it is usually debatable. 10. The person who makes a motion has the right to claim the floor for opening and closing the debate, and may claim the floor even after a call has been made for the "previous question." The rule is that all other persons can only speak once to a question without consent of the house. The Presi- dent is supposed to protect the audience from having their time consumed by those who would rise and express every new idea that popped into their heads, consequently he will not allow the second speech on the same question without the consent of the house. INDEX. A. Aborigines, agriculture of, 444-448. Addresses : Of Mr. G. Campbell of Kansas, 10; of S. O. Daws, 36 ; official call of Dr. Ma- cune, 50; messages of President Macune, 67, 78; of President Jones, 99; of Presi- dent Macune, 105 ; on monetary system, 124; of President Polk, 139; of Isaac McCracken, 202; ib., 212; by J. A. Tetts of Alexandria, La,, 218; statement of Mr. F. P. Root of Brockport, N.Y., 230; sec- tionalism, by Hon. B. H. Clover, 253; of Colonel Robert Beverley, 298 ; by Presi- dent Polk, 464; report of Dr.George Vasey, botanist, Department of Agriculture, 550 ; James M. Swank on origin, ib., 605. Advent of Trades-unions, i. Agriculture : Organizations, i ; ancient situation in Europe, 2 ; the May/lower " compact," 3 ; economic conditions, 4; societies for po- litical and other purposes, 4, 5 ; effects of the Civil War, 5; Patrons of Husbandry appear in 1867, 6; events leading up to the Farmers' Congress of 1875, 8, 9. History of, 371 ; chronologically con- sidered, 373; in Egypt, 375; among the Jews and other nations of antiquity, 377 ; of the Greeks, 380 ; among the Romans from second century B.C. to the fifth cen- tury A.D., 383 ; Roman, in respect to gen- eral science and art, 413 ; extent in Roman provinces and its decline, 415; in Italy during the Middle Ages, 417 ; of France from the fifth to the seventeenth century, 419 ; of Germany and other northern states from the fifth to the seventeenth century, 421 ; in Britain, ib., 422; in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon dynasty, ib., after the Norman Conquest, 424; in Britain from the thirteenth century to the time of Henry VIII., 428; from the time of Henry VIII. to the Revolution of 1688, 430; in the United States, 444; of the Indians, ib.; Spanish colonial, 448; Puritan English colonists, 449; in the Cavalier English colonies, 454 ; among the French colonists, 458 ; during the Revolutionary Period, 461. The Farm ami Farm Buildings, 477 ; barnyards, 490 ; farm roads, 491 ; under- draining, 492; farm drainage, 493; live- stock, 498-510. Fruits, Planting, 511 ; cultivation, 512; apples in the nursery row, 513 ; apple orchard, 514; picking, grading, and pack- ing apples, 518 ; small fruits, 519-525. Fertilizers, 526-549. Grasses, Grains, and Plants, 550-589. Department of, 605 ; history, ib.-6i6. Agricultural Wheel, the, 10, 64, 73, 77, 80, 88, 89-91, 93-95, 100, 182, 197-215. Alfalfa, 571. Alliance: Degree of — capturing a horse thief — 16 ; insurance proposed, 87, 166; demands, 149, 150, 295 ; of the Northwest, 133, 225, 226 ; of colored formers, 288. Articles of Agreement, 692. Autumn Leaves, 636. Baggett, W. T., 293. Bailey, 575. Bedrooms, 642-646. Bermuda Grass, 564. Beverley, Robert (Colonel), 298. Bills of Sale, 692. Blythe's Book, 441. Black Belt, the, 274. Blue-joint : small red-grass, 567. Bonds and taxation, 268. Bridal Flowers, preservation of, 636. British Agriculture, 422, 424, 428, 430. Brothers of Freedom, the, 216-218. Buckwheat, 581. Buffalo-grass, 568. Bunch-grass, 567. Business efforts of the Alliance, 355-370. C. Campbell, G., 10. Chattel Mortgages, 693. 