Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1890 — ALLIANCE DEPARTMENT. [ARTICLE]

ALLIANCE DEPARTMENT.

ALLIANCE BRIEFS. ' The total distance from the southern terminus of the railroads operated in Mexico to the northern terminus of the Argentine system in South America Is about 4.900 miles. There is already constructed aqd available for the lncontinental line 250 miles of railroad. One thousand eight hundred miles are under construction and survey, and about 2,850 miles remain to be located. Without realizing it the railroadbuilder» have'already more ,than half accomplished the task. ! Do you know, or don’t you, that the English money power now owns one., ifeatt of ail the wealth of all the nations of the earth to-day, and the interest on that wealth doubles It every fifteen years? And that money power controls and fijfes the price of everything that labor sells or must buy? And that at the present rate, unless conditions are changed, by legislation, this money power will, in fifteen years, reduce every farmer in ’the United States to a tenant, and own ail the wealth of the earth ? —Torch of Liberty, j Ours is the only government on the earth where the people can legally throttle the money power. In all the other great governments of the world the ruler is the supreme power. He issues his decree and the people obey, or they get the bayonet. Thanks to a | kind Providence the good and sage farmer, Washington, and the patriot statesmen who founded our government, reversed'that order. Here the people are the origin and source of all | power, and the rulers ai’e their serv- : p,nts.—Correspondent of the Cotton Plant. • We are no stickler for the sub-treas-ury bill, but the fact that the plan was etdorsed by the National organization is, we think, of sufficient importance to attract and merit a careful examination and study of the measures in all its bearings upon the commercial interests 6f the entire country from all classes, rather than a hasty surrender to the condition of it by those whose interests, so far as individual interests ate concerned, are to condemn it, but whose just rights to condemn it can not be shown from a just and equitable point of view.—Voice. That’s right. Let the merchants run the stores, but elect honest men to office. Not only be sure that they are honest, but be sure that they are friendly to your interests. And after you elect them, keep your eyes on them, and see what they do. Sometimes the razzle dazzle of the corporation lobby is too much for the man who really meant well when begging for your suffrage. Watch the man who does your publio business, as you watch the man who works in your field, and hold him to as strict account for any short Enterprise. All great reforms are begun by agitation. This had been the watchword Of all reformers. They stood in the highways and byways, on the platform and on the, stump, and voiced the wrongs they have attempted to right, with an energy, a vigor and eloquence that has rarely failed of its object. It was the prime motto of the matchless Patrick Henry, before the house of burgesses, wuen presenting the wrongs done the American colonies by Great Britain. Let us learn a lesson from this true patriot and brave advocate of the people. If we would secure relief to the oppressed farmers of the nation, we must keep the facts of their wrongs before the people. a word we must agitate. The public interests are at stake, and the public voice must be heard.—Alliance Mercury. The next legislature of Georgia, both the Senate and Hous'e is made up of over 75 per cent, of Alliancejmeu. j Iho eyes of the whole country, therefore, will be upon that body at its next session, and especially will the enemies of the Alliance watch its proceedings closely in order to proclaim to the world every mistake that may 1 be made. We predict, however, that our enemies will have few grounds upon which to criticise. The legislature just elected is made up of the most conservative men in the State. | Men who have the deepest interest in the welfare of the State. Men who j will come here to the capital and dis-; patch the business of the people with- j out any adjourned session to next Hummer. Men who will work early ! and late, and give value received for the per diem the State pays them. Atlanta Farmer. It has been remarked by the political economist of Europe, that most, commercial revulsions are preceded by j an abundant harvest. The' reason of i this is, that a great fall of prices pro- j duces the same effect upon the farmer 1 as a short crop. It diminishes the sum J which he gets for his productions, i with this further disadvantage, that it makes his sales slow and difficult to ’ effect at any rate. His expenses have beea predicated J|on ordinary receipts. In short, he has fallen hr debt to the merchant for his usual supplies, and 1 has not means to meet his engagements. The merchant, deprived of his expected returns, is in the same predicament. The city merchant, deprived of his payments, becomes embarrassed, till the mischief extends to every ini dividual In society; and a whole conntry may be in dis tress in the midstof universal plenty. i’ r THE NEW POLITICAL PARTY. What the Farmers’ Alliance Demand*. Harper's Weekly. f'There are a number of farmers’ organizations throughout the country, most of them having substantially the same objects. The National Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union, formed by the consolidation of the National Farmers’ Alliance and Co-operative Union and the Agricultural Wheel, la (he largest of all Its principal tosat- : X.-,. . ■ - ...

