People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1897 — Economic Economy Society [ARTICLE]

Economic Economy Society

Farmer* Arraying Tlieimclve* in Mcclliii;* Again*l merchant*. ♦ Special to tlie Tt,lit-unno’is Nows. Conuersvilit*, itid , Kab. 22. Certain it is that in many portions of Fayette. Union and bVatiklm counties the agriculturists are arrayed against the .town, growing out of the adoption of certain business reforms upon the part of the merchants, which has aroused much feeling among :ub farmers. It was the habit of merchants to do business on the credit system, accepting the notes of farmers lor pure liases, and currying the farmers until the season arrived when they could sell farm products for cash, at which time there was a settlement. During Ihe recent campaign the merchants, as a rule, threw the. weight of their inliuenee for •sound money and were instrumental m prevailing upon many j fanners to vole m that way. ! After the election, however, and i because of the business pressure j which was making itself felt all! over the couutry, the merchants, as a matter of self-preservation, were finally driven to adopt the * cash system, claiming that j wholesalers were only giving! ten days credit. As a result, j the farmers now find it extreme- { iy difficult to secure credit, while many of them are being pressed for settlements of accounts long standing. This has provoked resentment on the part of 1 the farmers, and in Frank- j lin county, one of the j richest and most prosperous 1 farming communities in the state, a secret society has been organized, the sole purpose of which is to enforce the strictest! economy upon the part of its members. The members pledge themselves to buy no farm im plements, tools or machinery, during the next four years; they j work upon the co operative plan I and exchange farming imple

meats and machinery now on hand; besides which, in buying the necessities of life, they form themselves into groups, make out a list of articles needed, which are forwarded to Chicago and Cincinnati wholesale and retail houses, which make a specialty of mail orders, and in this way, their wants are supplied. Seven townships in Fayette county are said to be completely organized and the movement is rapidly spreading over other counties. The r.ew order is styled the Economic Economy Society, and some of its staunchest members voted the sound money ticket. Considerable mischief has been wrought among merchants and business men in the towns affected, but so far nothing has been done in reprisal, and the local merchants are hopeful that this new deal will spend its force and be dissipated when the good times, hoped for under McKinley, begin to be felt. The farmers contend that they have been imposed upon by the merchants and manufacturers of their local towns, and that they are justified in boycotting the latter, which this movement practically means, and in buying their goods in the great commercial tenters they are simply enforcing a right belonging to all individuals in going where their interests best serve. While sitting by your fireside reflecting and wondering what you will do with it all when prosperity comes moseying back, just read again what you find in

j this number concerning the Logansport experiment with muni.cipal electric lighting and also : what it does for other cities who own and operate their own works for the benefit of the public. You will have time while waiting to study it over sevei’al times. : Meantime pardon the Pilot if Iwe jog your memory to the fact ! that Rensselaer will have an opportunity as quick as she is ready to meet it, to decide between private or public owner- , ship of the lighting facilities of the city.