Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1891 — THE FARMERS’ ALLIANCE. [ARTICLE]

THE FARMERS’ ALLIANCE.

The Momence Press recently got off an article on the tariff and price of nails per keg, which should be “diagrammed” by the republican literary bureau of the N. Y. Press and furnished .to the Rensselaer Republican and other organs of that party for publication without delay. Stock to the amount of SIO,OOO is being subscribed by citizens of Goodland and vicinity for the location of a Presbyterian College, to be known as the “ Western Indiana Collegiate Institute” in that town. From a statement in la6t week’s Herald, but $57 5 remained to be raised to complete the SIO,OOO. Reports indicate that the so called People’s Party is not meeting with great encouragement throughout the New England and Middle States. The farmers of those localities are a careful, conseivative, reading class. They recognize the abuses that operate against their interests but they believe that the Democratic party will take such action as will afford a remedy so soon as it secures control of the executive and legislative branches of the government. They do not look with favor upon the radical measures proposed by the new party. In the South they do not consider the promises of the third party as possessing sufficient merit to justify them in renouncing the allegiance ot a lifetime and the inheritance of generations. In the West, so far as action has been taken, the Alliance has emphasized its claim to be non-partlzan, by recognizing the new party to be partizan as either of the old. At Shelbyville, a few days since, the attempt to wheel the Alliance in that locality into line with the thard party movement came to grief.

The Farmers are up and organizing, and it is right and proper they should do so. It enables farmers to come together, compare notes, discuss their wants, the necessary redress for wrongs endured, and united in demand for requisite legislation, t ut going off into a new party organization will only lose them the objects sought. The Democratic party has always been the friend of the priducing and laboring classes—in fact, embraces the whole people. It has always declared for “exact justice to all—special privileges to none." It has opposed trusts, combines, monopolies, add denounced unnecessary taxation as unjust taxation. It has opposed taking money from the people for the creation of an enormous surplus in the treasury. It is opposed to extravagant expenditures, “billion dollar" appropriations and force bills and favors the strictest eoonomy in all departments of the government. It favors the collection of revenue sufficient for the needs of the government economically administer, ed, low taxation, and that placed on the luxuries instea.o of the necesaries of life. It favors the right of ©very one to buy where they can buy cheapest, and opposes the republican policy which compels the people to buy of favored, protected classes at monopolistic prices.— From the days of Jefferson it has favored every policy that had for its object the advancement of agriculture and the prosperity of the husbandmen. Since the veto of the U. S. Bank by Jackson it has opposed governmental connection with banking further than the enactment of laws to protect the people against loss and to punish dishonest officials Democratic votes in Congress show that is in favor of free coinage of silver and emphatically opposed to the c emontization of that metal. It has maintained from the days of Jefferson that this is a govof the people, by the people, for the peopfe. These are no “catch-phrase principles” announced for the first time. They were promulgated by Jefferson and adopted by the Democracy as cardinal principles in its faith. With these in force the ills now complained of would have no existence. But the Democratic party has not at any time since the election of Lincoln)had control of all branches of the government. The elevation of that party to power, its foundation principle- being grounded in sectional hatred, was immediately followed by civiljwar. From that time to this the republican party has held power by virtue of force, fraud and theft. The government has been administered in the interest of that party, with a view to its perpetuity in power. In the House, i* order to secure a good working le • gaily elected Democrats were expelled, and Republicans with no claim put in their places. This accomplished, under the Reed rnle of counting a quorum the McKinley bill was passed, the free coinage bill was defeated, over one billion dollars appropriated for expenditure, and the crowning act of infamy, dosigned to render the'people powerless to repudiate them for their misdeeds, the force bill was adopted. This last act, however, failed in the Senate, thanks to the determined opposition of Democratic Senaators, and the matchless parliamentary skill of S nato. Gorman, of Maryland.— The next House will be largely Democratic, but the obstacle to the passage of salutary laws, the Republican Senate, may render all efforts to that end futile. Trusted with power the Democracy would have accomplished reforms demanded and pledged Expenditures and appropriations would {have been vastly less and taxation proportionately reduced

It is no fault of the Democratic party that the people have suffered great wrongs and groaned under the weight of inordinate taxation Just prior to Repubiicrtn success the largest sppropriation made was $80,000,000. The appropriations made by the last Congress reach over $1,000,000,000. No Democrat who gloried in the record of his party in the past; who have venerated Jefferson, Jackson, and the long line of illustrious statesmen who have made its its history will forsake it now to follow in the wake of the founders of the new party recently spoken into life at Cincinnati; men with whom the organization of parties is no new thing; who have been found at the front in every movement which promised to throw them to the surface. A true Democrat can be a faithful member of the Alliance, the same as he can be true to Odd Fellowship, Masonry, and organizations of like character. The true aim of the Farmers’ Alliance should be to seoure their ends, not defeat them. Thanks to Senator Turpie, for valualfle public document.