bership is in the Southern and Southwestern States. The National, Grange of the Patrons of Husbandly is the old “Grange,” which still has 20.000 affiliated societies. The Patrons of Industry are strongest in Michigan. The National Farmers’ League is avowedly political, and is strongest at present in the Eastern States. The Northwestern Alliance has its headquarters in South Dakota, and is strongest there and in tlie mmediatdTy heTghbbring States. The Farmers Mutual Benefit Association is the title of the Hlinois organization. The tendency now is toward consolidation co-operation having been already secured; and it would not be surprising if at the coming meeting of the Alliance at Ocala, Florida, on December 2d, several more of the minoriorganization should formally join it. ’. • ■ v,; '- These bodies all differ more or less in details, but on certain measures they are as one. From the Congress of the United States they demand—and their demands are likely to be voiced by one or other of the men whose portraits are given herewith; 1. The abolition o! national banks and the calling in of their notes. 2. The issue of legal tender United States Treasury note 3 “in sufficient volume to do the business of the country on a cash system.” 3. The free and unlimited coinage of silver.

4. The prohibition of the alien ownership of land, and, and the reclamation of all lands heretofore ceded to railways not now actually used by them. 5. The prohibition of speculation in agricultural products, and of dealing in “futures.” C. The restriction of government revenues to the actual expenses of the government e conomically administered. 7. The government control and operation of railways and telegraphs in the interests of the people. 8. The prohibition of trusts or “combines” among corporationo, a nd of usurious interest.

TYRANNY OF CAPITAL.

Secret Agents of Special Interoats Undermining the State, If there were any proof needed of the steady drift of politics in the wealthy northeastern States toward a condition of plutocracy it would be found in a recent address to the people of Massachusetts from the Nationalist Club of Boston. A year ago this club called the attention of t,he people of that State to the discreditable condi-. tion of affairs prevailing at the State House—the corruption that saturated the whole business of law making'; and now it tells them that matters are growing worse instead of better; “the people of this commonwealth are being deprived of the power of self-govern-ment, leaving them with but the appearance of the privilege, while the function itself is practiced by other hands.” The address asserts that “the whole body politic is corrupted by undermining t'ao State with the secret agents of special interests, ” and that “the system is culminating in the establishment of the most powerful plutocracy the world has ever seen—whose irresponsible tyranny is more to be feared than that of any despot, since it cannot be traced to any individual source.” Matters have come to such a pass that members of the Legislature “are commonly spoken of as the men of this or that great stock company." There is a remijant of popular influence Still to be fonnd “in the conflicts among the corpo- ' rate and moneyed powers that seek legislation,” but the latter are every year learning the value of mutual agreement and united action—and “the combination of all corporate interests of one kind in behalf of legisiatlon for their common benefit is now the rule.” The address says feat the illnminat. ing interests of the state have become so powerful as to count tneir capital by many millions—and when a bill passed the lower house, at the last session, permitting, cities and towns to make and sell gas and electric light, the illuminating stock companies were strong enough to induce the senate to “defy the wish of the people, and contemptuously kill the bill." Tho address warns the public against “the growing plutocratic power in its encroachments upon the liberties of the people.” it is most strongly entrenched in the senate, because that body is the least responsible to the people, and. therefore, most difficult to roach through popular opinion, and the paper concludes with this paragraph: Who can exaggerate the danger to our free institutions from a plultocratic class, "ruling the land by the power of tho roost enormous fortunes that the world has ever seen? This is tho most vital question of the day. throwing all others into insignificance. What danger is greater than that which now faces us—a government of money, by money and for money? It might be thought surprising that this state of things—this subjection of the law-making power to the-i baleful Influence of corporations, should prevail in so well-governed a commonwealth as Massachusetts, which has long claimed to be the oradle and home of all the virtues. But it is not It is the natural and inevitable product of a spirit that has ruled that state for thirty years. Massachusetts is gorged with wealth-a very largo share ot which has been most unfairly acquired—and it is entirely appropriate that plultocratic government Bhould exhibit its full development, first of all, in that state. Free coinage, tho abolition of the national banking system, government ownership of railroads, sub-treasury bills, etc., are not going to make the farmer a living. It may assist him slightly, but it is going to take hard work and close economy jhm as before. -r-F iorida Farmer.