738 INDEX. 739 Charter of National Alliance, 62, 63. Chavose, Captain L. S., 16, 34. Clover : Hon. B. H., Address of, 253-256. Red, Common, Alsike, 570; White, Dutch, Japan, 571. Colored Farmers' Alliance: Resolutions of greeting, 153; ib., 162; confederation with, 176; history of, 288; order for exchanges, charter, 289; char- ters, state, 290 ; declaration of purposes, 292. Commercial Forms, 702-709. Confederation: Plan of, 155, 156; with other organiza- tions, 296. Conference at Louisville, 321. Constitution of National Alliance, 58-61, 93, 167-177. Cooperation for business purposes, 113, 114, 358-370. Copyright laws, 722, 723. Cotton : States growing, 76 ; plant, 584. Crab-grass, 566. Crops, Rotation — fertilizers, 526-549. Crystallized Grasses, 637. Culinary Department, 651-655. Daws, S. O., 21, 29, 36, 38, 39. Deeds, 692. Decrees: Early Alliance, 16; names of, 29; changes of 1880, 32; reduced to one, 34, 35. Department of Agriculture, 605-616. Declarations of Purposes, 28, 41, 42, 43, 47. E. Elections in So. Carolina and Kansas, 147. Egyptian Agriculture, 375, Eleventh Census, the, 121. Emancipation Proclamation, 272. Endorsement of " St. Louis Platform," 156. English Treatise on Husbandry, first, 431. E.xchangcs, Colored Alliance, 290. Farmers : Congress of, 1875, 9. 298-302. Mutual Benefit Association, 10, 94, 97, 98, 100, 156, 163, 176, 226-228. Union, 10, 46, 57, 62, 95, 99, 104, 109, 152, 156, 164, 182, 218-224. And Laborers' Union, 91. Political League, 228, 229. Farms: How to buy, 480 ; fences, 485 ; buildings, 486, 488, 489 ; barnyards, 490 ; roads, 491 ; underdraining, 492, 493, 495 ; live- stock, 498; fruits, 511; varieties, 515; how to plant, 516; cultivation, 517 ; prun- ing, 518; small fruits, 519; fertilizers, 526; grasses, grains, and plants, 550; how plants grow, 590; fertilizers, and where they come from, 602-604. Fertilizers, 526-549. Feudal System, the, 2. Financial Disaster of 1873, 6. First Bond, 21, 22. Flower Garden, the, 618-622. French Agriculture, 419. Fruits, 511-525. G. Genius of Government, 115. German Agriculture, 421. German Millet, 565. Government Control of Money, 262-271. Grama-grass : Mesquite Grass, 568. Grange, the, 6, 10, 31, 35, 232-236. Grasses, Grains, and Plants: Report of Dr. Vasey, 550 ; grasses for gen- eral culture, 553; history of grass cul- ture, 554; in the United States, 556; in the South, ib.\ permanence of pastures and meadows, 557; drainage of grass lands, 558 ; relation of stock to pastures, 559; management of the pasture,/^.; sup- plementary feed, 560; grasses for meadows and pastures, 561 ; mixed grasses for pas- turage, 562 ; time and manner of seeding grass-seed, 563; Bermuda grass, 564; Hungarian grass, German millet, 565 ; crab-grass, 566; Johnson grass, Mean's grass, ib. ; blue-joint, small reed-grass, 567 ; bunch-grass, ib. ; velvet-grass, vel- vet Mesquite, soft-grass, etc., ib. ; Grama- grass, Mesquite grass, 568 ; buffalo-grass, ib.\ orchard and Kentucky blue-grass, 569; red, common, and Alsike clovers, 570; white, Dutch, and Japan clovers. Alfalfa, 571; grains and plants, zA-589; how plants grow, 590-604. Grecian Agriculture, 380. Greenback Campaign of 1876, 18. Growth of the Alliance, 293-297. H. Historical and Political, 197-335. History of Agriculture: See Agriculture, 740 INDEX. Home and Household : The home, 617 ; the flower garden, 618 ; house plants, 622; annuals, climbers, bulbs, 626-635 ; preserving natural flow- ers, ib.