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PAGE SIX
OL INTEREST TO WEALTH CREATORS
THE FARMERS AND POLITICS.
The Farmers’ Union has grown to
be a great organization. It is com
posed ehtirely of farmers, member
ship in it being strictly confined to
those directly engaged in agriculture.
It is a national body, with organiza
tion in almost every state, and so
strong in the South that it may be
said that practically every farmer be
longs to it. This makes it one of
the most important organizations of
the country. Upon its action in large
measure the future weal or woe of
the country, and especially of the
farming interests, must depend.
Hon. Thomas E. Watson is taking
an active interest in this farmers’
movement, and is regarded by its
members as one of their leaders. Re
cently he advised that the organiza
tion take an active interest in politics.
Now comes President Duckworth, of
the Georgia Division, and advises that
the Farmers’ Union eschew politics
altogether. Whose advice are the
farmers to take?
President Duckworth points out that
the Farmers’ Alliance was wrecked
and that it died because it engaged
actively in politics; and in a meet
ing in Atlanta he strongly urged and
plead that this same fatal mistake be
not made by the Farmers’ Union. He
holds that through fighting in com
mercial lines the rights and interests
of the farmer may best be secured,
and he begs that their activity be re
stricted to this direction.
Certainly President Duckworth is
right when politics is construed to
mean partisan politics. The Alliance
was wrecked because it engaged in
partisan politics and because it was a
partisan political body, for the Farm
ers’ Alliance resolved itself at last
into a populist party, which is now
defunct. Partisan politics has not
only been the ruin of farmers indus
trial organizations, but is the bane of
our country, and the most hopeful
sign of the times is the growing in
dependence of the voters.
But it is through political action
that industrial wrongs must at last
be righted. Take the railroads for
example. For years they have col
lected unjust tolls from the people.
Industrial organizations have con
tended for their rights; in some in
stances have succeeded in forcing
small concessions, but general relief
was not inaugurated until political
action was taken, and governors and
legislatures rose up to make the mil
roads toe the line of right.
Labor unions are in the same con
dition. They are urged to keep out
of politics, and certainly, should they
become partisans, it would mean the
death of their organization. But it
is only through politics, through prop
er laws that shall be passed, that
their wrongs can at last be righted.
They may wage industrial war, en
gage in strikes which cause loss and
suffering not only to themselves but
to the general public, and by this
means sometimes gain small conces
sions. Byt general relief cannot come
until laws are made to bring it.
So it appears that both Mr. Watson
and Mr. Duckworth are right. The
working people should take an active
part in politics and act together to
secure right laws, but they should
avoid as they would a pestilence
everything pertaining to partisan pol
ities.—Augusta Herald.
THE POLITICIAN.
Since the publication by the Geor
gia Division of the Farmers’ Union
of a signed statement to the effect,
“That candidates and prospective
candidates for office are not expected
to speak at rallies where the State
Union furnish speakers,” there has
been a score of questions asked, and
some on the outside have seen fit to
disagree with the officers of the or
ganization, but we desire to emphat
ically stress the fact that the Farm
ers’ Union cannot afford to bear the
expenses of meetings and permit can
didates or prospective candidates to
speak at meetings which are conduct
ed under the auspices of the organiza
tion. We have determined to keep
the organization clear of even the
smell of partisan politics. To do this
we must not pc Tnit our meetings to
be used for the boosting of any man
or any man’s candidate.
While all this is true the Farm
ers* Union should not be understood,
as it has appeared to be by the ques
tions of some, to oppose its members
running for any office which they
may be ambitious to fill. The fact of
their belonging to the Farmers’ Un
ion does not take away from them
their right as citizens, and if they
want to run for office as a citizen
and not as a member of the Farmers ’
Union, then the Farmers’ Union will
have no objection and feel no offense
by their having done so. In this
connection, we have been asked: “If
a member of the Farmers’ Union
should run for some office, wouldn’t
the members support him?” In re
ply to this we will say, if the mem
bers think he is the proper man they
will no doubt vote for him, but r
they don’t think him the proper man
they will undoubtedly vote against
him, and each member must decide as
to the fitness of the candidate for
himself. It will not be decided by
any division or sub-division of the
organization. The fitness of a can
didate for an office cannot be dis
cussed in any meeting of the Farm
ers’ Union.
We hope this is sufficiently clear
to put everybody at rest on this
question. We will not be drawn in
to a political fight, neither will we
prejudice our own membership against
those who may desire to run for
office. —Union News.
SOME GOOD SUGGESTIONS TO
FARMERS.
Cuthbert, Ga., Sept. 2, 1907.
Hon. Thos. E. Watson, Thomson, Ga.
Dear Sir: Following are some
practical suggestions relating to the
betterment of conditions in the agri
cultural world. The conviction has
.seized upon me that this or a similar
course of action is the only alterna
tive for farmers, and the sooner the
plafi. is put into operation, the better
will it be for the producer.
Higher priced cotton means but
little to the farmer if manufactured
articles rise in price to such an ex
tent as to insure the same ungodly
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
profits the manufacturer has hereto
fore enjoyed. Hence, the producer
must Work at both ends of the line to
keep prices even approximating a
just and adequate level.
