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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,