-627 ; parlor, ib. ; living-room, 641 ; bed-rooms, 642-646; sick-room, 647-651 ; culinary department, ib.-6$$. Recipes ; for the kitchen, 656-675; for horses, cattle, sheep, etc., 676-685. Miscellaneous, 685-690; commercial forms and useful tables, 691-718; postal regulations, internal revenue, and natu- ralization laws, 719-724. Horses in England and Scotland, 435. House Plants, 622-637. Hungarian Grass : German Millet, 565. Independence, Declaration of, 725-728. Indian Corn (Maize), 578. Interest Tables, 716, 717. Internal Revenue Tax, 720-722. Italian Agriculture, 417. Iron Moulders' International Union, 320. J. Jewish Agriculture — other nations of an- tiquity, 377. Johnson's Grass : Mean's Grass, 566. Jones, Evan, 94, 99, 352. K. Kentucky Blue-grass, 569. Knights : Of Labor, 10, 19, 122. 133, 154, 291, 307, 318, 325 ; of St. Crispin, 321. L. Labor Movement, the, 318-326. Landlord and Tenant, 693. Law points for farmers, 691. Legislative Council, 179. Live-stock, 498-510. " Living-rooms," 641, 642. Loans, Philosophy of, 266. M. Macune, Dr. C. W., 46, 48, 54, 62, 64, 67, 78, 93, 95. 105, 137, 154, 257, 352. Maize (Indian corn), 578. Maple Sugar, first, 447. Mayfioiver " Compact," the, 3. Mean's Grass, 566. Measurements, Rules of, 709-711. Mesquite Grass, 568. Millet, 582. Money, proper function of, 264. Monetary System, 124-130. Mortgages: Examination of Records, 155; chattel, 693- National Farmers' Alliance : Unrecorded history of, 10-19; history of, 56 ; roll of delegates and first constitution, 58 ; charter of, 62, 63 ; invitations extended to other organizations, 64, 65 ; first na- tional meeting, 66 ; message of President Macune, 67-72 ; demands upon Congress, 74-76 ; national meeting of 1888, 78 ; mes- sage of President Macune, ib.-58; con- solidation of National Agricultural Wheel with, 89-91 ; national organ, ib.; The Na- tional Economist, 93; proclamation con- cerning Agricultural Wheel, 93-95; na- tional meeting of 1889, 96; address of President Jones, 99-105 ; address of Ex- President Macune on the aims and prin- ciples of the Farmers' and Laborers' Union of America, 105-120; resolutions concerning the Eleventh Census, ib.-izx ; report of Committee on Demands, 122, 123; report of Committee on Monetary System, 124-130; admission and charter of South Dakota, ib., 131 ; offices opened in Washington, 133 ; spread of the Alli- ance on the basis of the " St. Louis Com- pact," 134-137 ; the Sub-treasury Plan in Congress, 137 ; national meeting of 1890, 138; annual message of President Polk, 139-152 ; examinations of mortgage rec- ords recommended, 154, 155; report of Committee on Confederation, ib., 156; report of Executive Committee, 157-160; of Legislative Committee, ib., 161 ; Geor- gia Resolutions, ib., 162; report of Com- mittee on Salutation and Fraternal Rela- tions, ib., 163 ; of Committee on Demands, 7^.-165; seal of National Farmers' Alli- ance and Industrial Union, 167; consti- tution as amended in 1890, ib.-ijj ; three great questions: "Land," "Transporta- tion," and "Currency," 179; mission of the, 180-191 ; statistics, 1865-1889, 192, 193. Growth of the, 293 ; other bodies, con- solidations with, 294. Duty of the membership, 327-330 ; the duty of a reformer, 331-335. National: Trade-union, 80, 84; Labor Union, 322- 326. INDEX. 741 Naturalization Laws, 723, 724. Newspapers: See Official. Non-taxable Currency, 270, 271. North American Indian Agriculture, 444. North of Europe Agriculture, 421. Notes, forms of, 697, 698. O. Oats, 577. Object of the Order, 260, 261. Officers, National Alliance: First board of, 58 ; second, 74 ; third, 90 ; fourth, 121; fifth, 162. Official : Newspapers — first organ, 32; subse- quent designations, 35, 74, 91, 92, 106, 107, log, 118, 132, 136, 143, 162, 225, 230, 249, 257, 290, 318, 322, 323, 331, 336, 346, 563. 