Briefly, the plan is thus:
Let organized farmers establish
in each precinct where union mem
bers reside commissaries, or stores,
to be the property of the uniwb and
to be supervised by bonded members
of the union.
The organization at large to employ
one, two, three, or more, expert buy
ers, bond them heavily, swear them
in, place one in New York, one in
Chicago, one in Boston, or other
large northern cities, to be always on
the alert for fire damage sales, bank
ruptcy, etc., to buy goods in job
lot at 25 per cent of market quota
tions, less or more, not to exceed 50
per cent of regular wholesale price.
Insurance companies very often have
large stocks of fire or water damaged
goods thrown on their hands (insured
stocks refused by merchants in order
to get full insurance). Hence, hav
ing a “white elephant” on their
hands, the insurance companies are
eager to dispose of the goods at a sac
rifice, and the buyer caiuget such a
job lot very often at figure.
The expert buyers employed to be
paid a stipulated salary, or, better
still, so arrange contract that the
lower the price paid for goods in
bulk, as compared with market quo
tations, the bigger commission the
buyer will enjoy. This would be one
safeguard against Ins defrauding the
farmers by paying too much for
goods in order that he may enjoy re
bate at farmers’ expense.
The small supply stores in the
South, to send in orders to the buy
ers for goods needed beforehand,
which orders buyers will keep on
hand, and when a stock of goods must
go at a sacrifice, buy them in job
lots at 25 per cent or less, draw
check on Union’s bank to pay for
goods, packing boxes, crates for ship
ment of goods, etc., takes charge of
stock, has shipping clerk to fill all
orders the buyer may have on hand,
as near as possible from stock, then
ship balance of goods in bulk to some
central warehouse.
The goods to be sold at ten per
cent profit, after adding freight, cart
age, etc., which should be sufficient
to cover all expenses of handling,
i. e., in the way of salaries.
Thus farmers can be supplied with
goods at 30 to 40 cents on the dollar,
perhaps a little more, or a little less,
which will be equivalent to cotton
more than doubling in price under
old conditions.
There should be a ’Southern office
for headquarters, to which the buy
ers should make daily reports by
mail, or in important cases, by wire,
and the local managers of stores
should make weekly or monthly re
ports of sales, expenses, dead stock
on shelves, etc., to prevent goods of
slow sale lying too long and thus be
coming damaged.
If thought advisable, a shrewd de
tective could be employed to keep
buyers straight.
The business would be done on a
huge scale, and each transaction made
with an eye to aiding the individual
consumer and not some get-rich-quick
concern.
Will you kindly give this space in
yout Btagasiine or Weekly for Sugges
tions and improvements by your read
ers, and if needful, speedy arid defi
nite action?
Yours truly,
CHAS. W. LYENS,
FARMERS’ UNION AND POLITICS
Will the Farmers’ Co-operative and
Educational Union enter politics?
No. Why? There are already in
and hate already won one state wide
political victory.
On the 7th day of August, 3,000
farmers assembled at Lawrenceville
camp ground and unanimously ex
pressed themselves as being against
the bill to increase the tax on fer
tilizers from 10 cents to 25 cents a
toil. **
This resolution was given a prom
inent place on the first page of the
Gwinnett journal, the only paper in
the state that published it, our rep
resentatives and our senator read it,
and thereupon went to work to de
feat the bill. Nix, for the first time,
was made the leader of those against
the measure in the house, but lost,
the vote being overwhelmingly for the
bill. In the senate Born put off the
measure as long as he could, fearing
that it would pass, if put to a vote,
but on the very last night, the friends
of the bill forced it to a vote by
trying to make it special order, which
was lost by only one vote.
On Thursday, as we boarded the
train at Norcross, Senator Boni
stepped off. Said he, “Bagwell, I
saw that resolution in your paper,
and determined to defeat that fertil
izer bill. If it hadn’t been for that
resolution, the bill would be the law
of this state today.”
When the train pulled off, we sat
down and began thinking about what
Senator Born had said. True, if he had
voted for the bill, it would have pass
ed, therefore, his statement is true,
and the Farmers’ Union of Gwinnett
county killed the bill, and thereby
will save the farmers of Georgia
$160,000 a year in buying fertilizers.
The Farmers’ Union in politics. Os
course they are. If the above isn’t
politics, pray tell us what it is? Is
their stand against foreign immi
gration and for lower passenger rates,
polities? Suppose a man should run
for governor next year, on a platform
for higher passenger rates, for for
eign immigration and for an increase
in the fertilizer tax, is there a Farm
ers ’ Union man in Georgia that would
vote for him? No.
The Alliance soon found out that
the merchants were not robbing them,
and that’s true today. The merchants
in Gwinnett county are not making
as much clear money as the farmers.
As we understand, the Farmers’
Union, in session, doesn’t endorse or
oppose any candidate for any office,
but most naturally each member will
vote for the measures and men in
thorough sympathy with the tillers
of the soil. The present laws of the
United States exact about as much
tax out of an ordinary one-horse
farmer as from John D. Rockefeller,