Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 November 1889 — FARMERS IN CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

FARMERS IN CONGRESS.

ADJOURNMENT OF THEIR NATIONAL CONVENTION AT -MONTGOMERY. Officers Elected for the Ensuing Year—lowa Selected for the Next Meeting—lmprovement of the Mississippi River Favored—Other Business of the Gathering. The National Fax-.ners’ Congress, at Montgomery, Alabama, has adjourned. The last day was devoted almost sntirely to the consideration of resolutions, the election ot officers, etc. The new officers are: President, R F. Kolb, of Alabama; Vice President, A. W. Smith, of Kansas: Secretary, B. F. Clayton, of Iowa; Treasurer, Wm. Lawrence,, of Ohio. Vice Presidents were selected' from each State. The congress decided to hold its next meeting in lowa, the place to be hereafter designated. A resolution that the chair appoint a committee of one from each State to suggest a means of selecting a national flower, the committee to report at the next meeting, was adopted. The resolution to remove the tax on tobacio came up on an adverse report of the committee, and the report of the commitee was concurred in. The resolution declaring that the government does not need the money raised by internal revenne taxation, and that this congress favors the repeal of the in • ternal revenue laws, and that taxes raised from whisky and tobacco be relegated to the different States to relieve them of local taxation, was taken up, and the adverse report was concurred in. A resolution was offered by Mr. Pabor of Colorado asking Congress to select Chicago as the best point for the location of the world’s fair in 18J2. Mr. Kelly of Kansas offered an amendment striking out Chicago and inserting instead St. Louis, which was lost. The question com: 4g up on locating the fair in Chicago, the votetaken by States stood: 261 yeas, 63 nays. A resolution favoring government aid to steamship lines, to build up trade between this country and Central and South America, came up, and an adverse report was adopted. The resolution favoring unlimited coinage of silver met with an adverse report and was indefinitely postponed. The following was iutredu ed by Mr. Dre per of Illinois, and unanimously adopted: “Resolved, By the Farmers’ Congress, that it favors a comprehensive scheme for the improvement of the Mississippi river and the building of a ship canal across the State of Illinois, connecting the Mississippi river with Lake Michigan, and it is recommended that the United States Congress make a liberal appropriation therefor. ” On motion of Mr. Clayton, the Hon. Jeremiah Rusk, Secretary of Agriculture, and the Hon. J. R. Dodge, Statistician of the Department of Agriculture, were unanimously elected honorary members. The President appointed the following committee to prepare rules for the government of the congress: Messrs. McKenzie, of Kentucky; Work, of Indiana; Lawrence, of Ohio; Corput of Georgia, and Clayton of lowa. Adjourned sine die. At Atlanta, Ga., the committee on land resumed its report immediately after the Knights of Labor convention was called to order, and continued until the hour arrived when Col. L. F. Livingston, president of the Farmers’ alliance, was to be received. A committee was appointed to escort the representative of the farmers to the hall, and when they returned they had with them, besides Col. Livingston, Judge Henderson, commissioner of agriculture; R. F. Gray, editor of The National Economist, and Dr. Harry Brown, editor of the Georgia Farmer. Coh Livingston was received with immense applause. He said that other work had prevented his studying the objects of the Knights of Labor, but he felt sure that when the convention met at St. Louis Dec. 3 the confederation would be formed, and he also felt sure that it would be equally beneficial to both orders. In Mr. Powderly’s reply he said the day when the farmer and mechanic should stand side by side and work for the same object had always been a dream of his. The entire meeting was most enthusiastic and every mention of the confederation of the two orders was met with thundering applause.