564. National Alliance offices, 133. Directory, National Alliance and Indus- trial Union, 237. Orchard-grass, 569. Order of Business, National Alliance, 177. Organizations: Agricultural, i ; introductory history, 1-9 ; unrecorded history of Alliance, 10-19 -^ history of Alliance in Texas, 20-55 1 ^>s- tory of National Alliance, 56-196. Kindred: The Agricultural Wheel, 197; original constitution, /^., 199; name and history, 200-208 ; address of President McCracken, 202-206 ; demands, ib. -2.0Z ; constitution, ib.-T.w; national meeting, and consolidation with National Alliance and Industrial Union, ib-o.x^. The Brothers of Freedom, 216 ; declara- tion of principles, 217, 218. The Farmers Union, 218-220; Louisi- ana State Union, 221 ; constitution and by-laws, 222-224. The Northivest Alliance, 225 ; declara- tion of principles, 226. The Farmers' Mutual Benefit Associa- tion, 226; ritual, and assemblies, 227, 228. 77ie Farmers' Political League, 228 ; States in which it exists, 229. The Alliance in the State of Neio York, 230; Farmer's League in New York, 232. The Grange, 232 ; ritualistic framework, 233, 234 ; first State Grange, ib, ; work of, 235. 236. State Alliances, 237 ; history of, ib.-'Z^Z. Origin of the Alliance, 10-13, 357* Patrons of Husbandry, 6, 232-236. Parliamentary rules and usages, 736, 737. Parlor, the, 637. Partnership, 694. " Philosophy of Price," 193. Plants; How grown: The air, 590 ; water, ib. ; the soil, 591 ; varieties, 592 ; food supply of, 593 ; food from the air, 594 ; food from the soil, 596 ; kind of food from the soil, 597 ; what is manure, 601 ; fertilizers — potash, phos- phorus, 602; nitrogen, 603. Political and Historical: Sectionalism and the Alliance, 249; the evils under which the great laboring millions are suffering, 251 ; address of Hon. B. H. Clover, on " Sectionalism," 253- 256; the purposes of the Farmers' Alli- ance, 257 ; government control of money^ 262 ; statistics of circulation, 264, 265 ; the philosophy of loans, 266; bonds and taxation, 268 ; additional circulation needed, 269; currency non-taxable (plan of), 270, 271; the race problem, 272; the "Black Belt," 274; the Alliance and the negroes, ib.-2fj(); the political rebel- lion in Kansas, 280; the needs of the South, 284 ; Colored Farmers' Alliance, 288-292; the Farmers' Congress, 298 ; ad- dress of Colonel Robert Beverley, ib.-'^oo; Nashville meeting in 1884, 301 ; New Or- leans meeting of Farmers' Congress, 302 ; the situation in the Northwest, 303-307 ; the influence of women in the Alliance, 308-312 ; religion in the Alliance, 313-317 ; the labor movement, 318-326; duty of the membership, 327-330. Sub-treasury Plan; copy of bill, 336- 338; history of, and explanation, /T-. -346; objections, /^ .-351 ; business efforts of the Alliance, 355-370; history of, 734, 735. Polk, L. L. (Colonel). 89, 134, 139, 154, 249 ; statistical address, 464-476. Potatoes, 582. Powderly, T. V., 154. Powell, W.S, (How Plants Grow), 590-604. Preserving natural flowers, 635-637. Presidents of the United States, 728-732. Promissory notes, 697-700. People's general agent, 263, 264. Protest against the " Lodge Election Bill," 153. 154- Purposes : Of tlie Farmers' Alliance, 257-261 ; dec- laration of Colored Alliance, 292. 742 INDEX. R. Race Problem, the, 272-279. Rebellion in Kansas, the political, 280-283. Receipts, forms of, 701, 702. Recipes : For the Kitchen, 656 ; soups, 657 ; meats, 660 ; pies, 665 ; miscellaneous dishes, 667 ; bread, 669 ; puddings, 672. For Horses, Cattle, Sheep, etc., — horses, 676; cattle, 679; sheep, 682; swine, 683; poultry, 684 ; miscellaneous, 685-690. Reformer, the duty of a, 331-335- Regalia of Texas, 34. Relation of the Alliance to 4Darty, 119. Religion in the Alliance, 313-317- Rice, 588. Roman Agriculture, 383. 413, 415. Rules for Measurements, 709-711. Rye, 573- S. School Text-books, 74. Schism, the first, 45, 46, 54. Seal, National AUicnce and Industrial Union, 167. Secret Work: Committee on new work, 27; report on, 29; changes in, 32; simplified, 34; amended. 38; Committee of, 88; un- written law, 115; National Committee of, 117; exemplified, 132; custodian of, 170. Sectionalism and the Alliance, 249-256. Senators, United States, 732, 733. Ship-carpenters and Calkers' International Union, 321. Sinking fund of power, a, 259. Sick-rooms, care of, 647-651. Skeletonized Leaves, 637. Socialistic Labor Party, 324. South, the needs of the, 284-287. STATISTICS : Farms in United States and values, 131, 132; miliionnaires, 186; public domain, 187; farm products, 188, 189; circulation of money, per capita, 192 ; failures in the United States, 193; the national debt and farm products, 194-196; circulation, 264, 265; Colored Alliance, 290; membership, 1890, 294 ; in the Northwest, 303 ; mort- gage, 304; Sub-treasury Plan, 351, 352; agriculture in the United States, 463-476; live-stock, 498-510; cotton, 586; tobacco, 558; cane sugar and molasses, 1881-90, 589- St. Louis Platform, the, 122, 123. Sub-treasury Plan : Its introduction into Congress, 137; ig- nored by that body, 148; in hands of Committee of Ways and Means, 155; vote by States, 164; loans on real estate added, 179; non-taxable currency, 270, 271, 326, 336-354; history of, 734, 735. Sugar-cane, 588. T. Tables, Weights and Measures, and Inter- est, 712-718. Texas: The mother of the Alliance, 13, 14 ; Land League, 15 ; first county organizations, 17 ; State Grand Alliance, ib. ; greenback cam- paign of 1876, 18 ; records from December 27, 1879, to February, 5, 1884, 20 ; meeting of 1879, and officers of Grand Alliance for 1880, 21 ; proceedings of 1880, 23-32 ; ib. 1881,32,33; application for charter, 29; copy of same, 30; proceedings of 1881, 33; burial service, 33, 34; the first se- cret order having no privileged classes, 35; proceedings of 1882, 1883, 1884, 36- 38 ; proceedings of 1885-86, 39-46 ; pro- ceedings of 1887, 46-55. Action relative to National Alliance, 56, 58 ; loan by, 65 ; delegates to first ses- sion of National Alliance, 66; the ex- change plan, 84, 85. Tobacco, 586. Trade system proposed and discussed, 39. Trades-unions : Advent of, i; the labor movement, 318; the exodus from the farm to the mills, 319; cheap labor and the unions, 320; Knights of St. Crispin organized, 321; the Louisville Conference,/^.; National Labor Union, 322-326. U. United States : Af^riculture in, 444, 448, 449, 454, 458, 461, 556; postal regulations, 719-720. Velvet-grass ; Velvet Mesquite ; Soft-grass, etc., 567. W. Washington, George, 462. Weights and Measures, 712-718. Wheat, 571. Wills, 696- Window Gardening, 626-635. Women : Eligible for membership, 35; influence of, 308-312. Worlidge's " System of Agriculture," 442. i-y-r,^ o^. Cf> tr--"-'.. f\. RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TO— ^ 202 Main Library hd recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW jEBi CIB. M 1 2 •« JUN 219t7ogp9i AUTO. DISC. 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